1For a Geography of Communication

We may be sure that representations of space have a practical impact, that they intervene in and modify spatial textures which are informed by effective knowledge and ideology. Representations of space must therefore have a substantial role and a specific influence in the production of space. Their intervention occurs by way of construction – in other words, by way of architecture, conceived of not as the building of a particular structure, palace or monument, but rather as a project embedded in a spatial context and a texture which call for ‘representations ’ that will not vanish into the symbolic or imaginary realms (Lefebvre, 1974/1991: 42, italics in original). The linkage between geography and communication lies in the fact that (a) all forms of repre-sentation occur in space, and that (b) all spaces are produced through representation. In other words, theories of spatial production must also to a certain extent be understood as theories of communication/mediation. Maps, architectural drawings, as well as the built environment, are instances of mediation between spatial experience, visions and material (pre)conditions – though rarely defined as such, nor very often included in media and communication studies. However, due to the development of late modern communications such demarcations ar