Keil, Roge
A icle
The long iew: Hen i, Ch is ian and he heo y o he
p oduc ion o u ban space
Raum o schung und Raumo dnung / Spa ial Resea ch and Planning
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
Leibniz-Fo schungsne zwe k "R – Räumliches Wissen ü Gesellscha und Umwel | Spa ial
Knowledge o Socie y and En i onmen "
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Keil, Roge (2024) : The long iew: Hen i, Ch is ian and he heo y o he
p oduc ion o u ban space, Raum o schung und Raumo dnung / Spa ial Resea ch and Planning,
ISSN 1869-4179, oekom e lag, München, Vol. 82, Iss. 5, pp. 363-365,
h ps://doi.o g/10.14512/ u .2969
This Ve sion is a ailable a :
h ps://hdl.handle.ne /10419/307151
S anda d-Nu zungsbedingungen:
Die Dokumen e au EconS o dü en zu eigenen wissenscha lichen
Zwecken und zum P i a geb auch gespeiche und kopie we den.
Sie dü en die Dokumen e nich ü ö en liche ode komme zielle
Zwecke e iel äl igen, ö en lich auss ellen, ö en lich zugänglich
machen, e eiben ode ande wei ig nu zen.
So e n die Ve asse die Dokumen e un e Open-Con en -Lizenzen
(insbesonde e CC-Lizenzen) zu Ve ügung ges ell haben soll en,
gel en abweichend on diesen Nu zungsbedingungen die in de do
genann en Lizenz gewäh en Nu zungs ech e.
Te ms o use:
Documen s in EconS o may be sa ed and copied o you pe sonal
and schola ly pu poses.
You a e no o copy documen s o public o comme cial pu poses, o
exhibi he documen s publicly, o make hem publicly a ailable on he
in e ne , o o dis ibu e o o he wise use he documen s in public.
I he documen s ha e been made a ailable unde an Open Con en
Licence (especially C ea i e Commons Licences), you may exe cise
u he usage igh s as speci ied in he indica ed licence.
h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/
u .oekom.de h ps://doi.o g/10.14512/ u .2969
EDITORIAL EDITORIAL OPEN ACCESS
The Long View: Hen i, Ch is ian and he Theo y o he
P oduc ion o U ban Space
Roge Keil
Recei ed: 20 Augus 2024 Accep ed: 28 Augus 2024 Published online: 10 Sep embe 2024
The publica ion o Ch is ian Schmid’s book “Hen i Le eb-
e and he Theo y o he P oduc ion o Space” (Schmid
2022) is a majo miles one o u ban and spa ial schola -
ship. The i le and he subjec ma e o Schmid’s ambi ious
wo k fi squa ely in o he manda e o a jou nal wi h he i le
“Spa ial Resea ch and Planning”. In ac , i sounds almos
p og amma ic. We ha e hus aken he publica ion as an
oppo uni y o ask ou enowned in e na ional schola s o
discuss he book in a symposium. Ch is ian Schmid, who is
Ti ula P o esso o Sociology Eme i us a he Depa men
o A chi ec u e, ETH Zu ich, has kindly ag eed o espond
o his c i ics.
Ch is ian Schmid belongs o a a e b eed o u ban in el-
lec ual who combines, no always effo lessly, a fi m com-
mi men o u ban emancipa o y p ac ice wi h a s ella aca-
demic ca ee . A squa e du ing he 1980s Zu ich “you h
mo emen ” (“Bewegig”) and co- ounde o he influen ial
and endu ing In e na ional Ne wo k o U ban Resea ch and
Ac ion (INURA), he has also been one o he mos inno a-
i e and influen ial u ban geog aphe s o his gene a ion.
Bo h his con inuing p esence as an ac i is in Zu ich (and
globally h ough he INURA ne wo k) and his in e na ional
success as a schola can, no doub , be c edi ed o Schmid’s
ema kable consis ency in messaging, a i eless p og am-
ma ic linea i y in a field ha has seen many u ns since he
fi s s a ed publishing adical geog aphic ex s as a g adu-
a e s uden . This p axis o u ban heo y p efigu es Schmid’s
P o . D . Roge Keil, Yo k Uni e si y, Keele S ee , 4700 To on o,
Canada
keil@yo ku.ca
© 2024 by he au ho (s); licensee oekom. This Open
Access a icle is published unde a C ea i e Commons A ibu ion
4.0 In e na ional Licence (CC BY).
li elong ea men o Hen i Le eb e, oo, as Finnish soci-
ologis Me i Ilmonen obse es: In Schmid’s iew, “Le eb-
e’s heo y can only be g asped in applica ion” (Ilmonen
2024).
