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The second chapter treats the theoretical models behind the present-day use of the concept of space. In contrast to other sociological concepts, the discussion of adequate concepts of space is dominated by physical thought. With a view to the contrast between absolutist and relativist ideas of space, it is argued that today, in a time of globalization and mediatization, the theory of space can only be developed on the basis of a relativist conception. A critical reflection of fundamental works in sociology, especially urban sociology, and an examination of Georg Simmel's essay on a "Sociology of Space" show that space is often reified as territory or that space and place are not distinguished or that space is absolutized as an a priori ordering principle.

DOI: 10.1057/978-1-349-69568-3_2

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