Introduction to theory of culture-related spatial development

Abstract

The article presents a theory of cultural and noncultural factors’ influence on spatial development at its current state. The culture of every nation includes both tangible and intangible elements, developed to various stages. Just as there are nations that have created rich culture, there are also those that, in spite of rich intangible culture, did not create a distinct architectural style, mostly adapting to their needs patterns from other cultures. Adaptation of non-native models in the tangible field of spatial development is not due to a nation’s cultural poverty, but rather to its cultural characteristics and the impact of other, noncultural factors. Therefore, identification of factors influencing spatial development is a complex task of an interdisciplinary nature. These noncultural factors are of various characters and strengths; nevertheless, in many cases they remain the most important ones. As proposed in this article, the theory explains relationships between culture, noncultural factors and human needs, and allows us to understand the basic process of spatial development.

Keywords

• architecture
• intangible culture
• tangible culture
• cultural factors
• noncultural factors