ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book starts from the presupposition that space/spatiality is a social dimension and a social construct. It aims to present examples of these conceptions of space in work. The book discusses the ambivalences, the ambiguities and contextual variations that complicate any attempts to universalise these ideas. It identifies some perspectives that connect and cut across the various contributions. The book emphasizes different aspects of modernity, separately or in combination. It deals with the construction of different versions of modernity relating to specific contexts and/or exploring specific themes. The book illuminates geographical imaginations and spatial stereotypes produced in specific spatial and temporal orders. It finally implies the plea for scientific approaches to space that overcome binary conceptualisations put forward for recognition of human reciprocity.
