Space Forming And Life Practice: A Study On The Internal Ecology Of Social Civilization In

This article is based on a case study of West Street of Minzu University of China, using qualitative research methods, especially observations and deep interviews. It regards Minzu West Street as an ecosystem, records the daily practice in space, describes the interactions and dynamic relationships of all participants, and reveals the various meanings of the same space to different bodies.The study shows that the west street of Minzu University of China is a space consisting of retailers, consumers and administrators, and full of social meanings. It develops on the base of the dense population and strong consumer demand. It has following factors:1. Space is produced. Space can be shaped to various forms. In business activities, politic events, and other gainings, space shows its flexibility. It changes frequently to meet needs of different bodies.2. Space contains complex social interactions. The 3 main bodies have frequent and subtle interactions, i.e. competition, cooperation, supervision, and conflicts etc. space plays vital role in this process. It is not only the place for what happens, but also the reason why it happens.3.Both space and time has value in use, especially when space is sharply squeezed, time extension becomes compensation.4.There is high threshold to enter West Gate Zone. And in dynamic changes, strong ones can stand all the trials to hold their positions, weak ones face elimination.5.Participants in space are familiar with its plot, and develop a set of informal rules in daily practice.6. The meaning of space is constructed through positions. It represents romanticism for some students, but dirty and messy zone for the others; It means safety to passengers, opportunities to retailers but headaches to administrators. Even the same space, it means hugely distinct to different people.