Amos Rapoport The Meaning of the Built Environment_ A Nonverbal Communication Approach 1990.pdf

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BOUT

THE

UTHOR

Am os Rapo por t is Distinguished Professor in the Schoo l of Architecture a n d

Urban Plann ing at th e University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. H e h as taught a t

th e Universities of M elbo urne an d S yd ne y in Australia, a t the University of

California, Berkeley, a n d at University College, Lond on , an d has held visiting

appointments in Israel, Turkey, Great Britain, Argentina, Brazil, Canada,

India, an d elsew here. H e ha s also lectured by invitation a n d be en a Visiting

Fellow in m any countries.

Professor Ra popo rt is o n e of t he fo unde rs o th e new field of E nvironm ent-

Behavior Studies . His work h as focused mainly on th e role of cultural vari-

ables, cross-cultural studies, a n d theory develop m ent a n d synthesis. In add i-

tion to th e present book, h e is the auth or of H ou se Form a n d Culture origi-

nally published in 1 9 6 9 an d translated into five langua ges), H um an Aspects

o Urban Form 19771, an d History an d Prece de nt in Environmental Design

19 90 ). In addition, he has published over two hun dred papers, chapters, and

essays, man y of th em invited, an d is the editor or coeditor of four book s.

H e ha s be en the ed itor in chief of Urban Ecology a n d associate editor of

Environment an d Behavior, an d h e ha s been on the editorial boards of man y

professional journals. In 1 9 8 0 the Environmental Design Research Associa-

tion honored him with its Distinguished Career Award. Professor Rapoport

has b een the recipient of a Se nio r Fellowship from the National E ndow me nt

for the Arts an d a G rah am F ound ation Fellowship. During the acade mic year

1982-8 3 he was a Visiting Fellow of Cla re Hall, Cam bridge University, of

which h e is now a Life Mem ber. H e has also been a m em ber of the program

comm ittee 198 7-19 88) an d the jury 19 89 ) for the International City Design

competition.



The Meaning

o

the

uilt

Environment



M O S R P O P O R T

The Meaning of

the uilt Environment

NONVERB L COMMUNIC TION PPRO CH

With a New Epilogue

y

the

uthor

THE UNIVERSITYOF RIZON PRESS

TUCSON



ONTENTS

Preface

1

T h e

Im po rtan ce of M eaning

T h e Meanrngs of En v~ ro nm en ts Users ' Meanings and

Designers

Meanrrlgs Perc eptual an d Asso clatrona l

Aspec t s o f the Env ironmen t

2

h e

Stu dy of M ean ing

T he Semrot rc Approach Th e Symbo l lc Approach @

T h e Nonverba l Com mu n ica t lon Approach

3 Elnvironmental Meaning. Preliminary Considerations

for a Nonverbal Com municat ion A pproa ch

Enculturatron and Env ironm ent Socral Co mm unica t ion

and C on tex t T he Mnem onrc Funct ion of Enurronnlent

Nonverbal C omm unicat ion an d Environmental Meaning

Fixed-Feature E leme nts Semrfrxed-Feature E leme nts

Non f i xed -Fea ture E lemen t s Th e Nonverba l

Cornmunlca t ion Approac h

5

Sm all-Sca le Ex am ples of Applications

6 IJrban Ex am ples of Applications

Redundancy and

Clai

rty

o f

ues

U r ba n C u e s

Suburban Image

7 Environment Meaning an d Com mun ication

T h e Nature of Enulronment Or gan lza t~ on

o f s p a c e O r ga niz atio n o f Time Organization

o Communrca t ion Organiza t ion

c

Meanrng The

Relat ionship Between Meaning and Cornmunlcat ion

Conclusion

References

Epilogue 2

9

Index 249

UNIVERSITY

1.IBRAEI IES

MPNEGBE-MELLON UNIVERFiS fY



or

orothy



PREF CE

After long neglect, the subject of me aning in the built env iron m en t

began to receive considerable attention when this book was com-

pleted in 19 80 . This interest has continued, a n d indee d g rown , since

then. It is a subject that h as co nc ern ed m e on an d off for a n um be r of

years. In this boo k use my ow n work a n d much othe r material to sho w

how a particular set of idea s an d a particular point of view ca n provide

a framework tha t m ak es se nse of a highly var ied se t of material:;.

approach the problem from the perspective of environmerrt-be-

havior studies E B S ),which se e a s a new discipline, at on ce hum an-

istic an d scientific, conc ern ed with d evelop ing a n explanatory theory

of env ironm ent-b eha vior relations ER R). As usual, emph asize the

role ol cultural variables an d u se exa m ples from diverse cultures an d

periods, a s well a s a variety of env ironm ents an d so urce s, to allow for

m ore l~ al id eneralizations than ar e possible

if

o n e considers only the

high-style tradition, only th e recen t p ast, only the W estern cultural tra-

dition, and only the formal research literature. At the same time,

emph asize the con tem por ary United S tate s bec ause it also seerrls im-

portant to consider the usefulness of this approach to the present.

Although ha ve ad de d new material, much has also be en left ou t be-

ca us e details an d exa m ples ca n b e multiplied endlessly. Th e attem pt is

to provide a framew ork fo r thinking ab ou t the topic and also both to

illustreite an d to recrea te so m e of th e reasoning a n d working processes

a s a n ex am ple of a particular way of a pp roa ch ing problem s. This in-

volve: working with small pieces of information a n d evide nc e from

varied fields an d disciplines that u se different appro ach es. H ow these

intersect an d bec om e mutually relevant is important-both generally

Koestler, 1 9 6 4 ) a nd in EB S m or e specifically. T h e test of an y valid

ap pr oa ch o r m od el is, in th e first instance, precisely its ability to relate

a n d bring tog ether previously unrelated findings a n d facts. Since ma ny

were ad de d in October 1 9 8 9 in the Epilogue), the approach see m s to

be working a s intended. Since both the n um ber a n d the diver:,ity o f

studies that a particular approach can subsume is important, a large

nu m be r of references were ad d ed in

t h e

Epilogue, although this review



1 THE MEANING OF THE

UILT

ENVIRONMENT

of the literature also is neither systematic no r com plete. This has impli-

cations fo r how to rea d this boo k. It can b e read a s a narrative, describ-

ing the a rgum ent in concise form, and an y section can b e e xp an ded

by following th e references-or all th e references could b e followed

to elabo rate a nd ex pa nd the argu m ent, revealing its full complexity.

Sinc e the new references have not be en integrated with the old, both

sets of references ne ed to be u sed.

Frequ ently it is th e un foreseen an d no t always intuitively obvious

relationships

tha t are imp ortant, in the environm ent itself se e, for

example, R apoport , 1 96 8a , 19 7 7) an d in the developm ent of new

fields. Th ey ar e frequ ently at the intersection of two o r more previously

unre lated disciplines-from social psychology an d biochem istry to

molecular biology, sociobiology, an d EBS. approach the topic from

the latter trad ition, recent a s it is, an d em phasize th at it is significant

more for how one thinks and what one considers than for specific

information. sugges t tha t the way of thinking described in this bo ok is

of inte res t in this connection. It is al so of in tere st bec au se it is relatively

direct a n d sim ple, unlike othe r a pp roa ch es to mean ing. It is also appli-

cable to a wide ran ge of environm ents preliterate, vernacular, po pu -

lar, an d high-style) an d topics lan dsc apes, urb an forms, buildings,

furnishings, clothing-even social beh avio r a n d the bod y itself). It is

also applicable cross-culturally and, when data are available, histori-

cally. W e m ay well be dealing with a pro cess that is pancultural bu t in

which the

specifics

are related t o particular cultures, periods, an d c on -

texts. It also seem s, a s the Epilogue suggests, that m echanisms are

being discovered that may explain how th e processes that a re post-

ulated w ork.

As the dates of some

of

my earlier articles suggest, the ide as dis-

cusse d in this book have be en developing for som e time. T he specific

formulation a n d basic arg um ent, howev er, w ere first stated very m uch

in the form in which they appear here in an invited lecture at the

D ep ar tm en t of Architecture of th e University of W ashington in Se att le

in No vem ber 1 9 75 . further dev elop ed this a t a num be r of prese nta-

tions at various universities between 1 9 7 6 an d 19 78 , began the m anu -

script in mid-19 78, an d wo rked o n it in my spa re time until completion

of t h e final draft in March 1980 T h e Scho ol of A rchitecture an d U rban

Planning at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee helped with the

typing. S o m e minor revisions an d bibliographic additions were m ad e

in m id-19 82. In O ctob er 1 9 89 , in addition to preparing the Epilogue

a nd the referenc es for it,

corrected a nu m be r of typographical erro rs

a n d u pda te d a few entries in th e original bibliography.



TH

IMPORT NCE OF

ME NING

In wh at ways an d o n w hat basis d o peo ple react to environments?

This is clearly an asp ect of o n e of t h e three basic qu estio ns of m an -

environment s tudies , tha t which ad dresse s the nature of th e m ech a-

nisms that link people an d environments see Rapopor t, 1 9 7 7 :

1-4 .

This book a s a w hole will discuss th e nature of o n e such m echanism

a n d suggest a specific app ro ac h useful in that analysis Within t h e

framework of that approach a number

of

specif ic methods can be

used . O n e can use observat ion of behavior ; o n e can use interviews,

quest ionnaires , a n d o the r ins trumen ts ; o n e can analyze his torical a n d

crosscultural examples and trace patterns, regulari t ies ,

a n d c o n -

s t an c~ es ; n d s o for th. O n e can also analyze written an d pictorial

mater ial that has n ot b ee n produ ced consciously to evalu ate environ-

m en ts but in a n unstructured, unself-conscious m an ne r for ot he r pur-

poses. T he se may include, am on g m an y othe rs, travel t lescriptions,

novels, stories, songs, n ew sp ap er reports, illustrations, se ts for film o r

televis ion, and adver t isements . Such mater ial tends to show how

peo ple s e e environments , how they feel abo ut them, what they like or

dislike abou t them, an d which at t itudes se em to be self-evident se e

R a p o po rt , 1 9 6 9 b , 1 9 7 7 ) .

O n e of my earliest published articles is a n ex am ple of this t ype of

analysis , an d m ake s a useful s tart ing point for th e argum ent. This is

be cau se i t fits into th e m odel ev en tho ug h it clearly wa s not in tend ed to

d o so . Using it a s a starting poin t reinforces o n e imp ortan t princ:iple-

that rnodels of en viron m ent-b eha vior interaction m ust not only allow

findings to be cum ulative an d allow us to m ak e predictions at least

eventually); they m ust a lso m ak e se n se of a large variety of findings



2

THE ME NING

O

THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

a nd stud ies do ne ove r long perio ds of time, in different disciplines an d

for different pu rpos es.

In 966 ca m e across several sets of co m m en ts by stu de nt teachers

of English and by tea chers of English participa ting in a sum m er institute,

both at th e University of California a t Berkeley. T h e pur po se of th e

problem set was a writing exercise without an y instructions oth er than

that th e im m ediate reactions w ere to be given to whatev er was being

discussed. Writing was th e es se nc e of th e problem-no t th e subject

mat te r. S o m e exercises were about apples a nd pa in tings, abo ut the

cam pus , a n d th e Berkeley Hills. Bu t sev eral sets w ere written in class-

rooms that ha d n o windows and thus used th e built environment as

their subject m atter in th e indirect way des cribe d abo ve .

