Distinction. Space in the city

Abstract

This article has introduced the notion ‘distinction’, embedded into social order, being more wide and saturated than social differentiation and social stratification. The notion of ‘distinction’ has become necessary for urban analyses due to increasing sophistication and confusion of the systems of recognition and co-matching. Semantics of urban signs and semiology of urban territories are considered as obligatory elements of modern urban order. These ideas are discussed and redefined in multiple urban contexts.  Human territorial behavior is a particular case of the general ethology of animals, yet not oriented towards physical and olfactory designations, but towards urban space semantics, which is a complex product of a distinction process.