“Hen i Le eb e and he Theo y o he P oduc ion o
Space” can be ead agains he endency o “ he u n” as an
o ganizing ea u e o academic inqui y. As ea ly as in his
b eak h ough 2005 olume “S ad , Raum und Gesellscha ”,
Ch is ian Schmid bemoaned “ oday’s scien ific ac o y wi h
i s ca ee pa e ns and i s publishing obliga ions, whe e he
hal - imes and expi y da es o new concep s and enden-
cies become e e sho e ” (Schmid 2005: 8); an en i on-
men whe e he long- e m, de ailed and slow-mo ing dis-
cussions like he ones he p e e s and p esen s in his book,
would be almos an impossibili y, an anach onism. Ch is-
ian Schmid’s inno a ion and con ibu ion mus be mea-
su ed o e he ime o his s o ied ca ee . Con e san in, and
able o ope a e in Ge man, F ench and English schola ly
deba es, Ch is ian Schmid had al eady es ablished himsel
as one o he mos impo an in e na ional Le eb e schol-
a s, no leas wi h he publica ion o a defini i e collec ion
o essays unde he i le “Space, Diffe ence, E e yday: Li e
Reading Hen i Le eb e” (Goonewa dena/Kip e /Milg om
e al. 2008). O e he almos wo decades since, Ch is ian
Schmid has le an indelible ma k on global u ban and ge-
og aphic deba es, some aspec s o which a e examined in
his e iew symposium.
The cu en book has i s ounda ion and o igin in
Schmid’s doc o al disse a ion a he Uni e si y o Jena,
published in Ge man as “S ad , Raum und Gesellscha ”.
As Me i Ilmonen, a longs anding Le eb e schola in he
own igh , no es in he e iew, he obscu i y o he Ge man
ex is li ed as he (expanded and ex ended) ex is now
a ailable o b oade audiences in English. “Hen i Le eb-
e and he Theo y o he P oduc ion o Space” p esen s
a ho ough ea men o Hen i Le eb e’s heo ies on “ he
Raum o schung und Raumo dnung | Spa ial Resea ch and Planning (2024) 82/5: 363–365 363
R. Keil
p oduc ion o space” bu as sp awling as his opic is in
i sel , he impac o he book is no con ained by i s o-
cus on he influen ial F ench hinke o his spa ial heo y.
I b eaches con en ional bounda ies o u ban s udies and
geog aphy in many gene a i e ways.
The book is a didac ical ma el, sys ema ic and idiosyn-
c a ic, syn he ic and analy ical, logical and dialec ical, di-
ach onic and synch onic. I ulfils he pedagogical p omise
o a ex I ha e o en used in eaching, Ch is ian Schmid’s
magis e ial chap e “Ne wo ks, Bo de s, Diffe ences: To-
wa ds a Theo y o he U ban” in Neil B enne ’s pa h-b eak-
ing collec ion “Implosions/Explosions” (B enne 2014).
The eigh chap e s in “Hen i Le eb e and he Theo y o
he P oduc ion o Space” a e heo e ical ea ises wea ing
bo h h ough Hen i Le eb e’s wo k and mind, and h ough
he wo ld o comple e u baniza ion ha Hen i Le eb e
saw coming in he la e 1960s and Ch is ian Schmid has
had as his empi ical labo a o y o e he cou se o his li e
and ca ee . F om he s ee s and pe iphe ies o Zu ich, o
he moun ains and alleys o Swi ze land as an u banized
coun y, o he u baniza ion p ocesses ha ha e engende ed
Tokyo, he Pea l Ri e Del a, Kolka a, Is anbul, Lagos,
Pa is, Mexico Ci y and Los Angeles, Ch is ian Schmid
has filled in he gaps ha Hen i Le eb e’s heo ies o he
p oduc ion o space and u baniza ion had le (see, o ex-
ample, Schmid/S eule 2023; Schmid/Topalo ic 2023). In
his way, Ch is ian Schmid makes he mo e om a schola
o Hen i Le eb e o an u ban heo is in his own igh
and demons a es his abili y o s ay ue o his heo e ical
(and c i ical, in he sense o e olu iona y) in e es in Hen i
Le eb e and his ambi ion o undamen ally ew i e u ban
heo y. “Hen i Le eb e and he Theo y o he P oduc ion
o Space” fi s in o his la e ambi ion and is he mos cohe-
si e and comp ehensi e heo e ical plank in his join p ojec
wi h Neil B enne , ha o de eloping a heo y o plane a y
u baniza ion ollowing Hen i Le eb e’s o iginal in ui ions
in “The U ban Re olu ion” (Le eb e 2003 [1970]) and
la e ex s. The no ion o plane a y u baniza ion has been
he mos influen ial u ban heo e ical in e en ion o his
cen u y and emains a e e ence poin – albei challenged
o en, especially by a ising “sou he n u banism”, c i icized
ha shly by many who saw i as unduly all-encompassing,
and igno ed by an u ban s udies mains eam s uck in i s
“ci yis ” disposi ion. I is a ce ain y ha “Hen i Le eb e
and he Theo y o he P oduc ion o Space” will cemen he
emendous significance o a heo y o plane a y u baniza-
ion u he . I also esponds implici ly (o e en explici ly)
o some o he c i iques le eled agains he p ojec .
