-Tactics and Concepts for Highly Mobile People

not disturb” sign on the doorknob as the first thing when he enters. The sign is left on the
door for the rest of his stay in order to keep the territory undisturbed by others.
These two examples illustrate how our informants use the tactic of territorializing as a
way of making space into place. The sign is a way to create privacy, which is a key quality
of home (Smith, 1994). In that way feeling at home is established by place making in the
new location and indicating the borders for privacy.
This tactic is difficult to identify through interviews, because it is very often tacit actions
people are doing when territorializing. As Steven puts the “Do not disturb” sign outside
the door, it is most likely that it is so embedded in his bodily routines, that he doesn’t
notice it himself and wouldn’t mention it if asked about it.
I did however experience some tactics of territorializing through the interviews and visits
in homes. The first example is territorializing in the sense that it is clear to others who’s
territory they are at, when people visit their homes.
Buurhan and his wife display a large wall full of family pictures. This is the family alter
that they care very much about and they have a goal of changing the pictures every
month, but in reality they change it every 3 rd month. This family owns 10 homes around
the world and the picture decoration is a common theme in the different places.
“I think this I probably the key driver of why we like the homes the way they are, it’s
us there, we are there.”
They talk a long time about the different pictures and the people on them. The wall is just
by the entrance, which makes it very explicit for guests to see as the first thing when
entering. Professional photographers make the pictures.
Also Frank enjoys having pictures in his home and say that having pictures of his dearest
family members is more important for him, rather than having fine art. He also
territorialize with flowers to make it cozy. The self-­‐expression makes the home feel more
like it belongs to them and is an act of homing when decorating it. The personal
expression is territorializing equal to a dog that marks its territory. It is an imprint of the
people living there.
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