Genius Loci neu



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“If places are indeed a fundamental aspect of men's existence and the world, if they are sources of security and identity for individuals and for groups of people, then it is important that the means of experiencing, creating, and maintaining significant places are not lost. Moreover there are many signs that these very means are disappearing and that “placelessness” - the weakening of distinct and diverse experiences and identities of places - is now a dominant force. Such a trend marks a major shift in the geographical basis of existence from a deep association with places to rootlessness, a shift that, once recognized and clarified, may be judged undesirable and possibly countered. It will then be of no small importance to know what are the distinctive and essential features of place and of our experiences of places, for without such knowledge it will not be possible to create and preserve the places that are the significant contexts of our lives.”