ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses environmental perception and how images are formed and meaning attached to them. It discusses the social construction of place in terms of sense of place and its alternative, placelessness. Sensation refers to the simple biological experiences elicited by environmental stimuli. The fountains on Daley Plaza in Chicago drown out the sounds of traffic on the busy streets that form three sides of the square. A growing literature focuses on understanding the multi-sensory experience of the urban environment. Mind maps and feeling maps both demonstrate how the ‘environment’ can be considered a mental construct – an environmental image, created and valued differently by each individual. Physical and visual distinctiveness aid the creation of place images and identities. The validity of aggregating the environmental images of people with different backgrounds and experience has been questioned. All urban environments – or ‘landscapes' – are repositories of symbols, meanings and values.
