Environmental Aesthetics: Theory, Research, and Application

by Jack L. Nasar

Overview

How do people react to the visual character of their surroundings? What can planners do to improve the aesthetic quality of these surroundings? Too often in environmental design, visual quality—aesthetics—is misunderstood as only a minor concern, dependent on volatile taste and thus undefinable. Yet a substantial body of research indicates the importance of visual quality in the environment to the public and has uncovered systematic patterns of human response to visual attributes of the built environment. Efforts to understand environmental aesthetics have been undertaken by investigators from such diverse fields as landscape architecture, environmental psychology, geography, philosophy, architecture, and city planning. As a result the relevant information is scattered and not readily available to professionals and policy makers. The book brings together classic and new contributions by distinguished workers in different disciplines. It explores theory and data on preferences in the visual environment, and also addresses the practical application of aesthetic criteria in design, planning and public policy. Promising directions for future research are identified.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521429160
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	07/31/1992
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	560
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 8.94(h) x 1.02(d)

Table of Contents

Section I. Theory: Editor's introduction; 1. Behavioral and perceptual aspects of the aesthetics of urban environments Tom F. Heath; 2. Symbolic aesthetics in architecture: toward a research agenda Jon Lang; 3. Prospects and refuges revisited Jay Appleton; 4. Perception and landscape: conceptions and misconceptions Stephen Kaplan; 5. Where cognition and affect meet: a theoretical analysis of preference Stephen Kaplan; 6. The landscape of social symbols Barrie B. Greenbie; 7. Open space in cities: in search of a new aesthetic Werner Nohl; 8. Aesthetic perception in environmental design Arnold Berleant; Section II. Empirical studies: Editor's introduction; A. Methodological comments: Editor's introduction; 9. The assessment of landscape quality: an integrative approach D. Mark Fenton and Joseph P. Reser; 10. Affective appraisals of environments James A. Russell; B. Architectural interiors: Editor's introduction; 11. The influence of a beautiful versus an ugly room on ratings of photographs of human faces: a replication of Maslow and Mintz Richard M. Locasso; 12. The development of a usable lexicon of environmental descriptors Joyce Vielhauer Kasmar; 13. Lighting-design decisions as interventions in human visual space John E. Flynn; C. Architectural exteriors: Editor's introduction; 14. A study of meaning and architecture Robert G. Hershberger; 15. Predicting user responses to buildings Robert G. Hershberger and Robert C. Cass; 16. Dimensions in the perception of architecture: identification and interpretation of dimensions of similarity Anke Oostendorp and Daniel E. Berlyne; 17. Contextual compatibility in architecture: an issue of personal taste? Linda N. Groat; D. Urban scenes: Editor's introduction; 18. Visual preferences in urban street scenes: a cross-cultural comparison between Japan and the United States Jack L. Nasar; 19. Perception and evaluation of residential street scenes Jack L. Nasar; 20. Planning concerns relating to urban nature settings: the role of size and other physical features Janet F. Talbot; 21. The effect of sign complexity and coherence on the perceived quality of retail scenes Jack L. Nasar; E. Natural and rural scenes: Editor's introduction; 22. Dimensions of meaning in the perception of natural settings and their relationship to aesthetic response D. Mark Fenton; 23. A cognitive analysis of preference for field-and-forest environments Thomas R. Herzog; 24. The emotional quality of scenes and observation points: a look at prospect and refuge Jack L. Nasar, David Julian, Sarah Buchman, David Humphreys, and Marianne Mrohaly; 25. Aesthetic preference for rural landscapes: some resident and visitor differences Brian Orland; 26. Familiarity and preference: a cross-cultural analysis Rachel Kaplan and Eugene J. Herbert; Section III. Applications: Editor's introduction; 27. Visual needs in urban environments and physical planning Eduardo E. Lozano; 28. A survey of aesthetic controls in English-speaking countries Wolfgang F. E. Preiser and Kevin P. Rohane; 29. Scenic-beauty issues in public policy making Mollie Ridout; 30. Coping with aesthetics and community design in rural communities Fred A. Hurand; 31. Toward theory generation in landscape aesthetics Fahriye Hazer Sancar; 32. Aesthetic regulation and the courts Kenneth T. Pearlman.

Editorial Reviews

"For those seriously concerned with person-environment-behavior relations in general, aesthetics and design in particular, this is certainly a book that should be on their reference shelf." Environment and Behavior

From the Publisher