Introduction: thinking about rhythm and space

This chapter explores a sense of time insofar as it relates to the specifics of urban places, and as it varies according to the distinctive aesthetics associated with temporality. It describes the aesthetic dimension of place-temporality, first by focusing on the nature of its aesthetics and second by focusing on its particular experiential attributes. The latter is illustrated through the case of Fitzroy Square in London. Places are temporal milieus within which repetitive everyday activities, spatial patterns and cycles of nature interweave and orchestrate into bundles of expressive rhythms. These rhythms are unique to particular locations and structure and affect a sense of time in unique ways, shaping distinctive forms of place-temporality. The chapter is thus dedicated to the temporal aesthetics of urban places and the notion of place-temporality in the way it is defined through its experiential attributes as a means to advance the understanding of a sense of time in urban space.