Altman I., Zube E.H. (eds.). Public Places and Spaces

Berlin, New York: Springer, 1989. — 316 p. — ISBN10: 1468456032; ISBN13: 978-1468456035.This volume addresses an important topic of research, de­sign, and policy in the environment and behavior field. Public places and spaces include a sweeping array of settings, including urban streets, plazas and squares, malls, parks, and other locales, and natural settings such as aquatic environments, national parks and forests, and wilderness areas. The importance of public settings is highlighted by difficult questions of access, control, and management; unique needs and problems of different users (including women, the handicapped, and various ethnic groups); and the dramatic re­shaping of our public environments that has occurred and will continue to occur in the foreseeable future. The wide-ranging scope of the topic of public places and spaces demands the attention of many disciplines and researchers, designers, managers, and policymakers. As in previous volumes in the series, the authors in the present volume come from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds, research and design orientations, and affiliations. They have backgrounds in or are affiliated with such fields as architecture, geography, landscape architecture, natural re­sources, psychology, sociology, and urban design. Many more disciplines ob­viously contribute to our understanding and design of public places and spaces, so that the contributors to this volume reflect only a sample of the possibilities and present state of knowledge about public settings.Transformation, nostalgia, and illusion in public life and public place
Perception, cognition, and evaluation of urban places
Farmers' markets as community events
Playgrounds at the crossroads: policy and action research needed to ensure a viable future for public playgrounds in the United States
Women and urban public space: research, design, and policy issues
Control as a dimension of public-space quality
The emergence of environment-behavior research in zoological parks
Urban parks: research, planning, and social change
The attractiveness and use of aquatic environments as outdoor recreation places
Managing parks as human ecosystems
Solitude for the multitudes: managing recreational use in the wilderness