The Trialectics of Spatiality: The Labeling of a Historical Area in Beijing

Abstract

Urban planners like to label a historical area to highlight its historical value. From a perspective of postmodernism, people usually have multiple images of a historical area. Should the urban planners choose one of these many images as the label for the historical area? This study addresses this question. We apply Edward William Soja’s trialectics of spatiality to analyze Dongjiaominxiang (DJMX), a historical area in the center of Beijing. The results obtained are as follows: (1) the questionnaire shows the images of DJMX are different among groups and individuals; (2) interviews with four interviewees indicate that the image of DJMX changed in the mind of each interviewee when they looked at DJMX. These results support Soja’s trialectics of spatiality. This article concludes that urban planners do not need to label a historical area according to a specific image. Not labeling a historical area may give people more freedom to renew their own understanding. This study also reveals that the “Secondspace” may be a better starting point for analysis when using Soja’s trialectics of spatiality as a methodology.

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