T he se descriptions as well as ph oto gra ph s of th e three classrooms)

a re given in full e l sewhere Rap opor t , 1 9 6 7 a ) .Here a selection will

be given.

By stu de nt tea ch er s of English first-year gr ad ua te stude nts):

Tha t t he ro om was used fo r musical pu rposes was obv i ous f rom t h e

pian o in the corner , music o n th e walls an d t h e var ious ins t ruments

haphazard ly sca t t e red abou t ; bu t what was a l so noti ceable an d con -

t radictory to this musical, sen sual confusion w as th e opera t ing-roo m

green walls , th e ba re surgical- like atm os ph ere fur ther en co ur ag ed by

th e plain, long tables, auste re, uti litarian chairs a n d t h e ha rsh , glaring

white light.

O ur c laus t rophobic tr ip le h ou r seminar roo m conta ined by fou r per fec t

walls w ho se m on ot on y is relieved by cru de mura ls, e a ch let ting in a little

of t he out s ide , sur r ou nds a b leak spac e aro und which em bryo ideas

op enly float .

T h e low-hanging ph os ph ore sce nt lights di ffuse a n uncomfortably re-

veal ing glare upon the myriad of objects which, in conglomerate

dissaray, gives the large room a close, c lut tered, mul t ipurpose

a p p e a r a n c e .

T h e ro om is t oo c l ean , t o o la rge, t oo mo dern , t o o Amer i can ; every th ing

in it could be made of plastic.

Th e va ri ous b right co lo r s found on t he m ap s an d cha r t s hu ng o n t he

walls a p pe ar in s h ar p cont rast to th e s tark cool l ines of t h e furniture of

this roo m , ther eb y giving it th e feel ing of a p leas an t tho ug h businesslike

place in which t o co nd uc t class.

T h e ro o m is a cluttere d gr ee n b ox of institutional furniture lit by

fluorescent l ights and decorated wi th too many blotchi ly executed

juvenile m ap s.



The Importance of Meaning

3

O the r p assage s not included ar e purely descriptive or s tress sterility,

flickering lights, color, peac efulness, an d s o forth. S o m e can be inter-

preted as negative, while other s se em positive. T h e com m ents by a

gro up of English teachers te nd ed to be m or e uniformly an d strongly

nega tive. selection follows:

T h e rectangular room wa s clearly a ste rn exam ple of functionalism, the

colcl grey steel ca b ~ n et s, scet ic light fixtures an d th e s ~ m p l epa re tables

a n d chairs-enlightened in a dull fashion by th e blond fi n ~ shf t h e c u p -

boards an d c lose t-were a s tern pronounce ment of the th re a t en ~n g

creatlve sterdity of con te m po ra ry society.

The

large a n d almost em pty windowless roo m with i ts s turdy enclosing

and barre n walls inspired neith er disgust no r liking; o n e might easily

have forgo tten how t rapped o n e was .

Up on e n te r ing the doorway on e mus t com m ent upo n th e tasteless a rray

of greys, gre ens a n d browns which form a n app arently purposeless air-

less chamb er .

It wa sver y long a n d grey, that r o om with its yellow-grey walls, grey m etal

cabinets , long si lver an d brown chairs an d tables, a n d th e bullet in board

w h ~ han the length of it; all lit by na rro w o ve rh ea d lights which reveale d

it a s a fit p lace to spe nd s o many long grey hours.

T h e desc ription s in bo th sets d ea l mostly with color, light quality, air-

condit ioning hum, and furnishings; the reactions seem to stress

m on oton y, sterility, stark nes s, em ptine ss, isolation from th e wprld, a

boxed-in quality. W hat is of primary interest, ho we ver, in th e present

context, is the hea vy load of affective a n d m ea nin g-la de n term s used

in th ese descriptions, a s well as indications tha t pe op le use various

environmen tal elem ents to identify th e purpo se of th es e room s

as

well

as their character a n d mo od .

he me nings of environments

It ap pe ar s tha t peo ple react to environments in term s of th e m ean-

ings the environments hav e for them . O n e might say tha t environ-

men ial evaluation, then , is m ore a m atter

of

overall affective re sp on se

th an of a d eta iled analysis of specific aspects , it is m o re a m atte r of

latent than of manifest function, and it is largely affected by images

an d rdeals (R apo por t , 977:60 .In a recent s tudy that d oe s what

did for room s ab ov e, but a t th e scales of cities a n d thro ug h active



The

Importance

of

Meaning

5

beyo nd purely instrumental o r manifest functions. W he n latent asp ects

of fun ction s ar e cons idere d, it is quickly realized tha t meanin g is ce n-

tral to an understanding of how environments work. This gains in

im po rtan ce w he n it is realized th at latent aspects of function m ay b e

the most important , an d tha t this appl ies to economics, to consum p-

tion, to all artifacts a nd social posse ssions, ev en to fo od (s ee Do uglas

an d I sh erwoo d, 1 9 7 9 ) .

Any activity ca n be analyzed into four comp one nts:

1)

the activity proper;

(2)

the specific w y of doing it;

3)

additional, adjacent, or associated activities that become part

of

the

activity system; and

4) the meaning of the activity.

It is thevariabil ity of

2,3,

a n d 4 ha t leads to differences in form, th e dif-

ferential suc ces s of var ious designs, acceptability, a n d judgm ents of

env iron m enta l quality. N ote th at this typology relates in a n interesting

way to the hierarchy of levels of m ea nin g, ranging from th e co nc rete

object th rou gh use object, value object to symbolic object (Gibs on,

1 9 5 0 ,

1968;

se e a lso Rapopor t, 19 77 ) .

This suggests that m ean ing is not som ething apa rt from function,

but is itself

a

mo st im portant asp ec t of function. In fact, th e m eaning

asp ec ts of th e env ironm ent are critical an d central, s o tha t th e physical

environm ent-clothes, furnishings, buildings, ga rd en s, stree ts,

neighb orho ods, a n d s o on-is used in th e presen tation of self, in

establishing gr ou p identi ty (R apo por t , 1 98 1 ), an d in th e en culturation

of children (Rapo port , 1 9 7 8 a ). This imp ortan ce of m ean ing can also

be argued on th e basis

of

th e view that t h e hu m an mind basically works

by

trying to im pose m ean ing o n th e world throu gh th e u se of cognit ive

taxonomies, categories, a n d sch em ata, an d that built forms, like oth er

aspec ts of m aterial culture, a re physical express ions of t he se sc he m ata

and domains (Rapoport , 1 9 7 6 a , 1 9 7 6 b , 1 9 7 9 a , 1 9 7 9 b ) . Physical

ele m en ts not only m ak e visible a n d stable cultural categories, they

also have meaning; tha t is, they ca n be dec od ed

if

an d when they

match people s schema ta.

Users me anings and designers mea nings

O n e of t h e hallmarks of m an -en vir on m en t researc h is th e realiza-

tion that designe rs an d users a re very different in their reactions to

environments, their preferences, a n d s o on , partly beca use their



6

THE ME NING OF THE BUILT ENVIRONM ENT

s c h e m a ta v a y . It is th us users' meaning th at is important, not architects'

or critics'; it is the meaning of everyday environments, not famous

buildings-historical o r m od er n ( s e e Bonta, 19 79 ;J en c ks , 1 9 8 0 ;a n d

many o thers). It is users' mean ings that explain why nineteenth-centu ry

houses being restored in Wilmington, Delaware, have their porches

removed (al though they a re par t of the s tyle) an d shu tters ad de d

(although they are no t ) . T h e meaning of desirable old house matches

th e sc he m a colonial. This also he lps explain the use of imitation

Am erican colonial furniture in th e NASA lu na r reception building in

Ho uston (Time, 19 67 b: 34)-it m eans hom e. A similar phen om enon

is the use of th e then -ne w material alum inum in a n adv ertisement by

Reynolds Aluminum (Time, 1 9 6 7 a ) o reprod uce colonial elements

(se e Figure 1 .

This advertisem ent shows 9 uses of a luminu m an d the ma ny ways

in which this new metal ca n provide ha nd so m e classic co lum ns in

front, s iding, shutters , shingles on th e roof, an d s o on. Th e basic

arr an ge m en t itself, the total image, is traditional t o an extrem e deg ree.

Note also the front doo rs, the deco rative handles, the landscaping, the

gas lamp on th e lawn, the two welcome m ats , and othe r elem ents.

Similar eleme nts s ee m to b e involved in th e cas e of low-cost hous-

ing in Britain, where people were said to prefer and to be buying

private ho use s that were of lower stan da rd tha n public housing. O n e

rea so n was ow nersh ip itself; an oth er, would arg ue, is th e pres en ce of

elem ents that rem ove th e stigma of being a council tena nt (Hillman,

1 9 7 6 ) .

f

w e look a t suc h hou sing (w hich, incidentally, costs less to

build th an public housing) in S ou thp or t, th e m ost striking elem ents

that s ee m to rem ov eth e s tigma are th e small-paned windows, classical

doorways, a n d small front yards with low fence s (se e Figure 2 . It is

these stylistic elem ents that help c om m unica te the app ropriate m ean-

ings. Also, clearly, latent ra the r tha n instrume ntal or m anifest functions

seem dominan t .

Co m parab le kinds of elements are found in m uch m ore expensive

housin g in th e Un ited Sta tes. In this cas e we find the use of traditional,

local elem en ts in new hou sing, the recently c om ple ted Victoria Mews

in S a n Francisco (by Barov etto, Ruscitto an d Barov etto): bay

windows, pane ls, bracke ts, railings, th e overall shape-ev en constr uc -

tion techn iques of ninetee nth-c entury h ou ses (Architectural Re cord ,

1 9 7 9 ) . In fact, th e whole curre nt neovernacular, historicist, an d

postmodernis t m ovem ents can be seen in these terms, al though



The

Importance of Meaning 7

igure

these also represent designers rather than users meanings so that the

elements used may not necessarily communicate (see Groat, 1979;

Groat and Canter, 1979).This may be because of their metaphorical

.merits

se, the excessively subtle and idiosyncratic nature of the elc-

used, the nature of the relationships among them, or their context,



The

mportance of

eaning 9

which may be inappropriate-or negle cted. This lack of com m unica-

tion of m ea nin g su pp orts th e view tha t me aning s ar e in peop le, no t in

objects or things ( se e also Bonta,

1979 .

However t h i n g s d o elici t

m eanrn gs, the que stion is how they elicit or activate th es e me aning s

an d guide them an d, thus, which th ings o r objects w o r k best .

Put

dif-

ferently, the qu estion is how ( an d, of cours e, wh ether) mea nings can

b e en co ded in th ings in such a way that they can b e dec oded by the

intend ed users. ssu m e, for th e m om en t, that physical elem ents of

the environment

do

en co d e information that peo ple dec ode . In effect ,

while pe op le filter this information a n d inte rpre t it, th e actu al physical

e lements gu ide an d channel these responses .

An a nalo gou s si tuation occurs in oth er dom ains. T hu s while o n e

sp ea ks of crow ding or stress as being subjective reactions, th es e are

related to, and evoked by, physical (a nd other) environm ental ch ar-

acteristics. In th e perce ptu al realm , th e ex pe rie nc e of complexity is

subjective, but clearly environments possess certain characteristics

that prod uc e th e exper ienc e of complexity m uch m or e reliably an d

unequivocally than others . The se characteristics ca n, in fact, be specified

and designed (see Rapop ort ,

1977:

ch .

