Environmental aesthetics

by J. Douglas Porteous

This is the first comprehensive, integrated study of the emerging interdisciplinary field of environmental aesthetics. The author takes the reader through a brief history of both aesthetics and taste, then discusses the psychology of human-environment relations, the influences of literary, artistic and legal activism on city, countryside and wilderness, and concludes with an analysis of the roles of public policy and of planning. Clearly written and lavishly illustrated, the book brings together the ideas, method and practices of a range of academic and professional disciplines. The book will prove an invaluable introduction to all interested in how the experience of city (and country) life can and should be improved.