In addi ion o Me i Ilmonen’s al eady men ioned el-
egan double helix o a biog aphic essay – aking bo h
he own and Ch is ian Schmid’s in ellec ual jou ney un-
de sc u iny – he e a e h ee mo e incisi e e iews in his
collec ion, ollowed by a sho eply by Ch is ian Schmid
himsel . Ma kus Hesse ocuses in his e iew on he book’s
main con ibu ions: he insis ence on he social and collec-
i e p oduc ion o space; he significance o a heo y o
he p oduc ion o space o planning p ac ice; and he inci-
si e impo ance o he amewo k o plane a y u baniza ion
(Hesse 2024). I alian planning schola , Camilla Pe one,
uses he gene a i e e m “cons ella ions” o con ex ualize
Ch is ian Schmid’s book in ela ed and ex an deba es in
u ban s udies and p oceeds o discuss “Hen i Le eb e and
he Theo y o he P oduc ion o Space” c i ically in ela ion
o wo k on global subu baniza ion and e i o y om which
“an ex ended in e pene a ion o he con empo a y p ocess
o he p oduc ion o e i o ies o u banisa ion migh a ise”
(Pe one 2024). Finally, B azilian schola o U ban and Re-
gional Economics, João Tonucci, adds o he discussion he
ema kable insigh ha Ch is ian Schmid’s wo k manages o
discuss he explosi e (and implosi e) p ocess o plane a y
u baniza ion while ecognizing “ he spec al pe sis ence o
he ci y” (Tonucci 2024) and no es ha while Ch is ian
Schmid’s wo k “s ands as an illumina ing guide o hose
seeking o na iga e he in icacies o Hen i Le eb e’s com-
plex oeu e”, deba es in i s wake migh also ul ima ely lead
o ecognizing “a mo e gene ous dialogue on Le eb e be-
yond he no he n academic cen e s o he wo ld, aking
in o accoun he e ile app op ia ions o his wo k in La in
Ame ica, A ica and Asia a leas since he 1960s” (Tonucci
2024). In his sho eply, Schmid gene ously esponds o he
poin s aised by he c i ical e iews o his wo k wi h a mo e
explici discussion o biog aphic ci cums ance and in ellec-
ual con ex . As he no es, he deba e on Le eb e is a om
o e and now akes place in a as ly ans o med and apidly
changing u ban wo ld.
Re e ences
B enne , N. (ed.) (2014): Implosions /Explosions: Towa ds
a S udy o Plane a y U baniza ion. Be lin.
Goonewa dena, K.; Kip e , S.; Milg om, R.; Schmid, C.
(eds.) (2008): Space, Diffe ence, E e yday Li e: Reading
Hen i Le eb e. New Yo k.
Hesse, M. (2024): Book e iew o : Schmid, Ch is ian
(2022): Hen i Le eb e and he Theo y o he P oduc-
ion o Space. In: Raum o schung und Raumo dnung |
Spa ial Resea ch and Planning. h ps://doi.o g/10.14512/
u .2242
Ilmonen, M. (2024): Book e iew o : Schmid, Ch is ian
(2022): Hen i Le eb e and he Theo y o he P oduc ion
o Space. In: Raum o schung und Raumo dnung | Spa-
ial Resea ch and Planning. h ps://doi.o g/10.14512/ u .
2550
364 Raum o schung und Raumo dnung | Spa ial Resea ch and Planning (2024) 82/5: 363–365
The Long View: Hen i, Ch is ian and he Theo y o he P oduc ion o U ban Space
Le eb e, H. (2003 [1970]): The U ban Re olu ion. Min-
neapolis.
Pe one, C. (2024): Book e iew o : Schmid, Ch is ian
(2022): Hen i Le eb e and he Theo y o he P oduc ion
o Space. In: Raum o schung und Raumo dnung | Spa-
ial Resea ch and Planning. h ps://doi.o g/10.14512/ u .
2530
Schmid, C. (2005): S ad , Raum und Gesellscha : Hen i
Le eb e und die Theo ie de P oduk ion des Raumes.
S u ga .
Schmid, C. (2022): Hen i Le eb e and he Theo y o he
P oduc ion o Space. Londono.
Schmid, C.; S eule, M. (eds.) (2023): Vocabula ies o an
U banising Plane : Theo y Building h ough Compa i-
son. Basel.
Schmid, C.; Topalo ic, M. (eds.) (2023): Ex ended U bani-
sa ion. T acing Plane a y S uggles. Basel.
Tonucci, J. (2024): Book e iew o : Schmid, Ch is ian
(2022): Hen i Le eb e and he Theo y o he P oduc-
ion o Space. In: Raum o schung und Raumo dnung |
Spa ial Resea ch and Planning. h ps://doi.o g/10.14512/
u .2248