4 .

Ye t, in spite of th e ap pa re nt

im por tanc e of m ean ing -an d particularly users' meaning-it is fair t o

say that the me aning asp ect of t he e nvironm ent has been neglected in

th e recen t past-particularly users' m ea nin g ha s be en neglected-

an d cont inues to be neglected ( se e Jencks , 1 9 77 ) .

Ironically, the de ve lop m en t of m an -en viro nm en t studies, at least in

their early days, led to an even greater neglect . The attempt to be

scientific, to app ly positivistic ap pr oac he s, led t o a neg lect of th e

fuzzy, soft aspe cts of th e environ m ent such as m eanin g.

erceptual and associational aspects of the enuironment

T o use a distinction be twe en

perceptual

an d assoc ia t iona l aspec ts

of the environment ( se e Rapopor t , 1 9 7 7 : ch.

6 ,

o n e could a rgue tha t

in m an-env ironm ent research, perceptual aspec ts have b een st ressed

O n e could arg ue further th at th e differential reactions of design ers

terms:

nd th e lay public to environments can be in terpreted in thesc

Designers ten d to react to e nvironmen ts in perceptual term s (which

ar e theirm eaniny s) , w hereas th elay public , th e users , react to environ-

m ents in associational terms. A recent exa m ple of this is Hertzb erger 's

old people's home in Amsterdam (Architectural Review,

1976;

s e e

Figure

3 .

This was design ed in perce ptual term s by th e architect, but



2

THE MEANING OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

k w b d OL- 76 fCE\S HOME Y

q e a m ~

S JW Y C L E ~ = B G R C Z R

W fi P M ~ o ~ A p u 5i w UEVlEd VOL

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L X No 448 FE 19

76

~ F o

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Figure

was evaluated in associational terms by th e users, w ho saw the white

fr am e a n d black infill ele m en ts in te rms of crosse s an d coffins, that is,

a s having highly negative associations. Thus, eve n if on e accepts the

importance of meaning, o n e still ne ed s to ask which g roup we ar e dis-

cussing, particularly since both designers and users are far from

homogeneous groups. One thus needs to ask whose meaning is

being considered.

In 1 9 6 7 , I wrote a n artic le o n m eaning that was to ha ve a ppe ared as

part of a special issue of th e A rchite ctura l Asso ciation J ou rn a l that

wa s laterpublished, in revised form, as a n early book o n m eaning from

a semiotic perspective (Jenc ks an d Baird, 19 6 9 ). Both the special

issue and th e book stressed architects meaning; my article (Ra pop ort ,

19 67 b) ques t ioned tha t focus an d proposed tha t users meaning was

the more importan t. Th e argument

o

this bo ok hinges o n this distinc-



The mportance

o

Meaning 2

t ion. T h e basic question-mea ning for W HO M?-continues to dis-

tinguish the present work from most work on meaning; what has

general ly been considered is the meaning environments have for

architects, or at least for the cogn oscen ti, th e critics, tho se in th e know .

T h e question that must b e addresse d is: What m eaning d oe s the built

environment have for the inhabitants and th e users , or the public o r ,

m or e correctly, th e various publics, since m eanin gs, like th e environ-

m ents th at com m unicate them , are culture specific an d he nc e culturally

variable?

T h e point m ad e is that the m eaning of m any environrnents is gen-

erate d through personalization-through taking possession, com -

pleting it, changing it. Fro m th at po int of view th e m ea nin g des igned

into an environment (even

if it ca n b e re ad , which is far from certain)

may b e in appro priate, particularly

if

it is a single meaning. What is

wrong, arg ued , is th at we tend to overdesign buildings an d other

environm ents. T ha t argu m ent was based o n a cas e study of a single

major building (Saarinen's

CBS

building) as a n exem plar (although

reference was m ad e to seve ral other cases). It relies o n acc ou nts in th e

nonp rofessiona l press (new spapers an d magazines) , s ince the univer-

ses of discourse of designers an d th e public te nd to b e q uite different.

T h e published material stresses t he dissatisfaction

of

use rs with total

design a s op po se d to th e lavish praise this idea ha d received in th e

professional press. T h e nonprofessional acc oun ts recount th e

dissent,

opp osition, resistance, an d conflicts gen era ted by th e designers' p ro-

hibition of th e use of any person al o bje cts or ma nipu lation of furniture ,

furnishings, or plants in ord er to p reserve a n overall aesthetic ideal.

The newspaper and magazine accounts s tressed this e lement of

conflict between users an d th e designers representing the c om pan y

(an d, o n e might suggest, their own values; see R apop ort , 1 96 7b ).T h e

com pany a n d its designers wished t o preserve uniformity, to sa fegua rd

the building a s a harm onious environment. Th ey wa nted to prevent

a kewpie doll atm os ph ere , t o avoid having things thrown all over

an d ha ph az ar d things all o v er th e walls thus turn ingth e building into

aUw al l o wall slum (Rapopor t 1 96 7 b:44 .An aesthetician was put in

cha rge to c ho os e art , plants, colors, a n d th e like to be com patible with

th e building, that is, to c om m unic ate a particular m eaning. T h e users

saw things rather differently an d resisted. Th ey tried to bring i r ~heir

own objects, to pu t u p pictures a n d calendars, to h ave family ph oto-

graph s on desks, to introduce their own plants . S o m e even brought

suit against th e com pany knew so m e peo ple in th e Columbia Records

Division w ho foug ht th es e attem pts at control-and wort. In that case



THE ME NING OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

they saw the environm ent they wished a s comm unicating that they

w ere creative peop le, artists. This implied a setting that co m m unic ated

that message, and that meant a cluttered, highly personalized

environment .

This conflict described in the journalistic accounts can be inter-

preted in terms of a single designers' meaning conflicting with the

various m ean ings of users. T h e arg um en t in the article the n shifts to a

different, al thoug h related, issue having to d o with th e na ture of

design-of unstable equilibrium that ca nn ot tolerate ch an ge (typical

of high-style design) a s op p o se d to t h e stable equilibrium typical of

vernacular design, which is additive, changeable, and open-ended

(Rapopor t , 19 69 c , 1 9 7 7 , 19 81 ) . Th is then l eads to a conclusion

related to th e ne e d for und erde sign rather th an overdesign, of loo se fit

a s o p p o s ed to tight fit, which is partly a n d im portantly in term s of t he

ability of users to communicate particular meanings through per-

sonalization, by using objects and other environmental elements in

orde r to t ransform environments s o that they might com m unica te dif-

ferent meanings particular to various individuals and groups. The

ques tion then becom es how o n e can des ign frameworks that m ake

this possible-but that is a different topic.

Two things se em clear from th e abo ve. First, tha t m uch of t h e m ean -

ing h as to d o with personalization a n d he nc e perceived control , with

decoration, with movable elements rather than with architectural

elem ents. Se con d, that architects generally hav e tended to be op po sed

strongly to this concept; in fact , the whole modern movement in

archi tecture can be se en a s an at tack on users ' meaning-the at tack

o n orn am ents , o n decoration, o n what-nots in dwellings a n d thing-

am abobs in th e garde n, a s well a s th e process of incorporating these

elem ents into the environm ent .

This argum ent can be appl ied with even greater s t rength to housing,

wh ere users' meaning is clearly m uch m ore central a n d whe re the

af fective com po nen t generally can be expected to be m uch m ore

significant. In the case of housing, giving meaning becomes par-

ticularly im porta nt be ca us e

of th e emotional , personal an d symbolic

conno tation of th e ho us e a n d the primacy of thes e aspects in shaping

its form as well a s the impo rtant psycho-social co nse qu en ces of t he

house (Rapoport, 19 68 a: 300 . n the s tudy just cited, many examples

were given showing th e impo rtan ce of personalization an d ch ang es a s

ways of establishing an d expressing m eaning, ethnic a n d oth er grou p

identity, s tatus, an d the like. Su ch ch an ge s se em ed imp ortant in estab-

lishing and expressing priorities, in defining front and back, in in-



The mportance

of

eaning 3

dicating degrees of privacy. A number of theoretical, experimental,

a n d cas e studies were cited, an d hou sing in Britain over a period of 10

years was evaluated in the se terms. A series of ph oto gra ph s of ho using

in L on do n, tak en specifically for this article, showed t h e im po rta nc e of

the po5,sibility of making chan ges, a n d it was arg ue d that no t only were

designers opp osed t o ope n-en ded ness a nd seeking total control over

th e h ousing environm ent; they se em ed systematically to block various

form s of exp ression available t o u sers until n o ne were left. Finally, it

was argued that when flexibility a n d op en- en de dn ess were co n-

sidered by d esign ers it te n de d t o be at th e level of instrum ental func-

tions (what

would now call manifest functio ns) rather tha n at th e

level of expression (laten t functions). In o th er words, designers-even

w hen hey stress ed physical flexibility-seemed strongly to resist giv-

ing up control over expression, that

is

over meaning. Thus, for

exam ple, award juries pra ised th e us e of few materials, th e high d eg re e

of integration, a n d th e high deg re e of consistency, th at is, high levels of

control over the to ta l environment (Rapopor t , 1 9 6 8 a :

303 .

It is in this se n s e tha t th e discussion of o p en -e nd ed n es s in h ousin g is

related t o issues su ch a s the im po rtan ce of me aning , its variability

am o n g groups, th e distinction b etw een designers' m ean ing a n d users'

meanings. This argume nt a lso re itera ted and s tressed th e im portance

of decorative elements, furniture and its arrangement, furnishings,

plants, objects, colors, materials, an d t he like, a s op po sed to s pa ce

organization as such , although that could be impo rtant by allowing

specific elem en ts to cha ng e. An exam ple is sq ua re room s, which allow

many arrangem ents of furniture that long narrow room s m ake impos-

sible. It was also suggested that different elements, arranged differ-

ently, might be significant an d im portant t o various g rou ps a n d tha t

this relative im portan ce could be stud ied . This would th en prov ide two

im po rtan t related pieces of in form ation. First, it cou ld reveal which

elements, in any given case, nee d t o b e chan gea ble by th e users in

order to establish and express important meanings, that is , which

cha nge s achieve personalization an d what different individuals an d

groups u nd erstan d by this term. Sec on d, this would then define th e

less important , or unimportant , e lemen ts that could const i tute the

frameworks t o b e des ign ed. T h e very definition of framew orks, it

was further suggested, could b e base d o n an analysis of various forms

of expression in different situations.

HOW hen could frameworks be defined? Th ere

m y

be cons tant

ne eds c om m o n to hum a ns

as

a species a n d a g reat range of different

cultural expressions th at c ha ng e at a relatively slow rate. T he re ar e



4

THE ME NING

OF


also rapidly changing fashions, fads, and styles. Frameworks could

th en possibly be d efined in term s of th e relative rate of ch an ge ba sed

o n a n analysis of past exa m ples, particularly in t he vern acu lar tradi-

tion. O th er possible ways ar e in term s of th e imp ortan ce of th e m ea n-

ing attached to various elements; what is actually regarded as per-

sonalization, what de gre e of o pe n-e nd ed ne ss is ne ed ed , and h en ce

which ar ea s an d eleme nts nee d changeabili ty. It may be fo un d that

few a re as a re critical, an d ch an ge ab le parts m ay be relatively few in

num ber. The se are, at any rate, a ll researchable quest ions (R apop ort ,

1 9 6 8 a :

305 .

