ABSTRACT
What methods help us explore person-environment transactions so that we might
better explain and enhance human fl ourishing? The question is a central theme of
this book, and is answered at different scales and with alternative foci depending
on the authors’ fi elds of inquiry and idiosyncratic personalities. My focus is on
Personal Projects Analysis (PPA) (Little, 1983; Little, Salmela-Aro and Phillips,
2007). I start with an overview of the social ecological framework within which the
theory and methods of PPA are embedded (Little and Ryan, 1979; Little, 1999a,
2000a). I then explain, selectively, the methodology of PPA, emphasizing how it
conjoins assessment of persons and the contexts within which they pursue their
projects (Little, 2000b). Next, I explore three emerging issues relevant to our
common concerns in this book: how places can provide affordances, restoration
and chills to the project pursuer. I conclude with some thoughts about sustainable
project pursuit and on the subtleties of opening space for such pursuit.
