In the 1920s and 30s press agents and
publicists began to use print media to publish stories about their clients or
products. So rather than straight ads readers would find what looked like
newspaper stories or magazine articles that were in reality a new form of
advertising. Apparently media owners really disliked this and called them space
grabbers.
I’ve begun using the term space grabbers for other situations. The group
that spreads out across a sidewalk and ambles along paying no attention to who
might be behind them. The truck owners who take up two parking units, the
motorcyclists who make as much noise as possible driving down the street, the people
who park for days and weeks in one place on the street despite a parking bylaw
that prohibits it. Those who scatter garbage in their wake and never pick up
after themselves. The companies who use all the resources (e.g. water) they can
without thinking about future generations. Those who pollute. Those who bully
and harass others.
Why is it that these things bug me so much? It would be easy to say
because those people’s behaviours are wrong; they pay little attention to the
needs of others. And perhaps that’s so, but I think there are other elements at
work as well.
Is it true as someone said to me recently that we are becoming less
kindly in the way we live with each other? What
bugs you most that might relate to space grabbers – the noisy concert many blocks
away? The clouds of acrid smoke from a fire pit?
As cities grow larger they develop more problems just from the sheer
mass of humanity and all its complexities. To a certain extent we have to put
up with each other, be somewhat flexible about the things that bug us. Still,
for each of us there seems to be a place where we hold the line.
In the end it may come down to something basic – how we feel about
incursions into our close environment. And it’s not only our visual sense that
notices incursions on personal space.
Edward T. Hall (1914 – 2009) was an anthropologist and cultural
researcher born in the United States. In the 1930s Hall lived and worked on
reservations in the southwestern United States. This was an area where several
cultures existed – Navaho, Hopi, Hispanic, and Anglo. As he explored worlds
strange and new to him Hall began to see how culture affected each individual’s
behaviour.
Subsequently he traveled in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Eventually
he worked for the U.S. State Department, teaching intercultural communications
skills to foreign service personnel. He continued to observe and study how
humans behave in a variety of cultures and situations. His books range from The
Silent Language (the ways that we communicate without the use of words) to The
Fourth Dimension in Architecture (the impact of buildings on behaviour) and
to The Hidden Dimension, which is about proxemics, or humans’ use of
space and the effects that population density has on social interactions and
communication.
It should be noted that Edward Hall is not the only person to study
these topics.
In the Authors Preface to The Hidden Dimension (first published
in 1966, but still very relevant and not only in the United States) Hall
writes:
It is
increasingly apparent that clashes between cultural systems are not restricted
to international relations. Such clashes are assuming significant proportions
within our own country and are exacerbated by the overcrowding in cities. Contrary to
popular belief, the many diverse groups that make up our country have proved to
be surprisingly persistent in maintaining their separate identities.
Superficially, these groups may all look alike and sound somewhat alike, but
beneath the surface are manifold unstated, unformulated differences in their
structuring of time, space, materials, and relationships. It is these very
differences that often result in the distortion of meaning, regardless of good
intentions, when people of different cultures interact.
I began my life in a small city in Germany, living in an apartment block
with a shared playground and other shared outdoor space. Later, my family moved
to a farm in Canada with fewer amenities, a different language and much more
outdoor space. Huge changes in culture. My earliest life, however, impacted me
most for I still prefer to live in a small city rather than on a farm, though I
do like visiting wilderness areas. And yet, in that city I am very aware (if
only subconsciously at times) of the space around me.
Among animals, territoriality helps to prevent overpopulation and is a
way to protect breeding grounds and raising of young. In our cities, have we
been paying enough attention to the effects that crowding can have on the human
psyche? Does it have the same effect on us all? Hall would say, No.
There are contact and non-contact species of animals. Halls list of the
former includes walruses (showing a picture in his book of them sleeping
crammed together), pigs, brown bats; his lists of the latter includes horses,
swans, hawks. Though Hall does say that all species begin as contact types, but
change as they grow and leave their parents.
According to Hall there is also a
relationship between aggression and display – aggressive animals display more
vigorously. So do some humans view vigorous display in others as aggressive?
People from different cultures, says Hall, not only speak different
languages, but what is possibly more important, inhabit different sensory worlds. Each world has its own set of sensory inputs,
so that what crowds people of one culture does not necessarily crowd another.
In addition, social animals need to stay in contact with each other.
Most of us are familiar with the terms introvert and extrovert. These
are terms that attempt to define how individuals interact socially. Each of us
generally knows where we fit.
I’m more of an introvert than an extrovert. That means I enjoy spending
time with others in moderation and like a lot of time to myself. I prefer
quieter activities though I do enjoy a noisy spectacle on occasion. Because I’m
a quieter person who doesn’t often make a fuss, it seems to me that people
don’t always notice that I’m
Extroverts are more out there, showing themselves, making themselves
noticed. So they push their boundaries out quite visibly. Introverts who come
into the orbit of some extroverts have to push back hard in order not to feel
run over.
Certain characteristics are born or created in us perhaps through culture, and are difficult to change. From all I’ve read you can’t change your tendency toward introversion or extroversion, though you can perhaps engage in various activities that stretch your preferences. Neither introversion nor extroversion is wrong. However, by being more aware of peoples’ tendency for one or the other we may be able to be more tolerant of differences. We need to remember that each of us comes from our own traditions and may have diverse needs in terms of personal space. At the same time, it seems to me that city planners and architects can do more to avoid overcrowding in cities and make them gentler, more livable places.