T h e result of this argu m en t, in addition to a set of design implications

a n d guidelines that d o not con cern us h ere, is that ch anges in expres-

s ion by personalization may be m ore im portant than chan ges ma de

for practical or instrumental functions; tha t they a re not only na tural

but essential to th e way in which p eo ple m ost comm only (although not

universally) establish meaning.

C on side r a rece nt e xam ple that both stresses this latter point an d

sh ow s con tinued refusal by designers to acce pt this process. A set of

chan ges an d addit ions were m ad e to Chermayeff 's hou se a t Bentley

W ood; these chan ges were described as a tragedy (Knobel, 19 79 ) .

All of th e chan ge s have to d o with the me n ings of elem en ts that indi-

cate h om e, as well a s the m eaning implicit in th e

process

of chan ge a n d

persona lization itself. N ote tha t no n e of th e cha nges ar e for practical o r

instrum ental functions: arc he s in the hallway, ela bo rat e wallpapers, a

fireplace with historical associations, a dor ic entry portico, an elab orate

fro nt d o o r with d ecorative d oo r handles, a decorative rose trellis, an d

s o o n . T h es e a re all clearly associational elem ents. T h e criticism of

the se c ha ng es reflects different sc he m ata a n d is co uc h ed in typically

perceptu l terms: d es tr oy ed . se n se of equilibrium, disrupts

inside-outside flow of th e facade, no longer as strong a se n se of the

opennes s

of

th e hou se, loss of simple, und erstated entranc e

(Knobe l, 19 79 :

11 .

The last criticism is particularly interesting in

view o f th e historically an d cross-culturally pervas ive trad ition of

emph s i z ing

entry.

T h e changes docum ented in th e cases of o ther modern houses , not

a s large o r lavish, can be interpre ted in similar term s. For exa m ple, in

th e case of so m e of M artienssen's ho us es in S ou th Africa (H erbert,

1975 , they also consist of adding porches, pitched or hipped tile

roo fs, chimneys, softening ga rde n landscaping, and s o on . In the

cas e of L e Corbusier 's ho use s at Pessac (Bo ud on , 1969 ,o n e f inds



The Importance o Meaning 5

pitched roofs, chimneys, shutters , porches, hedges, f lower boxes,

small rtx tan gu lar window s instead of horizontal ba nd s. indivi

tion of fa ca d es , traditional fac ad es , an d t h e like.

T h e meaning underlying su ch chang es beco m es clear in a recent

detective novel in which the whole plot hinges on a modern house

built by an architect Oth er res idents ar e upset; th e ho us e has a 78 -fo ot

long blank wall of rough reddish boards, hardly any windows gen-

erally, a n d a flat roof, a n d it is com po se d of tw o cube s. It con trast s with

other houses such a s a barn- red , whi te- tr imm ed ranc hho use o n a n

im m acu late lawn bord ere d by ne at flower be ds Not only is it se en a s

an eye sore threatening t h e neigh borhood and a n insult, "It's not: even

a house You can' t call th at thing a house I'm d a m n ed

i f

know what

you could call it" (C row e, 1 9 7 9 :4).T h e m aterials a re "junk," without

window s it looks like tom b. Feelings run high: "Tw o or an g e crates

would look better" (Crow e, 1 9 7 9 :5). t's nothing but "da m ne d cubes"

an d "boxes." T h e neighbors se e

it

as crazy ideas, a s op pos ed to "good

normal homes" (Crowe, 1 9 7 9 : 7), and want i t pul led down and a

"regular" house built. What is a "good, normal home" or "regular

house"? The modifications they would accept define it .

Put

in

windows, maybe a porch and a peaked shake roof. Paint i t white,

lan ds ca pe heavily a nd it wouldn't look th at different from a n ordinary

two s torey house" (Crowe, 1 9 7 9 :

1 2 ) .

Thitj is clearly related t o a sc he m a, to t h e on ept of a ho us e. 'There

ar e ma ny ways of defining it (Rap opo rt , 1 9 8 0 a ) ,an d many of these

involve m ean ing a n d associational e lem en ts as central, for exam ple as

Bachelard (1 96 9) suggests . Hayward (1 9 7 8 )discovered, arnong you ng

pe op le in Ma nh attan , nin e dime nsions of ho m e, including relation-

ship s with o the rs, social netw orks, sta tem en t of self-identity, a place of

privacy a n d ref ug e, a plac e of stability an d con tinuity, a pers on alized

place, a locus of everyday behav ior an d b ase of activity, childhood

h om e a n d p lace of upbringing, an d , finally, shelter a n d physical struc-

ture. Given t he po pulation a n d locale, th e fact tha t most of th es e hav e

to d o with m eanings an d associations is most significant, s ince o n e

m ay ~ x p e c these to be s t ronger am on g othe r populat ions a nd in o ther

1ocalc:s (seeC o o p e r , 1 9 7 1 , 1 9 7 8 ; -a dd , 1 9 7 6 ) O n e m ay su gg es t t ha t

an important component of the associational realm is precisely the

meaning the environment has for people, how these meanings are

cons t rued and what these m eanings comm unicate.

How ever, partly as a result of considerations such a s th e ab ov e, th e

neglect of m ea nin g in env ironm ental design researc h is beginning to



6


change. The growing concern about perceived crowding, density,

crime, or environmental quality implies, even

if

i t does not make

explicit, th e central role of subjective factors, many of which a re based

o n the associations a n d m eanin gs that particular aspec ts of environ-

m ents have for people, which a re partly d u e to repeated an d con-

sis tent use an d enculturation interacting with any p an-cultural a nd

biological, species-specific consta ncies that may exist (se e R ap op ort ,

1 9 7 5 b , 1 9 7 9 a ) .

T h e variability of s tan dar ds, eve n th e subjectivity of pain (R ap op or t

an d W atson, 1 9 7 2 ) an d th e subjective effects of s tress (Ra pop ort ,

1 9 7 8 b ), eads to the inescapable conclusion tha t all stimuli ar e mediated

via symbolic interpretation; that is, they de pe nd on theirm ean ing, s o

that me aning bec om es a most important variable in o ur un ders tand-

ing of th e environm ent, preferences for various environm ents an d

choices am on g them, the effects they have o n people, and s o on .

It should be noted that perceptual and associational aspects are

linked: T h e form er is a nece ssary con dition for th e latter. Before any

m ea nin g can be derived, cu es mu st be noticed, tha t is, noticea ble dif-

ferences (Rapoport,

1977:

ch. 4) ar e a ne cessary precondition for the

derivation of m eaning. T he se differences are ne ed ed an d a re useful

fo r association s to deve lop. It is therefore interesting to no te th at

am on g Australian Aborigines m eanings o f place are frequently stronger

an d c learer in locales w he re th er e ar e striking an d noticeable environ-

menta l fea tures (Rapopor t , 19 75 a) .T hu s while the m eaning of place

is associational, hav ing to d o with significance, noticeable differences

help identify places a nd act as mnem onics (R apo por t , 1980b .

In a ny c ase, however, th e increasing interest in m eaning is d u e t o th e

overwhelming and inescapable evidence, from many cultures and

per iod s, of its central im po rtan ce. C on sid er just a few exa m ples .

1)

W hen primitive art an d , particularly, buildings of prelitera te

cultures are co nsidered, they ar e generally co nsidered perceptually.

For example, th e North West Co ast Indian Dwellings an d Totem

poles, Yo ruba o r Nubian dwellings, Sep ik River H au s Ta m ba ran in

New Guinea, or Maori buildings a re evalu ated in term s of their beauty,

their aesthetic quality. f we wish to be m or e scientific we may

evaluate their elabo rate decorations perceptually a nd argu e that they

create a r iche rand m ore com plex environment . Yet these decorat ions

are significant an d meaningful-their primary purpose is asso cia tional



The

mportance of Meaning

7

in that they communicate complex meanings. This also applies to

jew ely, body de corations, clothing, an d othe r elem ents of material

culture. Even t h e sp ac e organization of suc h buildings an d their rela-

t ions to the larger environment ( the hou se-set t lemen t system) h ave

m eaning an d op erate in the associa t ional as well as , o r m ore th an , in

th e percep tual realm . This, of cou rse, m ak es their real com plexity

gr ea ter still-their complexity is bo th pe rcep tual

and

associational.

T h u s in ord er to und erstand primitive an d vernacular environ-

ments, we must consider the meanings they had for their users

(R a po p ort, 1 9 6 9 , 1 9 7 9 a , 1 9 7 9 b , 1 9 8 0 b ) .

For ex am ple, in th e ca se of In dia, it h as b een sh ow n that all tradi-

tional built environ m ents ar e basically related to m ean ing tha t ( a s in

tha t

of

most traditional cultures) is sacred meaning. Architecture is

best un de rsto od a s a symbolic technology ; it is describ ed a s vastu-

vidya

th e scien ce of th e dwelling of the gods, s o tha t cosm ology is

th e divine m ode l for structuring space-cities, villages, tem ples, an d

hous es (L annoy , 1 9 71 ; S ophe r , 1 9 64 ; G hos h a nd M ago, 1 9 7 4 ;

Rapopor t , 1979b) .

Of cou rse, o th er traditional settlem ents a re only com prehe nsible in

terms of their sacred m eanings, for examp le, ancient R om e (Rykwert ,

1 9 7 6 ) , medieval Europ e (Mulle r, 1 9 6 1 ) , China (Wheatley , 1 9 7 1 ) ,

Cambodia (Git eau , 1 9 7 6 ) , a n d ma ny o t he rs ( s e e R a poport , 197 9b ) .

(2) have previously referred t o th e M osque courtyard in Isphah an

as an exam ple of complexity and s e n s o y op ulence in the perceptua l

realm ( R a poport , 19 64 - 19 65 ; 1 9 77 :

188

23 9) . Yet th e purp ose of

this rem arkab le m anipu lation of th e full poten tial ran ge of percep tual

variables in all sen sory modalities-color, materials, sca le, light a n d

sh ad e, so un d, kinesthetics, tem pera ture, smell , an d so on-was for

th e prlrpos e of achieving a m eanin g, a n associational goal. Th at goal

was to give a vision or foretaste of paradise, both in terms of the

characteristics impu ted t o that place a n d in term s of t h e contrast with

th e characteristics of th e su rro un din g urban fabric. T h e full app recia-

t ion an d ev aluation of th e quality a n d success

of

tha t des ign de pe nd s

o n an u nd erstan din g of i ts m ean ing an d th e way in which perceptual

variables ar e used t o achieve an d com m unicate it.

A

similar problem arises with th e m edieval cathedral, which des igners

ha ve te n d ed to evalu ate in percep tual terms-space, light, color,

structure-yet th e m ain significance of which a t th e tirne w as in its



8

THE MEANING

O THE

BUILT ENVIRONMENT

meaning as a sacred symbol and summa theologica-a fortn of

encyclopedia of theological meaning (see von Simson,

1953).

