The Visual Environment: Public Participation in Design and Planning

In the process of making environmental decisions, many intangible qualities of considerable psychological significance tend to be ignored. The difficulty of measuring intangibles and the frustration inherent in commonly used methods of obtaining public input are major obstacles to correcting this unfortunate situation. In this paper we suggest a strategy for overcoming these difficulties. A procedure is presented for obtaining public input with respect to such intangibles as aesthetic values in the visual environment. Several examples illustrate how the approach has been applied. The procedure differs from current practice in a number of respects. The Reasonable Person Model, offered here as a psychologically more appropriate framework than the widely adopted Rational Man position, provides both a rationale for these differences and a guide to their implementation. This model‐guided procedure can (a) make public concerns more articulate, (b) make better use of the talents of the environmental professional, and (c) make the process considerably more satisfying for all concerned.