Personal Space...---->?

Personal Space, the concept of a person needing a certain distance between themselves and someone else a.k.a. 'space' to feel comfortable. This concept seems to vary within cultures and also within cultures from region to region. North America is considered part of the 'western culture' while personal space is considered essential in most European countries and physical closeness is mostly permitted to known persons that have a certain importance to this person. In North America or to be more precise on the islands in B.C. the hug is actually a very common way of greeting and a common way a bidding someone Good-bye. The hug creates a more intimate feeling and allows a stranger to feel more welcome, yet many other parts of the western culture do not see the need or any reason for creating this closer feeling. Is it just a response to the more isolated way of living which does not really exist in this form anymore, or rather does not exist anymore on the southern part of the islands anymore. So why is the hug still important why do the people of this region still consider the hug so important?