In La Production de l'espace (1974), Henri Lefebvre argued that space is not a neutral container but is actively produced by social relations, and in turn shapes them. He proposed a triad of spatial practice, representations of space and representational spaces, distinguishing the perceived, the conceived and the lived. Through this scheme he analysed how capitalism, the state and planners produce abstract space that subordinates everyday life. The book insisted that every society produces its own characteristic space.
It became the central theoretical statement that space is socially produced, transforming critical geography and urban studies. Lefebvre's spatial triad remains a standard framework for analysing how power and capital shape the built environment.
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