Producing space through social work: Lefebvre’s social production of space and the history of social work in the Netherlands

Social works scholarship pays increasing attention to space and place. This ‘spatial turn’ stresses that place is more than a background in which social work unfolds and intends to study the co-constitution of people, places, and institutions. This article presents Lefebvre’s social production of space to study social work from a geographical perspective. For Lefebvre, space is produced in the interactions between spatial practices and layouts (perceived space), representations and classifications of space (conceived space), and direct experiences of space (lived space). We apply this framework to the Dutch Canon of Social Work to analyse how space and social work co-constituted. This analysis identifies three periods with distinctive relations between perceived, conceived, and lived spaces; integration (1848–1925), emancipation (1925–1983), and participation (1983–2013). We argue that Lefebvre’s framework offers a theory to take space and place out of their passive context; can guide strategic interventions for social work to reshape places; and opens avenues to study social work, public service, and space as dynamic, co-constituting elements. This article emphasises the political nature of space and place, showcases the different roles social work(ers) played over time, and positions social work as an active constituent in the production of space.