Space of flows

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The Space of flows is a high level cultural conceptual abstraction of space, time, and their dynamic interaction with society in the digital age. Complicated and mostly academic in nature, It was created by the prolific writer Manuel Castells in order to "reconceptualize new forms of spatial arrangements under the new technological paradigm" (Castells 146). It is a new type of space, enabling syncronicity and real-time interaction without physical proximity. It was first mentioned in The Informational City: Information Technology, Economic Restructuring, and the Urban Regional Process, published in 1989.

[edit] Definition

Traditionally we find a prevalent idea of space being a passive form, while time is considered a separate and active entity. Castells makes the argument that space should not be disconnected from time. He asserts that space is a dynamic entity related to time, and rejects the concept that it will disappear as to create a global city. Space is defined by this idea as "the material support of time-sharing social practices". He goes on to define the space of flows as "the material organization of time-sharing social practices that work through flows" (147).

In 2001, he wrote: “the space of flows...links up distant locales around shared functions and meanings on the basis of electronic circuits and fast transportation corridors, while isolating and subduing the logic of experience embodied in the space of places.” (Informationalism and the Network Society. In: Himanen, Pekka 2001. The Hacker Ethic and the Spirit of the Information Age. New York, Random House pp. 155-178)

[edit] Practical Definition

As with most abstractions, the true meaning and usefulness of this conceptualization can be elusive to casual readers. It might be helpful to step through Castells’ definitions in order to come to a conclusion on what he's getting at. Castells is defining space as the physical support of the way we live in time. The space and time we are used to, "real world time", is referred to by him as a space of places. This is because it lacks three elements central to a space of flows. It lacks a proper medium through which to flow, and the proper items to flow through it; it lacks nodes through which these things flow through and circulate (Stadler, 3). Castells wants to conceptualize a world wherein human action and interaction occurs by dynamic movement and distance can also be completely dynamic rather than static (2). This is his space of flows. It involves the medium of technology, time sensitive and continuous data that runs (flows) across it, and nodes of circuitry and computer systems all over the world.This movement brings people together into a continuous and real time arena that seems to be to be differentiated from the idea of a global village by the fact that interacting groups are enhanced by their position in time, rather than that position disappearing altogether.

[edit] Sources

Castells, Manuel. "An Introduction to the Information Age." The Information Society Reader. Ed. Frank Webster, Raimo Blom, Erkki Karvonen, Harri Melin, Kaarle Nordenstreng, and Ensio Puoskari. London and New York: Routledge, 2004. 138-149.

Stadler, Felix. The Status of Objects in the Space of Flows. Diss. Univ. of Toronto, 2003. 13 Feb. 2006 <http://felix.openflows.org/html/objects_flows.pdf>.