Application of Social Space as a Tool for Physical Planning: Case Study of Mymensingh Town

Abstract

Space has a social dimension. Social space consists of physical space and mental space. Physical and mental perspectives are only able to achieve partial description or cross-sections of space. The general approach of physical planning is concentrated only on physical dimension of space. Most city planners deal with essentially static concepts with land use maps and plans they prepare. They tend to view the city as a static arrangement of physical objects which lacks in mental space. Again, mind is spatially oriented. Hence, there is a gap between the ways our cities have been built and the way people perceive them. Above all, neither the plan nor their underlying studies have successfully depicted the city as a social process operating in space. In the course of time, every section and part of the city takes on something of the character and qualities of its inhabitants. In current (urban) planning process, space is dealt to offer on facilities and services people require to have a better life. It is ignored to explore how they perceive their surrounding and every day’s space domain. This paper explores ‘social space’ as a planning tool and examines its potential application in the physical planning process.