He says that the intensity and form of topophelia vary from person to person, that simple statistics of where people went on vacation are inadequate to describe their experiences. Topophilia is an emotion, the research of which begins in the description of these feelings. There is a topophilic difference between traditional and modern societies. For example, to the Dani tribe in West Papua, New Guinea, each tree in the forest has a spirit. Their whole living environment is symbolic and scared.
Modern society exists in a profane natural environment.
It is interesting to talk about, but Tuan doesn't go very far with this idea. At the end of the book, Tuan begins to focus on modern landscapes, the city being one of these. He says that every city has a public symbol that communicates the ideals of power and glory. Within the city, the same patterns of topophelia appear. That is, even though people live in the same city, their experiences are very different based on where they live and work, and even their social class and race.