Mellon Forum // Three Propositions on the Relationship between Spatial Settings and Emotional Attachments
Bishwapriya Sanyal, MIT; Thalia Gigerenzer, Anthropology
October 25, 2023 · 12:00 pm—1:15 pm · Betts Auditorium and Zoom
Princeton Mellon Initiative in Architecture, Urbanism & the Humanities
Even though the term “belonging” evokes a positive attribute of a spatial setting, the relationship between spatial settings and emotional attachments is not as straightforward as it seems at first hearing. Drawing on studies of rural to urban migration and the formation of informal human settlements in cities in newly industrializing nations, this exploratory talk will deliberate three questions: (1) What creates a sense of spatial belonging for new migrants (2) How does such attachment evolve over time, and (3) Can belonging be exclusionary and be exploited by political leaders?
