For some years the writers and their colleagues have employed the concept of
'place-identity' in their conceptualization of selected problems of the physical environment
(Proshansky, 1978; Proshansky et al., 1979; Proshansky and Kaminoff, 1982).
Because of its derivation from self theory, its meaning was relatively easy to establish
and make use of in the analysis of person/physical setting problems. Later on in this
paper we will provide a more formal definition of place-identity and its properties.
At this point, however, what is needed is a brief review of the social and cultural
processes involved in the development of self-identity. From this discussion, the
theoretical significance of physical settings and their properties in regard to selfidentity
will clearly emerge. Paradoxically, what will also emerge is the realization
of an almost complete neglect of the role of places and spaces in this aspect of human
psychological development.
In general, self theories tell us that the development of the sense of self is a matter
of first learning to distinguish oneself from others by means of visual, auditory, and
still other perceptual modes. Later on in this process, the child is taught--informally
as well as formally--to apply appropriate verbal statements in making these distinctions.
In this way the child comes to know or identify himself by virtue of the fact
that these other 'labels' have reference to objects or people that are not him. The
child has his own 'label'. What makes these other objects or persons significant is
not simply that they are distinguishable from the self, but more importantly, that
each one of them has a given relationship to that self, that is, the child. The statement,
'That is a mommy,' distinguishes the child from 'a mommy'. When the child refers
to a person as 'my mommy', then not only is the other person identified, but in turn
the child is identified by means of his relationship to this other person. Much more,
however, is involved in the development of self-identity beyond simply learning to
recognize these perceptual and verbal distinctions between other people and oneself.
The assumption made in this paper is that the development of self-identity is not
restricted to making distinctions between oneself and significant others, but extends
with no less importance to objects and things, and the very spaces and places in which
they are tigund. If the child learns 'who he is' by virtue of his relationship with those
who satisfy his needs by taking care of him, then it follows that contributing to that
same self-knowledge are the toys, clothes, rooms, and whole array of physical things
and settings that also satisfy and support his existence. There is not only the distinction
between himself and 'my mommy', but also the difference between himself and
'my room'. The room is different and distinct from what he is, but by belonging