ABSTRACT
This chapter constructs professionals, post-graduate students and academics in the fields of architecture, planning, urban design and environmental psychology in identifying the most appropriated methods of data collection and analysis to study user perception and evaluation of historic and commercial streetscapes. By making field visits to the case study, systematic observations of commercial streetscapes were carried out in early stages. Ranking scales were also adopted to identify which commercial street facades users like the most and like the least in terms of appearance. This scale was based on asking people to look at the commercial street facades in the sample, and report which ones they like the most in a decreasing order of preference. Ideally, to ensure maximum realism, users from England and Brazil should observe the sample of commercial street facades on-site. The interview questions were designed to investigate how the operation of commercial signage controls is carried out in the historic city centres of Oxford, Gramado, and Pelotas.
