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Space of flows

Space of flows Castells

I wanted to post one of my favorite concepts about future cities, the space of flows coined by Manuel Castells. Castells supports that there is a new form of space typical of the social practice that domains and shapes the structure of society, he called it the space of flows. For Castells this space is the new matter setting up how our societies are made, space of flows means that physical space stops being considered absolute, and blends with the digital dimension.

What is the Space of Flows?

Age-based on the distinction between the space of places and the space of flows. This conceptualization has been widely discussed although not always understood, probably due to the obscurity of my formulation. My approach simply states that space is not a tangible reality, just as it is not from the natural science perspective. It is a concept constructed based on experience. And so, space in society is not the same as space in astrophysics or quantum mechanics. If we look at space as a social form and a social practice, throughout history space has been the material support of simultaneity in social practice. That is, space defines the time frame of social relationships. This is why cities were born from the concentration of the functions of command and control, of coordination, of exchange of goods and services, of diverse and interactive social life. In fact, cities are, from their onset, communication systems, increasing the chances of communication through physical contiguity. I call space of places the space of contiguity.

(Castells, 1988, n/d)

On the other hand, social practices as communication practices also took place at a distance through transportation and messaging. With the advent of electrically operated communication technologies, e.g. the telegraph and telephone, some measure of simultaneity were introduced in social relationships at a distance. But it was the development of microelectronics-based digital communication, advanced telecommunication networks, information systems, and computerized transportation that transformed the spatiality of social interaction by introducing simultaneity, or any chosen time frame, in social practices, regardless of the location of the actors engaged in the communication process. This new form of spatiality is what I conceptualized as the space of flows: the material support of simultaneous social practices communicated at a distance. This involves the production, transmission, and processing of flows of information.

(Castells, 1988, n/d)