People and buildings

"There is at the present time a continuing interest in relating the behavioral sciences to design disciplines. Sociologists and social psychologists have been added to faculties of architecture schools, where they off er seminars and participate as programming specialists and design critics in studio courses. Behavioral scientists in many European countries have collaborated with architects and planners in design work undertaken by governmental ministries, and more recently have been participating in the work of private design fi rms. Similar developments are now common in the United States. In this fascinating study of the "ecology of buildings," biologists, anthropologists, sociologists, psychologists, and architects analyze the effect of working and living spaces on human behavior. Focusing on such contemporary social problems as the influence of the physical environment on psychological stress, mental illness, family disorganization, urban violence, and delinquency, the contributors show that we must respect the constraints that the environment and the nature of man impose on human adaptability. The selections in People and Buildings have been written primarily by scientists an