Many

more examples could be given, but the principal point is that historical

high-style examples, as well as the preliterate examples described in

point

1

above, must be evaluated in terms of the meanings they had for

their designers and users

a t

the

tim of

their creation. This point was,

of course, made with great force for

a

whole generation of architects

and architectural students in connection with Renaissance churches,

when they were shown not to be based on purely aesthetic con-

sideration-that is, to be in the perceptual realm-but to be important

sources of meanings and associations expressing important ideas of

neoplatonic philosophy (Wittkower, 1962).Unfortunately, the lesson

seems to have been soon forgotten, even though its significance

seems clear for various types of environments. Consider two such

types-urban space and vernacular design.

Urban Space. Regarding urban space, it can be pointed out that

since sociocultural determinants are the primay (although not the

sole)

determinants of such organizations,

it

follows that meaning must

play an important role in mediating between the stimulus properties of

the environment and human responses to it (Rapoport, 1969e ).This

applies not only to built environments but to standards for tempera-

ture, light, sound, and so forth-even to pain. The reason, and the

result, is that images and schemata play a major role in the interpreta-

tion of the stimulus properties of the environment. Wittkower's (1962)

point about Rennaissance churches is applicable not only to various

high-style buildings, but also to space organization on a larger scale-

regions and cities (or, more generally, settlements). Sociocultural

schemata are the pr ima y determinants of form even on those scales

and in turn affect the images and schemata that mediate between

environments and people.

Urban form (and whole landscapes) can thus be interpreted. In

many traditional cultures sacred schemata and meanings are the most

important ones, and cities in those cultures can be understood only in

such terms. In other cultures health, recreation, humanism, egalitar-

ianism, or material well-being may be the values expressed in schemata

and hence are reflected in the organization of urban environmerits.

Hence the widely differing nature of settlements and cultural land-

scapes in Spanish and Portuguese South America, in New England and

the Virginias in the United States, in the United States and Mexico.

Hence t h e differential impact of past or future orientation on English

as opposed to

U S

landscapes and cities. Hence also the possibility.



The

mportance of Meaning

9

over long t ime periods, from Plato through Botero to the Utopian

cities of o u r ow n d ay , of discussing th e city a s a n ideal, a vehicle for

expressing complex m eanings. This also helps explain the transplant-

ing of u rban forms by colonial po wers a s well a s by various imm igrant

grou ps. T h e centrality of sch em ata a n d images e nc od ed in settle-

m ents an d bearing m ean ing is con stan t; what varies is th e specific

meaning or schem a em phasize d or th e elements used to comrnuni-

ca te th is mean ing Rapopor t 1 9 6 9 e : 128-131 . his also explains th e

diffe ren t role of cities in various cultures, th e p re se nc e or a b se nce of

civic pride, th e varying urban hierarchies, a n d t h e very definition o f a

city, that

is,

which elements are n eed ed before a set tlement can be

ac ce pte d a s a city. Similar co nc ern s influence the way in which urban

plans ar e made-and wh ether they are then accepted or rejected-

an d a lso th e differences a m o n g plan ners in different cultures qn d at

different periods as well as the differences between planners an d

various groups of users Ra popo rt , 1 9 6 9 e : 131-135 .Wlthout

elaborating the se points any further, would just a d d that further work

has only s t rengthene d, reinforced, a n d elabo rated these argum ents

ab o ut th e primacy of m ea nin g in th e und ers tan din g of settlem ent form

see Kapoport ,

1 9 7 6 a , 1 9 7 7 , 1 9 7 9 b , 1 9 7 9 c , a n d s o o n ).

VernacularDesign. In th e case of preli terate an dv er na cu lar design

similar points n ee d to b e m ad e, a lthoug h clearly t h e specifics vary. In

fact, th e very distinction b etw een ve rnacu lar an d high-style desig n is

partly a m atter of th e mea ning attach ed to th e two types of design se e

R ap op or t, forth com ing a) . In the cas e of traditional vernac:ular tile dis-

t inction, for examp le, between sac red a n d pro fane is far less marked

tha n in co nte m po rary situations, since it is the sa cre d th at gives m ea n-

ing to mo st things. Yet e ven in th os e si tuations the re w ere ar ea s of

special sanc tity-landscapes, trees , groves, hills, rocks, rivers, w ate r-

holes-or sa cre d built env ironm ents of so m e sort. A m on g th e latter,

sacred buildings o r shrines hav e b ee n imp ortant carriers of particular

kinds of meanings-although not th e only one s. Co m m on ly suc h

buildings h ave b ee n a ssu m ed to b e part of t h e high-style tradit ion an d

have be en s tudied a s high-style elemen ts contras ting with

the

matrix

m ad e up of vernacular e lements arou nd them. Yet even a m on g the

verna cular buildings them selves it can b e sho w n that, first, m ea nin g

plays a mo st important role; o n e can hardly und erstan d suc h buildings

or t h e larger system s of w hich they form a par t without c onsid ering

meaning. Se co nd , am on g vernacular buildings o n e finds cues that

indicate that the re ar e buildings having differing de gre es of imp or-

tanc e or sanctity;

in

other words , am on g vernacular buildings the re

are



3

THE ME NING

O


sacred buildings, although they d o differ from t he corresp onding high-

style equivalents Rap oport , 19 68 b) . At th e sa m e time, the cues that

comm unicate the se varying de gree s of importance or sancti ty am on g

vernacular designs tend to be rathe r subtle. This is because the mode ls

used in the design of s uc h buildings a n d the elem ents used t o com-

mun icate tend to be very widely sh ared a n d hen ce easily un ders tood .

S u ch c ue s can consist of any form of differentiation th at mark s th e

buildings in questio n a s being in so m e way distinctive. W here build-

ings a re colored it may be the ab sen ce of color-where they are not,

th e us e of color; w hen othe r buildings a re whitewashed, it may b e the

ab sen ce ofwhitewash-where they a re not whitewashed, it may be th e

use of whitewash; it may be size, sh ap e, decora tion or its ab sen ce ),

degree of modernity or degree of archaism, or many other cues

Rap oport , 19 68 b) . In th e case of vernacular design, as for urban

sp ace , it se em s clear th at later work h as greatly strengthen ed, rein-

forced, and elaborated these arguments about the importance of

m ean i n g see Rapo po rt, 1 9 6 9 c , 1 9 7 5 a , 1 9 7 6 b , 1 9 7 7 , 1 9 7 8 a , 1 9 7 8 c ,

1 9 7 9 a , 1 9 8 0 b , 1981,an d so o n) .

T h e impo rtance of associational aspects continues in o u r ow n cul-

ture-even

i

th e specific variables involved may have ch an ge d. An

environ me nt may no longer be a m odel of th e universe-as a Na vaho

ho ga n o r Dogo n dwelling o r village are-but it still reflects m ean ings

a n d associations that a re central, an d e ve n explains particular percep-

tual features se e Rapoport, 19 69 c, 1 9 7 7 ) .

3) In U.S. suburbs, hou ses must not be to o different-a m ode rn

ho us e in an ar ea of tradit ional ho uses is se en as a n aesthetic intrusion,

but t he aesthetic conflict mainly h as t o d o both with th e m ea nin g of

style an d with th e deviation from t h e no rm . This also applies to exces-

sive uniformity, a s in o n e legal suit that arg ue d tha t a particular h ou se

was too s imilar to th e o n e next do or Milwaukee Journal , 1 9 7 3 ; se e

Fig ure 4) . It is the

me ning

of th e sub tle differences within a n ac ce pt ed

system th at is importan t in c om mu nicating grou p identity, status, and

other associational aspects of the environment while accepting the

prevailing norms se e Rapoport , 1 9 8 1 ).

4)

In evaluating stu de nt halls of residence , it was fou nd tha t overall

satisfaction was relatively independent of satisfaction with specific

architectural features an d h ad to d o mo re with th e character an d feel

of the building, th e general image, an d its positive o r negative symbolic

aspects or m eanings Davis an d Roizen, 19 7 0 ) , hat is , the associat ions



3


it ha d for stud en ts, which se em ed to be related mainly to th e notion of

institutional character. T h e important quest ion, of course, that this

bo ok add resse s (a t least in principle) is which physical elem ents in th e

environment will te nd to c om m unicate that chara cter or image defined

as institutional by particular user grou ps .

5)

In a large study in Fr an ce o f rea so ns for th e preferen ce for small,

de tac he d single-family dwellings, res po nd en ts saw n o contradiction

in saying they preferred such dwellings bec aus e they pro vide d clean

air an d, later in th e sa m e interview, complaining that washing hu n g

o u t o n th e line got dirty be ca us e of t h e dirt in t h e air. Clearly it was t h e

meaning

o

the sp ace around the ho use that was important and that

was expres sed in terms o f th e imag e of clean air (R ay m on d et al.,

1966; com pare Cowburn , 1966).Tw o interest ing, an d mo st impor-

tant quest ions concern the minimum sp ac e necessary for the m eaning

of deta che d to persist an d th e possibility o f ot he r elem ents com -

municating m eanings that are ad eq ua te substi tutes (se e Figure 5).

6)

In a recent major study of th e resistance of su bu rb an ar ea s in

New Je rse y to multifamily housing, particularly high-rise apa rtm ents,

it was fo un d that the r eas on s given w ere based o n e cono m ic criteria,

for exam ple, they cost mo re in services ne ed ed than they brou ght in in

taxes. Yet, in fact, particular mixes of h ou sing could b e ad va nt ag eo us

fiscally. T h e comm ission stu dy ing this prob lem , consisting of ec on o-

mists, political scientists, go vern m ent peo ple, an d s o on , finished up

by discussing perceptions an d mean ings. T h e perception of these

dwelling form s as bad had to d o with their

meaning

They a re seen a s

negative, as symbols of und esirable pe ople; they are s ee n a s a sign of

growth, w here as subu rban are as wish to maintain an image that is

rural. T h e obtrusiven ess of ap artm en ts, particularly high-rise apart-

m ents, destroys this rural self-image. Also, peo ple m oved to su bu rbs

to flee th e city an d its problems-they s e e th e ap artm en ts as tentacles

of th e city that they fled an d th at is pursu ing them . Th e m eaning s of

the se buildings are also se en a s reflecting social evils a s indicating a

heterogeneous population, whereas the residents wish to live in

hom oge neou s a reas (New Jersey C ounty a nd Munic ipal Go vernment

Stud y Comm ission, 1 9 7 4 ) . In othe r words, it is the m eaning of pa r-

ticular building types that influences policy decisions.

Many o ther exam ples could be ci ted an d ca n b e foun d in th e l itera-

ture (for example , se e Rapoport , 1 9 7 7 ). But there is an important

m ore general an d theoretical a rgu m ent that also stresses th e impor-

tan ce of meaning-this ha s to d o with th e distinction alrea dy

intro-



The mportance of Meaning

h 11LW U

N A ~W

L

3 5 Fr FIG 27

D

Figure

du ced betwee n manifest a nd latent functions a n d , m o re specifically,

th e distinctions am o n g a n activity, how th e activity is d on e, asso ciated

activities, a n d th e m ean ing s of th e activity. It ap pe ar s that th e m ean ing

of ac t~v itiess their mo st imp ortant characteristic, cor resp on din g to th e

finding that symbolic asp ects are the mo st impo rtant in the s eq ue nc e

of co nc rete o bject, us e ob ject, value o bject, symbo lic objec t (G ibson ,

1 9 5 0 , 1 9 6 8 ; Rapo port , 1 9 7 7 ) . Thus, even in functionalis t terms,

m ea nin g b ec om es very critical.



