Problems and Needs of the Environmental Design Research Community. Environmental Design Research, Problems and Needs

摘要

The report attempts to identify problems that hinder progress in environmental design research (EDR). General difficulties of EDR are discussed, such as research on housing for the elderly and on urban environmental design. Sources of information used for the project include a questionnaire sent to members of the EDR and design communities, a one-day conference in EDR, interviews with selected research directors and others, and a review of the relevant literature. A list of summary comments on the problems and needs of EDR is presented in order of importance and then discussed in greater detail. The problems include the following: a lack of consensus on working theories, research methodologies, definitions, and units of measurement; inadequate data-exchange mechanisms within EDR; inadequate awareness of practicing designers' research needs within the EDR community; ineffective transfer of EDR results to practicing designers; and unsatisfactory collaboration between social and behavioral scientists and designers.