ABSTRACT
Investigators of social phenomena have given more and more attention over the past ten years to individual and group concepts of the urban environment, sometimes called urban space. The impetus for this trend has been a series of varied and complex events, including not only changes in cities themselves, but also changes in various research disciplines. Two kinds of such events have been: (1) increased pressure on public decision-makers to provide structures and facilities which are useful and acceptable to their intended users; and (2) an increased recognition by officials and researchers of the importance of small residential areas within cities, sometimes called neighborhoods, and of the design problems associated with these areas (Montgomery, 1965; Katz, 1967; Lynch, 1962). The neighborhood concept has been a mainstay in planning for many years (Dahir, 1947; Keller, 1965). Problems encountered in the processes of urban renewal and largescale changes in land-use patterns (Fried and Gleicher, 1961; Hartman, 1964; Montgomery, 1965; Thompson, 1965, 362-368) have emphasized the notion that identifiable physical features are important in certain kinds of resident behavior.
