Different from a functional physical space, the notion “place” is a “lived space” with human experience and social practices (Lefebvre 1991). So the sense of place is a concept referring to a sense of attachment to, or an embodied, emotional commitment of place (Relph 1976; Tuan 1977). People’s perception of place is closely tied with sensory experiences. And from the ethnography, I find that the formation of sensory experiences varies from person to person, which are largely mediated and influenced by individual’s identity, past experience and the non-human actors such as the spatial structure.
When I investigated the three shop owner’s sensory experience, I found that the major difference of the three spaces lies in the different degree of openness or connection to the outside environment. As I mentioned in the Exploration section, Michael’s shop is narrow and long, with clothes partly blocking the entrance. So he usually stands outside the shop on the passageway, greeting to customers and talking with other vendors. Therefore his experience is not that typically “sensory” but more of interaction with people.
In addition, Michael’s shop is a small space in a bigger indoor market where the passageway is more narrow (compared to the street), and the shops are clustered together, next to each other, which creates a sense of physical closeness. So Michael is very familiar with other vendors in the vintage market. Everyday when he comes to and leaves the shop, he has to go all the way through the market, which again increases opportunity for him to interact with other vendors. His attachment and sense of belong to his workplace is then fostered through the interaction and communication facilitated by the three-layer-concentric-circle spatial structure.
Blake’s shop is at the very centre of the market. But as I have mentioned, the relatively narrow entrance and the light contrast in and out of the shop make the shop kind of isolated from the bustling street. The chair that Blake usually sit on locates at the deepest part of the space, which means that his communication and interaction are mainly with customers walking in his shop. Unlike Michael who introduces customers into his shop and constantly chat with other vendors. So Blake has more time staying in the shop and is more immersed in the warm-toned, calming environment, as opposed to the fast-paced busy market. Therefore, Blake’s sense of place in Camden market is more accumulated through the 20 years’ working here instead of the direct everyday sensory experience.
Lucas’ shop is the most open and inviting one. Facing the street, the entrance is as wide as the width of the shop itself. It’s like a widescreen TV, displaying the real-time dynamics of the market. Lucas’ sensory experience is therefore closely connected with the outside environment: with the passers-by and the weather. Lucas said that he chose this shop because he likes the feeling of being connected with the lively outdoor environment. He likes observing and talking with people. Therefore, his sense of place is cultivated via his proactive engagement to the market.
Without the restriction of a fixed space, visitors’ movement is more casual and free. Their sensory experience is therefore more diverse and personalised. Even though walking through the same route, individuals with different identities and personal experience can generate completely different sensory experience. This is clearly demonstrated in the sensory walking maps of James’ and mine. James loves rock music so the music related elements most trigger his sensory experience. While my attention is paid to those linked with special memories or those I’ve never seen before, which heavily lies on visual and smell experiences.
What’s more, after seeing the repetitive similar elements or products, James’ summarises his general impression about Camden Market: vibrant but also homogeneous and consumeristic. But when I am in the market, as an anthropological student, I subconsciously pay more attention to people – for example, when I see the duplicated Adidas and hear the loud “boom boom” music on Camden high street, I notice that these vendors are mostly immigrants (usually with dark skin), just like in the high streets of Chinese urban village areas, vendors are usually migrant workers who are marginalized in the city.
Here comes in another issue. James fails to develop a sense of place in Camden Market because he thinks that the market is not unique enough. “Fundamentally it’s commercial and homogeneous.” This echoes with Blake’s impression of the market’s changes during the last twenty years: from marginal to mainstream, from individual to corporate. Many scholars have criticised urbanisation and contemporary life for diminishing people’s sense of place, as homogeneous urban landscape erases the local characteristics and community culture (eg., Friedmann 2002; Relph 1976).
It makes sense but I don’t think it’s absolute and universal. As the globalisation and urbanisation themselves have been embedded in the life experience of a generation, can we consider it as a sort of collective memory or shared community culture to some extent? So when I saw a hat with the characters “爱情”(means love) printed on it in a market in London, my first feeling was a sense of familiarity, rather than alienation or estrangement. Furthermore, I think the globalisation, urbanisation process and the personalised placemaking practice are weaved together. It is a dynamic and entangled process rather than absolutely contradictory or separate. I will demonstrate this in the following section.
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