The reading, written by Michel De Certeau, examines the difference and interchangeable relationship of place and space. In the discussion of marking boundaries, the author points out the effort in nationalising and disregarding the role of stories and narratives in establishing boundaries and communities through governmental actions (e.g. publication of official historiography). These actions confines the significance to the level of family unit or individual, in order to reject the concepts of community and locality. Stories, in the form of collective memory, etc, form an important role in constructing a sense of community. To me, not only do these stories link people together, but they also create a context for the places and transform them into spaces. Yet, in Hong Kong, where efficiency is a core value of the cityscape, the neglect towards stories, such as shrinking dimensions of parks (reduce the possibility of encounter and exchange), only seems to me that people only operate as machine without any connection to a space.
Name: Hong Sum Ho
UID: 3035695696