Region is nothing but the 'where of a whereto.' Region is essentially oriented to the 'to' of a whereto, to direction. These phenomena-nearness, distance, direction-give the first basic structure of the aroundness. If we take these phenomena in their unity and uniformity, we can say that the aroundness in the world is the regional nearness and distance of the intimate with-which of concern. That with which I dwell in everyday concern is defined by the near and far, specifically by regional, oriented, directed nearness and distance. But both structural moments-region, near and far-imply being oriented to the concerned Dasein itself. Near and far as well as region have this characteristic reference back to concerned preoccupation. Only with this back reference seen from the vantage of environmental things, with this orientation of the near and far and of what is defined in the character of the region, is the full structure of the 'around' of aroundness secured.
Already in natural language we understand 'around' as the 'roundabout- us.' The 'round-about-us' as environing world is not a manifold which has been arbitrarily thrown together; rather, ordered by nearness and distance, the actual is articulated as that which always "plays its part" [hat ein Bewenden] in something. More accurately, the environmental things are all placed. Something is near and far insofar as it has a regional place, a place oriented to Dasein, in particular its place on hand with it or its handy place allocated in concern. Everything worldly, with which concern is preoccupied, always has its place in a double sense. First, it has its place already on hand with it according to the manner of its worldly being as being-on-hand. In the natural experience and seeing of the sky the sun has its particular places. Second, however, immediately handy environmental things always have their allocated place. Concern has the possibility of allocating its particular place to a thing, which is not at all obvious.
What is actually meant by 'place' now? 'Place' is the where of the belonging of what is handy or on hand in concern. "It belongs there"-such a belonging is a region and the determination of this belonging as placing is prescribed by concern and by what is primarily present in a concern. The placing of environmental things right down to the arrangement of a room is governed by what I already have in my everyday concern and how my Dasein is itself determined as being in the world. The placing of environmental things, the determination of where they belong in a region, is in turn founded in the primary presence of concern. It is the source of the determination of the 'thither' and 'hither' of what must be immediately handy, usable in concern, what is immediately unusable and stands in the way, and must be 'cleared' out of the way. This characteristic 'clearing' is a particular concern for the aroundness of the world. Belonging to a where, to an oriented where, is given with the meaningfulness of the world. It is concern which,