Remembering Yi-Fu Tuan: The Most Influential Scholar You've Never Heard Of


Author: Kelley A. McClinchey

(MENAFN- The Conversation)

Yi-Fu Tuan, who died in Madison, Wis. on Aug. 10, 2022, was known as the most . Referred to as , his most influential works dealt with the concepts of space, place and sense of place.

As we enter , it's important to recognize Tuan's lasting impact on the field of geography.


Yi-Fu Tuan (1930-2022) was known as the father of humanistic geography. (Public domain/Wikimedia)

Born in the Chinese city of Tianjin in 1930, his academic career took him around the globe, eventually leading him to the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1983 where he attained emeritus status in 1998. Tuan received several awards including the prestigious in 2012.

In his work, Tuan deals with spaces as general, objective areas, whereas places have meaning and memories. A sense of place is a deep emotional attachment to a place. In a world dealing with the challenges of the pandemic, refugee crises, political unrest and the impacts of climate change, his work is just as relevant as ever.

Landscapes of Fear

Tuan's 1979 book, , is intensely pertinent for our current pandemic reality. It's an exploration into spaces of fear and how these landscapes evolve during our lives and vary over time. Tuan talked of the human response to disease as being a combination of common sense and fear. He speaks about many past responses to disease being reasonable, but also often going beyond the bounds of reason.

COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions may have seemed acceptable but frequently created a terror of their own. Families desperate to see their older loved ones in were unable to visit in their final days of life. Closed businesses and empty streets became a as many wondered if, once opened, these to visit.

There was concern over whether . Media was replete with a that led many to question whether it was a good idea to travel.

Read more:


Landscapes of Fear by Yi-Fu Tuan. (University of Minnesota Press)

But that reduction in visitors to certain spaces created renewed appreciation for the . As restrictions eased, these landscapes were no longer feared. Our love of place overtook our desire for protection.

Transforming cityscapes

Tuan's analysis in the chapter Fear in the City is also timely. Recent attacks like those in , and leave us anxious about streetscapes.

Tuan's apt analysis showed us how those that govern cities focus more on economic and commercial activities, rather than social needs. And how the city itself can become a disorienting space. A labyrinth of disorder and social strife especially among those of different classes, races and ethnicities.

This disorder and social strife manifested itself visibly in the killings of George Floyd, and fostering greater mistrust in urban public spaces.

To offset these landscapes of fear, a counter-narrative emerged, transforming streets into for vigils, and marches.

That transformation is also apparent in the ongoing . The fight for freedom in public spaces has seen Iranian women leading protests against overbearing government control and many supporting these rights in public spaces around the world.

Place is security

became all the more significant during lockdown. The sanctuary of our most important shelter, the home, was challenged by the threat of an invisible virus.

But home as a secure place is a privilege not all have. As COVID-19 spread, , for fear of contracting the virus. Our most vulnerable citizens, including those experiencing homelessness, lacked security in place. was needed, that for the time being, included .


Yi-Fu Tuan speaking at the University of California Santa Barbara in 2011.

in Canada's immigration highlight how migrants too need safe spaces to develop a .

As a geographer, I have studied how people establish a sense of place through multicultural festivals, . These intimate connections of place and belonging contribute to . But when so many events were cancelled throughout the pandemic it had a drastic impact on communities, affecting our , shared memories and emotional geographies.

Because of their loss of place and space, migrants especially need help to . We could better assist them by understanding Tuan's idea of — an intense sense of place based on social constructions and cultural identities.

Tuan said that we all have a through our senses. The pandemic has highlighted our deep need to connect physically rather than virtually. We have yet to its impact on our sense of place. With so many other sites closed, streets were re-imagined as places for rather than merely spaces of transport and mobility.

Space is freedom

is one of Tuan's most highly referenced books. It's a study about how people form emotional connections and attachments to their home, neighbourhood and nations, and how feelings about space and place are affected by time. What begins as undifferentiated space becomes place over time as we get to know it better and assign it value. A sense of place brings us security and safety, and we desire the need for openness and freedom in our space.

highlighted Tuan's notion of space being about freedom. While the encampment provided freedom to those who took part, it also from residents whose everyday lives were suddenly restricted.

It took the safety and security away from residents who have a meaningful and deep sense of place there. The convoy raised questions about our democratic rights — whose freedoms were really being protected, whose were being denied and the in public places.

We could all learn from . We must become humanistic caregivers of each other and the planet and avoid protectionist measures that perpetuate fear. Tuan was more concerned about what connected us, not what drove wedges between us. The intimate connection between space and place is highly nuanced.

In these challenging times, we should all remember Yi-Fu Tuan and what makes us human first: the need for security in place and freedom in space.


The Conversation

MENAFN14112022000199003603ID1105179874


The Conversation

Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.