ABSTRACT
The conflicting perceptions and interpretations of both urban and rural environments have been a major subject for attention throughout the development of environmental psychology. 1 The conclusion that can be drawn from many of the urban studies is that the city comprises a mosaic of perceptual worlds which touch, but rarely interpenetrate, each other. In this essay it is suggested that individuals and groups operate not in isolation but in relation to others; people with whom they may not physically interact but who are nevertheless significant in their lives both in terms of influencing their conceptions of the world and the part they can play in changing or conserving the built environment. Consequently a basic question is posed: do urban residents believe there is any congruency between their world and the way they believe planners and politicians construe their world? Likewise, what is the degree of similarity between the way decision makers perceive and interpret the environment and the way they think residents view the same environment?