4

THE

ME NING

OF THE

BUILT ENVIRONMENT

T o us e a n urban exam ple of this ( t o be elaborated later), o n e finds

that

parks

have im portant meaning in th e urban environm ent. Their

very pre se nc e is significant, s o tha t even i they a re em pty-that is, not

used in a manifest or instrumental sense-they com m unica te m ea n-

ings of positive en viron m en tal quality of th e are as in which they a re

loca ted (Rapopor t, 1 9 7 7 ) .This is clearly th e reaso n for th e imp ortance

of recrea tional facilities-which a r e desir ed by th e majority but a re

used by very few (Eichler an d Kaplan, 1 9 6 7 : 1 1 4 ; Ra pop ort , 19 7 7 :

52-53 .

Similarly, while most people express a need for common

public op en sp ac e in residential area s, it is becau se the se U inc re as e h e

attractiveness, increas e th e sp ac e betw een units (th at is, lower per-

ceived density),an d s o o n , rather than forawalking around, us ing for

recreation, an d s o on-in fact, they a re not s o used (see Foddy ,

1 9 7 7 ) . They all have t h e latent function of acting as social and

cultural markers.

S u ch m eanin gs, like m ost others, are evalu ated in terms of th e pur-

poses of sett ings an d how they m atch particular schem ata related to

particular lifestyles a n d h en ce , ultimately, culture. Bu t th e principal

point has been m ade . Meaning generally, an d specifically users' m ean -

ing, has tended to be neglected in the study of man-environment

interaction, yet it is of central importance to the success of such

a

study.



THE

STU Y

OF ME NING

T here is increasing interest in the study of m ea ning in a num be r of

disciplines. W ithout reviewing t h e large a n d com plex literature,

a

few

exam ples can be given. In anthropology o n e finds th e dev elop m ent of

symbolic anthropology so tha t th e idea of m ea ni ng . provides a n

effective rallying point for muc h tha t is new a nd exciting in a nthr op ol -

ogy (Basso an d Selby. 1 9 7 6 : vii); th er e is also a n interest in t h e study

of met , lphor( s e eF e rnandez , 19 74 )an d, m or e generally, . the develop-

ment

of

structuralism. Meaning is als o becom ing m ore imp ortant in

geography, with th e growth of interest in pheno m eno logy and plac eU

( se eT u an , 1 9 7 4 , 1 9 7 7 ;Relph, 1 97 6) . t IS for example, propo sed that

th e hum an world can be studied in te rms of signs (which guide behavior),

affective signs (which elicit feelings), a n d sym bol s (which influence

though t; Tuan , 19 78 ) .Ho we ver, in term s of th e discussion in Ch ap te r

1 he first two of th es e ca n certainly b e c om bined ; th e third will b e dis-

cussed shortly in a b roa de r c ontex t. In psychology, also, th e stud y of

meaning is reviving and ha s been ap pro ac he d, to give just o n e example,

through th e conce pt of affordance (Gibson, 1 9 7 7 ) ,which dea ls with

all th e po tential uses of objec ts a n d t h e activities they can afford.

Ho we ver, th e poten tial uses of objects ar e rath er extensive, par-

ticularly o nc e o n e leaves th e purely instrumen tal a n d m anifest aspects

an d includes the latent ones. The se a re closely related

to

culture, yet

that is neglected; in any c ase , th e notion of m ea nin g in term s of p ote n-

tial uses is rather am biguous. M oreover, this co nce pt h as not be en

used in environm ental re searc h, an d t he question still remains: W hich

characteristics of en viro nm en ts sugg est poten tial uses?

Meaning has also been app roa ch ed throug h part icular meth odol-

ogies. Most used ha s be en th e se m an tic differential (O sgo od et a1



6 THE ME NING O THE BUILT ENVIRON MENT

1 9 5 7 ) ,which has spaw ned a great num ber of env ironmental research

efforts. More recently, o n e finds th e related but com pe ting u se of th e

repertory grid, based on personal construct theory (Kelly, 1955).

T he se , be ing l'exp erim ental in nature , limit th e kind of work that can

be do ne , w ho ca n d o it, a n d w here. F or exa m ple, it is very difficult to

study m eaning in o ther cultures, to u se ev idence from the past, to use

alrea dy published material-all im po rtan t in th e de ve lo pm en t of valid

design theory. Such theory clearly must be based on the broadest

possible s am ple in s p ac e a n d time: o n all forms of env iron m en ts, all

possible cultures, all accessible periods. Moreover, these methodol-

ogies a re partly in de pe nd en t of pa rticular theoretical orien tatio ns of

how environments and meaning a re related.

From a mo re theoretical perspective, it would a pp ea r that environ-

me ntal m eaning can be studied in at least three major ways:

1)

Using semiotic models, mainly based on linguistics. These are currently

the most common.

2) Relying on the study of symbols. These are the most traditional.

3)

Using models based on nonverbal communication that come from

anthropology, psychology, and ethnology. These have been least used

in studying environmental meaning.'

It is th e third of th ese o n which will b e con centrating . Th is is partly

becau se these models a re the simplest , th e m ost direct, an d the most

imm ediate a nd they lend themselves to observat ion and inference as

well a s t o relatively easy interpre tation of many oth er studies. Th er e

a re also so m e other, al though related, reaso ns that will em erg e grad-

ually as the su bject is explo red .

Let m e begin by discussing, very briefly ind ee d, so m e of t h e prob-

lems presented by th e first two ways o f studyin g enviro nm ental m ea n -

ing before turning t o a preliminary, a n d then m ore d etailed, discussion

of the third.

he semiotic approach

Even if o n e we re n ot critical of this app roa ch , o n e could justify

exploring others d u e to their much less com mo n use. Th e widespread

us e of t h e semiotic ap pr oa ch m ake s it less imp ortant to review it again

(se e Duffy an d Freedm an, 1 9 7 0 ; Jencks an d Baird , 1 9 6 9 ; Barthes,

1 9 7 0 , 1 9 7 0 - 1 9 7 1 ; C h oa y, 1 9 7 0 - 1 9 7 1 ; B o nta , 1 9 7 3 , 1 9 7 5 , 1 9 7 9 ;



8

THE ME NING

OF

THE

UILT

ENVIRONMENT

ab ou t o n e of th e m ore re adab le efforts. As a result, it would a p pe ar

that d esigners will enco un ter serious problems with s uch ap pro ach es

a n d will resist tackling th e imp orta nt topic of m eanin g. Th is resistance

will be c o m p ou nd ed by th e ev iden t difficulty of

applying

semiotics-

clear exam ples of actual enviro nm en ts an d their analysis in reasonably

stra igh tfo w ard term s ten d to be singularly lacking.

If we ac cep t th e view that sem iosis is th e proc ess by which so m e-

thing func tion s a s a sign, an d h en ce tha t semiotics is the study of

signs, then semiotics contains thre e main com po nen ts:

the sign vehicle (wh at acts as a sign)

the designation (to what the sign refers)

th e interp retant ( th e effect on the interpreter by virtue

o

which a th ing is

a sign)

This formulation ignores ma ny com plex an d subtle arguments a bo ut

index, icon, an d symbol as op po se d to sign, s ignal, an d symbol, an d

their definitions, relationships, a n d hierarchies (s ee o n e review in

Firth, 1973 . n fact, discussions of this app arently simple point can

be co m e almost impossible to follow, nev er really clarify t h e a rgum ent,

an d neve r help in the understanding of en vironm ental mea ning.

Sem iotics, a s the stud y of t h e significance of elem en ts of a struc-

tured system, can also be unde rstood a s comprising thre e major

imp ortan t co m po ne nts ; the se , in my view, help us both in un derstan d-

ing some of the problems with semiotics and in taking us further.

They are:

syntactics-the relationship o f sign to sign within a system of signs, tha t

is, th e study of structu re of the system .

sem antics- the relation of signs to things signified, tha t is, how signs

carry mean ings, th e property of th e elem ents.

pragm atics-the relation of signs to the behavioral responses of

peo ple, tha t is, their effects of th os e who interpret the m a s

part of their total behavior; this, then, deals with the

referen ce of the signs an d th e system to a reality external

t o th e system-in a word, their mean ing.

Generally, in semiotics, m eanin g h as be en regard ed as a relatively

un im po rtant , special, an d utilitarian fo rm of significance. Yet m ean ing,

a s those associational, sociocultural qualit ies e nc od ed into environ-

me ntal elem ents, characteristics, o r attributes, would se em t o b e pre-



The Study

o eaning

9

cisely th e m ost interesting question. An oth er major problem, therefore,

with sem iotic analysis is that it h as ten de d t o co nce ntra te on t h e syn-

tactic level, that is, th e m ost abstract. T he re ha s be en som e, although

not eno ug h, attention paid to th e semantic-but hardly any at all to

th e pra gm atic . Yet it is by exa m iningw hich elem ents function in w hat

ways in concrete situations, how they influence emotions, attitudes,

preferences , and behavior , tha t they can bes t be unders tood and

studied.

This boo k is precisely ab o u t this-about prag m atics. In a se ns e, o n e

could arg ue that the s t ress has be en o n la langue, ra ther than o n la

parole-which is wh at any given environm ent rep rese nts a n d which

sho uld , in any c ase, be th e starting point. It is not m uc h us e studying

d ee p gramm ar when o n e wishes to unders tand what part icu lar pe ople

a re saying. Yet, in ter m s of o u r conc ern with th e interpretation of how

ordinary environments com m unicate m eanings an d how they affect

behavior , the pragmatic aspects are th e m ost important, a t leas t in th e

initial stages . At th at level, it is th e e m b ed d ed ne ss of th e

elemenfs and

their meaning s) in th e context a nd t h e situation that a re important-

a n d tha t will be elab ora ted later. At this point, let m e give a n e xam ple

have used before Rapo por t , 1 9 6 9d ) . We observe groups of peo ple

singing an d sow ing grain in two different cu ltures. In o rd er to know th e

imp ortance of the se two activities to th e peo ple conc erned , we ne ed to

know th at in o n e culture th e sowing is important a n d t h e singing is

recreational; in t h e oth er, th e singingis sacred an d ens ure s fertility an d

go od crops-the sowing is sec on dar y. T h u s in o n e cas e sowing is th e

critical thing; in th e ot he r, th e singing. Alternatively, if we see a g roup

of p eop le standing a ro un d, yelling, an d running, they m ay be doing

o n e of m any things. T h e si tuation a n d th e context explain th e events ;

kno win g th a t it is a baseball ga m e will pu t a different cnn struciion o n

the m eaning of t h e actions . T hu s it becom es impo rtant to def ine th e

situation a n d situational context a n d to realize that thes e a r e culturally

defined a n d learned.

Co nsider an environmental example-the important m eanin g

communicated through the contras t of humanized and non-

humanized space Rapoport , 19 69 c , 1976~1,977 .This frequently

ha s to d o with th e establishing of place, a n d is often indicated by th e

contrast betwee n t h e presen ce of trees a n d their ab sen ce. However, in

a heavily forested area , a clearing bec om es th e cue, th e ele m ent com -

municat ing tha t meaning; on a t reeless plain a t ree o r gro up

of

t rees

is

the cue se e F igure 6 .



