Discussion 4: Social Space; ‘The Production of Space’ by ‘Henri Lefebvre’

Lefebvre idea of social space seems to be embedded with the concept of Marxism. I must be honest and admit when I first read this text I was baffled and a little confused about what Lefebvre was trying to say. In order to get some idea of what Lefebvre was trying to say I had to look at Marxism to get an understanding of where his idea of production of space is coming from. So here it goes, my interpretation of he’s writing...

Space is based on society which is based on production; therefore would space not be a product? Lefebvre analyzes space through form, structure and function of something he calls ‘social space’ and explores how such spaces have been produced. It would appear that his idea of social space consists of a certain configuration of actual space in actual time. Space takes in physical objects that take part in discourse and therefore become a container of relationships of the society of its people. Does space produce society at the same time of producing space? Lefebvre believes that as a space is produced so is a society. He sets out in his writing the different kinds of social space and the modes of their production into a theory. He believes that social space is produced by power to serve a goal. I believe this could be true in many cases as a space is a product of design around what the people want and what people want usually reflects on the society in which they live.