Sociotope 1407718 199566047 2008-03-20T10:40:19Z GavinTing 3832631 Fixing Disamgiguation Page (To [[Place]]) {{Orphan|date=November 2006}} A '''sociotope''' is a defined space that is uniform in its use values and social meanings (compare with [[biotope]]). It can be described as the collective life world of a [[Location (geography)|place]] ([[Greek language|Greek]]: ''topos''), its use and meaning, in a specific [[culture]] or group of [[person|people]] ([[Latin language|Latin]]: ''socio''). The sociotope can be defined in the real world ([[geography]]) or in [[virtual reality]] (cyberspace). It is shaped by a multiplicity of lifesyles connected to a specific place and it can be categorized as more or less local (or global). Sociotope is related to urban [[sociologist]] [[Manuel Castells]] concept "space of place" and how it connects to "the space of flows". ''Example: [[Times Square]] in [[New York]] is a global sociotope which is used for social interaction, traffic and shopping. Tegnérlunden (small park) in [[Stockholm, Sweden]] is a local sociotope which is used for recreation, social interaction and children's play. '' It is not clear who first defined the word sociotope but it is set in [[anthropology]] and [[sociology]]. The [[Sweden|Swedish]] social [[psychologist]] [[Lars Dencik]] used the word [[1989]] to describe the social life world (network) of children. The [[Germany|German]] [[anthropologist]] [[Elisabeth Katching-Fasch]] used the word in [[1998]] to describe "the city as a "sociotope" of [[multicultural]] lifestyles". The German [[landscape architect]] [[Werner Nohl]] has used it to desbribe social types of urban settings. The word has recently been extensively used in Sweden for urban planning practise. The first sociotope map was made for the open spaces of Stockholm city in 2000 [http://www.map21ltd.com/COSTC11/sociotop.htm] by landscape architect Alexander Ståhle at the Urban Planning Administration. The map shows how squares and green areas are used and if they are local or regional. The map is a tool for [[urban planning]] and design. [[Category:Sociological terms]] [[Category:Anthropology]]