ABSTRACT
An understanding of how we experience the world around us provides the foundation on which an understanding of the utility and meaning of public spaces can be built. The quality of any square, for instance, depends on the individual perception of a person and his or her values. What we pay attention to in the environment around us is based on our motivations and attitudes. These motivations, in turn, are directed by our knowledge of the world and what its patterns afford us. We appear to have mental schema that can be regarded as templates that guide the process of perception. 2 Without understanding the processes of perception, any commentary on human activities within the built environment and/or feelings about it is limited in scope.
