In a period characterised by the emergence of global capital, the increasingly rapid and vast movements of people throughout the world, and the growth of the internet, the definition of place has become increasingly destabilised. As a consequence, much post-modern discourse has placed great importance on concepts of space and spatiality, though the frequently vague and ungrounded use of these terms in social and cultural theory has more often served to obscure than to enlighten. Edward Robbins addresses these issues in this lecture. Using the notions public and private he examines the nature of this mystification and offers a language of practices which both encompasses the condition of space and spatiality and allows for a more grounded and specific discussion of their implications. Robbins lectures in Urban Design at the Graduate School of Design, Harvard.