Schmid, Christian (2022): Henri Lefebvre and the Theory of the Production of Space

The recently published book “Henri Lefebvre and the The- ory of the Production of Space” helps clarify what has been perhaps one of the most misinterpreted philosophical-episte- mological conceptualisations of urbanisation and the prob- lem of urban space more broadly since World War II. The author, Christian Schmid, presents the theory of the pro- duction of space, portraying a Lefebvrian spatiotemporal, dialectic-materialistic, three-dimensional and revolutionary theory of society as an overarching and systematised contri- bution to the interdisciplinary debate on the urban question. This review portrays the book’s fundamental message. Crit- ically, it puts the book in dialogue with a constellation of publications referred to by the author and a variegated de- bate on the urban question, referring back to a twenty-year period. The review suggests streams of literature equally intertwined with Schmid’s book, although not explicitly mentioned, while presenting some suggestions for future research and debate.