Zonal logic and territorial ordering : To rediscuss spatial proximity and contiguity

Abstract

The article has as its background the (analytical) distinction between space-zone and space-network, and in relation to it, it distinguishes (also analytically) two elementary spatial logics: zonal logic, shaped by dispositions in area, which are related to the closure, fixation and continuity of space; and reticular logic, which prioritizes network arrangements and is related to connections, mobility and flows. Although analytically distinct, both logics are inseparable and always manifest together. While recognizing the preponderance of reticular logic in the organization of space in modern times, the article aims to rediscuss the role of zonal logic and contiguity especially at local and regional scales, especially when the State is the main promoter of this logic in our days, since it continues to control its territorial and / or regional policies in terms of zonal and often contiguous spatialities. But perceiving and experiencing the space in its contiguity / continuity is not only the privilege of the hegemonic groups, but also of the subaltern groups, as can be illustrated with the example of the indigenous bio-regions in Brazil, of the "neo-communities" where ancestry, kinship and neighborhood are invoked, and of the Venezuelan communes. Sometimes undervalued in approaches that overvalue lattice logic and fluidity, the zonal perspective of space stands firm. contiguous