4

TH MEANING OF TH UILT ENVIRONMENT

Figure

6

T h e reversals between t he relative m ean ing of town good) and

forest wild, bad) s o co m m on in early colonial America a n d the present

m eaning of forest good ) an d town bad; s e e Tu an ,

1974 ,

while they

hav e to d o with changing values, ca n, believe, also be interpreted

partly in term s o f conte xt. In th es e terms a ste eple marking a sm all,

wh ite town in its clearing of fields am o n g th e ap par ently end less forest,

dark and scary, full of wild animals and unfamiliar and potentially

da ng ero us Indians, is th e equivalen t of a small rem na nt of unspoiled

forest in an urban, o r a t least urbanized, land sca pe that cove rs most of

th e land a nd is believed full of crime an d dan gero us gangs. T h e con-

text of e ac h is quite different; th e figure/groun d relations h ave, a s

it

were, chang ed.

In a tow n of m ud brick in th e Peruv ian Altiplano t h e use of white-

wash, reinforced by a n arch ed do or an d

a

small bell tower, marks a

special p lace-a church. In Ta os Pueblo, th e s a m e cues are used to

identify th e chu rch , in ad ditio n to a p itche d roof con trast ing with flat

roofs, a frees tan din g building contrasting with clus tere d buildings, an d

th e use of

a

surround ing wall and gateway se e Figure

7).

In th e ca se of

a settlem ent that is largely wh itewashe d, it may b e t h e use of co lor a s

in s o m e of t he Cycladic islands o f G ree ce ), reinforced by size, th e u se

of do m es , an d so on. Alternatively, it c an be th e use of natu ral materials,

such a s sto ne , in O stuni or Loc oroton do, in Apulia So uth ern Italy). In

that cas e th e cu e is also reinforced by oth er c ues , suc h a s size, location,

do m es , polychromy in th e d om es , spec ial elem ents such as classical

doorways or co lumns, and s o on , to ach ieve the requisi te redundancy

se e Figure 8 .



The Study o eaning

4

In all th es e ca ses on e's atten tion is first dra w n to elem en ts thpt differ

from th e context. They t hu s be com e noticeable, strongly suggesting

that they have special significance. The reading of the meanings

requires so m e cultural knowledge, which is, how ever, relatively simple;

for exam ple, the pre sen ce of the schem a church (or, m ore generally,

im portan t buildings, sacre d buildings, a n d s o on).

It is also context that he lps explain ap pa ren t anom alies, su ch a s th e

highly positive m ean ing , an d h e n c e desirability, of old forms a n d

materials su ch a s ado be , w eathere d siding, half-timbering, thatch, a n d



4

THE MEANING OF THE

BUILT

ENVIRONMENT

e l cu

l D L c k W 9 L L . ~ J t ~ W A W ,

j hULLYh l e

I~~ECCL(LAFZ N

DMP

G 7

* ?o e r

Flgure

so o n in Western cul ture an d t he equivalent meanings given

new

forms a n d m aterials galvanized iron, conc rete, tile, and th e like) in

developing countries see Ra popo rt ,

1 9 6 9 d , 1 9 8 0 b , 1 9 8 0 c , 1 9 8 1 ) .

This contextual m eanin g m ust be con sidered in design, a n d the failure

of certain p ropo sals in th e Third W orld, for example, can b e inter-

pre ted in th ese terms-that is, a s being du e t o a neglect of this impo r-

tant aspe ct for instance, Fathy,

1973,

can be so interpreted).



The Study

of

eaning 4

In linguistics itself, th e re h a s been inc rea sin g criticism of th e neglect

of pragmatics (se e Bates, 19 76 )-th e cultural premises ab ou t th e

world in which speec h takesplace (Keesing, 1 9 7 9 : 1 4 ) .T h e develop-

m en t of sociolinguistics is part of this reevalu atio n, th e point is m a d e

that th e nature of any given sp eec h eve nt may vary depe ndin g

o n

the

na ture of th e participants, t h e social setting, th e situation-in a wo rd,

the contex t ( see Gum perz an d Hymes, 1 9 7 2 ; Giglioli, 19 72 ) .

In any event, it ap pe ars that th e neglect of pragmatics an d th e con-

centration o n syntactics almost to t h e exclusion of everything else ar e

se r io i~ s hor tcomings of the semiotic app roach.

he

symbolic

ppro ch

Even

i

o n e includes s om e m o re recent versions, derived from struc-

turalism, symbolic anthropology, and even cognitive anthropology,

this is a n ap pro ac h th at traditionally ha s bee n u sed in th e study of his-

torical high-style architecture and vernacular environments. It also

ha s suffered from a n excessive de gr ee of abstraction a n d com plexity.

It also has stressed structure over context, but even in that case it

ymiotic

eem s more approac hable an d m ore immediately useful than sc

analysis ( see Basso and Selby , 19 7 6 ; Leach , 19 7 6; Lannoy, 1 9 7 1 ;

G e e lt z, 1 9 7 1 ; Tuan , 1 9 7 4 ; Rapoport , 19 79 b ; am ong many o ther s) .

This approach has proved particularly useful in those situations,

mair~lyn traditional cultures, in which fairly strong a n d clear s ch em ata

ar e expressed throu gh th e built environm ent-whether high style o r

vernacular . Many examples can be given, such as the case

o

the

Renaissance churches already mentioned (Wittkower,

19621

o ther

chu rche s an d sacred buildings generally (Wallis, 1 9 7 3 ) o r the

P an the on (MacDonald, 1 9 7 6 ) , the layout of lowland M aya set-

t lements a t the regional scale (Marcus, 1 9 7 3 ) ,an d th e study of tradi.

tional urb an forms (Miiller, 1 9 6 1 ;Wheatley, 1 9 7 ;Rykwert, 1 9 7 6 ). t

ha s also proved i lluminating in th e frequently cited c as e of th e D ogon

(see Gr iau le and Pie ter len , 1 9 54 ) or th e B ororo (Levi -Strauss 1 9 57 ) .

It ha s also be en useful in th e study of t he spatial organ ization of t h e

T em ne h ous e (Littlejohn, 19 6 7) , he orde r in th e Atoni hou se (Cunning-

ham , 1 9 7 3 ) , th e Ainu house, v illage, a nd larger layouts (Ohnuki-

Tierney , 1 9 7 2 ) , he Berber house (Bourdieu , 1 97 3) ,o r th eTh a i h o u s e

(Tarnbiah, 1 9 7 3 ) . O ther examples , am on g the many availab le , a re

provided by the s tudy of th e relation between G re ek tem ples a n d their

surround ing landscapes (Scully , 1 9 6 3 ) an d m ore recent com parable

examples f rom Bali a nd Pos itano (James , 1 9 73 , 19 7 8) . Note tha t in



THE MEANING

O


these lat ter cases th e mean ing f irs t beca m e a pp are nt through observa-

tion-the locations of the buildings drew attention to som ethin g special,

an d hen ce impo r tant, going on within th e co ntext o f the landscape in

ques tion. This was then check ed m ore m ethodically; the interpreta-

t ion of th e m ean ing of th ese special elem en ts required so m e cultural

knowledge. In this way the se ex am ples com e closer to the ap pro ach

being ad vo ca ted in the bo dy of this book . Sim ple observation revealed

quickly that som ething was h app enin g. (This could h ave b een checked

in th e ca se s of Bali an d Po sita no by o bserv ing be hav ior.) By classifica-

t ion a n d m atching against sch em ata the c o de was the n read relatively

quickly a n d easily.

I

ha ve used th e symbolic ap pro ach in a relatively simple form . O n e

example has a l ready been d iscussed (Rap opo r t , 1 9 6 9 e) ; two m ore

related exam ples will now be dev eloped in som ew ha t mo re detail .

In th e first (R ap op or t, 1 9 7 0 b ), it is poin ted ou t that t he stud y of

symbolism

I

would now say meaning1')h as not played m ajor role in

the environm ental design f ield. W hen symbols have b een considered

at all, it was only in o n e of two ways. First, th e discussion was restricted

to high-style design and to special buildings within that tradition.

Se co nd , the discussion form ed part o f historical studies, th e implica-

t ion being that in th e present contex t symbo ls were n o longer relevant

to the designer .

In th e ca se of t h e s e special high-style, historical buildings, th e im-

po r tance of symbols has b een recognized an d well studied; exam ples

ar e sufficiently well known an d s o m e ha ve already b een discussed

briefly. B ut this kind of analysis ha s not b een app lied to env iron m ents

m ore generally. In fact, th e discussion is som etim es explicitly restricted

to specia l buildings, specifically excluding utilitarian buildings,

ve rna cu lar buildings, a n d , in fact, m ost of t h e built env iron m en t. Yet it

is c lear, an d evidence ha s a l ready b een ad du ce d, that this is not th e

case : Sym bolism (tha t is, m ean ing ) is central to all en viro nm ents.

T h e definition of symbol pre sen ts difficulties. T he re ha ve be en

many such definitions, all with a number of things in common

(see Rapoport , 1 97 0b :

2-5) ,

al though these need not be discussed

here . T h e qu estio n that se em s of m or e interest is why, if they a r e so

important, they have received s uch minimal attention in design, design

theory, and environmental design research. Many answers can be

given; o n e is the difficulty in t h e co nsc iou s us e of sym bols in design

a n d th e m anipulation of th e less self-conscious sym bols involved in

the creation of vernac ular forms. Th at difficulty stem s from a nu m be r



6

TH

MEANING

OF

THE

UILT

ENVIRONMENT

m odels, particularly in chain op era tion s. Given people's mobility a n d

th e nee d for environm ents that can be read easily s o that com -

prehensible cues f o r approp r ia te behavior can be comm unicated,

chain operations indicate very clearly, explicitly, and almost auto-

matically wh at t o exp ect. Se ein g the relevant symbols, peop le know,

without thinking, w hat beh avior is expe cted of them , wh o is welcome,

w hat level of dressing up is acc ep table , an d wh at foo d a n d services

are available at what p r ice s2 T he cues are a s c lear, consis tent, an d

comprehensible as in a tribal society and, in this way at least, such

design is extremely successful an d sophisticated. T h e ques tion, then,

of why su ch design is so strongly disliked by des ign ers an d oth er

group s m ust b e reiterated. T h e answ er, in brief, is that th e ideals incor-

porated in these images an d sc hem ata, that is, the values an d m eanings

that ar e express ed, ar e fo un d unac cepta ble. Th e result of this analysis

is, ther efo re, tha t t h e problem is th e variability in th e sym bols, imag es,

an d me anings held by different groups. Th ese a re not sh ared a nd , in

fact, elicit very diff ere nt reactions from various grou ps; m ism atche s

an d misund erstandings then follow.

As a result, there a re problems with this approa ch. T h e ab ov e dis-

cussion deals with a specific problem: In nontrad itional cultures such

as o ur ow n it is difficult to use sym bols w he n they ar e ever less sh are d

an d he nc e ever m ore idiosyncratic. This specific problem may, how-

ever, also affect oth er ap p ro ac he s to th e study of m eaning , although it

se em s to be exacerb ated by relying o n th e notion of symbol. But the

use of t he symbolic app roac h also presents m ore general problem s to

which ha ve alre ady briefly referred a n d which will now discuss.

