What is a Liminal Space?

A liminal space is a transitional place—one that exists between two established locations, conditions, or identities. It may be liminal for the person using it, for the space itself, or for both. Some spaces are designed primarily for movement: bridges; staircases; hallways; crosswalks; train platforms; airport terminals. Others become liminal because their familiar purpose has been interrupted: a school after dark; a theater after the audience has gone; a shopping mall after closing; a house during a move; a building under construction; a factory after abandonment. The defining quality is not simply emptiness. It is in-betweenness. A liminal space belongs fully to neither where we have come from nor where we are going.