How Spatial Sensitivity Enriches Understanding Transitions in Childhood and Later Life

Abstract

AbstractSpace is a key element of human life that holds significance across the life course. Spaces, territories and symbolic arrangements are elements of social reality. This chapter examines the role of space in the context of transitions. Our conceptualization of space does not reduce it to qualities of an external environment but views it as a relational arrangement of people and features that are crucial for understanding transitions across the life course instead. Drawing from two empirical studies anchored in dispositive analysis and environmental psychology, we examine (a) transitions to children’s independent mobility, and (b) transitions into multigenerational cohousing. We ask: How can spatial sensitivity shape, challenge and enrich research on transitions in childhood and later life?