Books like The Hidden Dimension

This is an extraordinary book, full of great insights despite having been first published fifty years ago. It's considered a foundational text in the anthropology of space, the study of "space" as a function of nurture rather than nature, and as something that varies from one culture to another. The author is specifically concerned with what he calls "proxemics," the perception of proximity. Different cultures have different, unstated, rules for what constitute intimate, personal, social, and public interpersonal spaces. Hall argues that these rules need to be taken into account if we are to communicate successfully across cultures. They also need to be taken into account in the design of our buildings and cities. Written at a time when the American city was in precipitous decline, the book calls for a sensitive consideration of the spatial cultures of ethnic minorities in the design of urban spaces that will allow their communities to flourish. The book is very accessible, free of jargon and full of illustrative examples. A great book for someone eager to think about how culture creates the spaces we inhabit, and that form an intimate if unrecognized part of who we are.