The se problems have to d o with th e com m on distinction between

signs andsym bols . Signs are su ppose d t o b e univocal, that is, to h ave a

one - to-on e cor respondence to what they s tand for because they are

related to those things fairly directly, eikonically or in other ways;

hen ce they have only o n e proper m eaning. Symbols , on the other

hand , a re supposed to be

mult iuocal ,

that is , they ha ve a one -to-m any

correspondence and are hence suscept ible to many meanings ( for

example , see Turner , 1968:

17 .

In this case correspondence is

arb i t r a ry

an d any part may stan d for th e whole. This then com po und s

th e specific problem raised ab ov e since it com po un ds th e difficulty of

using sym bols in analyzing o r designing env iron m ents in th e pluralis-

tic si tuations that are now typical . T he re is also an even m ore general

a n d basic que stion ab o ut th e exten t to which symbolism is a useful

sep arate category, given tha t all hu m an com mu nication, an d in so m e

views much of hu m an behavior generally, is symbolic. S o m e definitions



The

Study of eaning

7

of symbols tend, then , to be s o gene ral that, in effect, since symbol

systems define culture ( s ee Geer tz , 1 9 6 6 a , 1 9 6 6 b ; Basso an d Selby ,

1 9 7 6 ; S chne ide r, 19 76 ; Leach, 19 76 ) ,everything becom es a symbol

(a s in semiotics everything be co m es a sign ).Th us symbols have been

defined a s "any object, act, even t, quality o r relation which serves a s a

vehicle for a conception" (Gee rtz , 1 9 6 6 a : 5 an d also as any "objects

in experience upon which man has impressed meaning" (Geertz,

1 9 6 6 b ) .As we shal l se e below, o n e can look at environmental cu es

and analyze their meaning without getting into the whole issue of

symbols, which can, an d does, be co m e fairly abstract (see , for example,

Leach, 1 9 7 6 ) . n m any cases , wh at used t o be an d is called symbolism

can also b e studied by th e analysis of sch em ata a nd theirrneanings, for

exam ple by using cognitive a nthropology app roa che s, so that sett ings

can b e see n a s expressions of dom ains (see Rap opo rt ,

1

9 7 6 a , 1 9 7 7 ;

Douglas, 1 9 7 3 b ; Leach, 1 9 7 6 : 33 -41 ) . Th ese in themselves, while

simpler, are still com plex. Moreov er, o n e ca n frequently reinterpret

major pron ou nce m ents o n symbolism in term s of c om m unication by

substituting o ther terms in t h e text o r leaving ou t th e wo rd "symbol"

(as in Du nca n, 1 9 6 8 ). n a way, from a different perspective, th e sa m e

point is m ad e by th e suggestion that symbols are neither signs no r

som ething that represents o r s tan ds for som ething else; rather, they

are a form of comm unicat ion (McCully, 1 9 7 1 : 2 1) . T o say that A is a

sym bol of B do es not help us much; th e mea ning of that symbol an d

what elements communicate that meaning s t i l l remain to be dis-

covered.

Many analyses (for example, Le ach, 1 9 7 6 ) ,while d iscussing symbo l

sys tem s (in this c as e from a structuralist position), in fact d ea l with cul-

ture as communication. What concerns them, basically, is that the

"com plex in terco nn ecte dn ess of cultural eve nts [which includes

environm ents a n d their contexts] itself co nveys information to th ose

w ho par ticipate in these events" (Leach, 1 9 7 6 : 2).

T h e question is not tha t comm unicat ion contains many verbal an d

non verb al com pon ents-the que stion is how unfamiliar information

is decoded, particularly expressive functions. Leach tackles this

thr ou gh signals, signs, a n d symbo ls tha t hopefully will reveal th e p at-

terning a n d information en co de d in th e non verb al dimensions; of cul-

tur e, s uc h a s clothing styles, village layouts, architecture , furniture,

foo d, cooking, music, physical g estures, posture, an d s o o n (L each,

1 9 7 6 : 10 .H e assu m es that it will belike language without argu ing this

any further. Actually, we d o no t know tha t it

is

like langua ge. Even i it is

like languag e, we can begin with a simple, descriptive ap pr oa ch a n d



8


get to structural analysis later. My a pp ro ac h will be to acc ept t he task,

ab ou t which we agree , t o con centra te on built environments a n d their

contents , an d to t ry to ap proach the analysis mo re simply an d m ore

directly. This is, in fact, the major thrust of this book, that simpler

ap pr oa ch es can be used to achieve m ore useful results in studying

env ironm ental meaning-at least in th e beginning ph ase s of this

rather large-scale an d long-range undertaking.

Interestingly, s o m e studies of symbolism ha ve m ad e suggestions

that interpret as very close to my arg um en t in this book. Th ese sug-

gestions are abo ut t h e n eed to r edu ce th e arbitrariness of symbolic

allocation, which requires a stress on t h e social elem ents in symbolism

an d an interest in th e processes of hu m an thought an d th e role of

symbols in comm unication (Fir th, 1 9 7 3 ) .While this particular study

does not even mention the built environment, the basic point that

symbols communicate that they ar e social, that they are related to

status an d rep resent t h e social ord er an d th e individual s place in it, a re

all notio ns tha t can be studied in oth er ways-notably throu gh n on-

verbal communication. f culture is, ind eed , a system of symbols a n d

mea nings that form important determ inants of action a nd social action

as a meaningful activity of h um an beings, this implies a com monality

of understanding, th at is, com m on cod es of communication (Schneider,

1 9 7 6 ) . T h e ques tion then is how we can bes t deco de th is process

o communicat ion.

he

nonverb l communic tion ppro ch

W hile this ap pr oa ch will be discussed in considerab ly m or e detail in

th e ch ap ter s that follow, a brief d iscussion a t this point will he lp in com -

paring it with th e ot he r two app roach es.

T h e study of n onv erbal behavior ha s de ve lop ed greatly in recent

yea rs in a nu m be r of fields, particularly psychology a n d anth rop olo gy

(see Birdwhistell, 1 9 7 0 , 19 7 2 ; Eibl-Eibesfeld , 1 9 7 0 , 1 9 7 2 , 1 9 7 9 ;

Mehrab ian , 19 7 2 ; Sche flen , 19 7 2 , 19 7 3 , 19 74 ; Hall, 1 9 6 6 ; Kauf-

m an , 19 7 1; Ekm an, 1 9 5 7 , 1 9 6 5 , 1 9 7 0 , 1 9 7 2 , 1 9 7 6 , 1 9 7 7 , 1 9 7 8 ;

E km an a nd F riesen, 1 9 6 7 , 1 9 6 8 , 1 9 6 9 a , 1 9 6 9 b , l 9 7 1 , 1 9 7 2 , 1 9 7 4 a ,

1 9 7 4 b , 1 9 7 6 ;E k m an e t al., 1 9 6 9 , 1 9 7 1 , 1 9 7 6 ; o h n s o n e t al.. 1 9 7 5 ;

Davis, 1 9 7 2 ; Argyle, 1 9 6 7 ; Argyle an d Ingham, 1 9 7 2 ; Argyle e t a].,

19 73 ; Hinde , 19 72 ; F r iedman, 1 9 7 9 ; Weitz, 19 79 ; S iegman and

Feldste in , 1 9 7 8 ; Harper e t a]., 1 9 7 8 ) .

T h e concern ha s been mainly with th e subtle ways in which pe op le

indicate o r signal feeling states a n d mo ods, o r chan ges in th ose states



The

tudy

of

eaning

9

or mo ods. Th e interest has been o n their meta-communicat ive~func-

tion a n d its role in ch an gin g the quality of inte rpers on al rela*tions,

forms of co -action, an d t he like. Stud ied ha ve b een th e face an d facial

expressions, a wide variety of body positions and postures, touch,

gaze, voice, so un ds , gestures, proxemic spatial arran gem ents, tem -

poral rhythms, and so on .

It

hiis bee n pointed o ut qu ite clearly that peo ple com m unic ate ver-

bally, vocally, a n d nonverbally. Verbal behavior is m uch m o re codified

an d used mo re syn~bolically han either vocal or nonverbal behavior

It thu s see m s incorrect, o n the fac e of it, to arg ue that langua ge

dominates

all

sign systems (Jencks, 1 9 8 0 : 74 ; emphas is a dde d) ,par-

ticularly in view of evid enc e that e ven lang uag e m ay b e m o re iconic,

and hence related to nonlinguistic reality, than had been thought

(Lan dsbe rg, 1 9 8 0 ) . Be th at a s it ma y, ho we ver, all three-verbal,

vocal, an d nonverbal-act together; they may say th e sa m e thing or

contrad ict each oth er, tha t is, reinforce o r we aken th e messa ge. In an y

ca se , they qualify the interpre tation of verbal disc ou rse since they ar e

less affected tha n verbal ch an ne ls by attem pts to ce ns or information

(s ee E:kman an d Friesen, 1 9 6 9 a ) . T h us o n e finds that nonlinguist ic

somatic aspects of speech (paralanguage )greatly clarify spoken language.

T o n e of voice, fa c~ a lxpress ions , and share d habits such as the mean-

ing of relative physical positions, sta nc es , an d relatiorlships of p ar -

ticipants all help to clarify th e m eanin g of spo ke n lan guage well be yond

the formal study of gram m ar, structure, an d s o o n. In fact, it has b een

suggczsted that t h e soc ioco ntex tual as pe cts of com m un icatio n, which

are, of course, what o n e calls nonverbal , ar e the m ost im portant in th e

sens e that they a re the m ost imm ediately noted , that is, they a re th e

louclest (Sarles, 1 9 6 9 ) .

Verbal a n d vocal behavior is received by th e auditory se ns e, while

non verbal be havior te nd s to be p erceived mainly visually, although

auditory, tacti le (Kaufm an, 1 9 7 1 ) , olfactory (Largey an d W atson,

1 9 7 % ) , n d o th er sen sory cu es ma y be involved-basically it is mul-

t ichannel (see Weitz , 1 9 7 9 ,Ekm an et a l. , 1 9 7 6 ) . t is thus necessary to

study avariety of o therc han nels, al thou gh, s o far, this has tende d to be

neglected (see Weitz , 1 9 7 9 . 352 . Note that in the study of man-

environ m ent interaction itself, suc h a s environ m ental percep tion, a n

analogous si tuation obtains: The visual channel has been stressed

almost t o th e exclusion of all ot he rs , an d th er e is eve n less stvess o n

mult~sensory,multichannel perception (Rapoport, 1977: ch. 4).

would a rg ue that o n e such chan nel is the built enviro nm ent Yet, in

many recent reviews of nonv erbal com m unication (for exam ple, Sieg-



5

THE ME NING

OF


m an and Feldste in , 1 9 7 8 ; Harper e t a l., 19 7 8 ; Weitz, 19 7 9 ) , he re is

nothing o n th e built environm ent, and eve n clothing an d settings have

t e nd e d t o be ignored (see Fr iedman, 1 9 7 9 ) . Even i the role of the

environ me nt is not ignored , it is confined to sp ac e organization at the

interp erso nal, proxemic, extrem ely microscale level. At best, o n e finds

scattered m entions of th e built env ironm ent (se e K en do n et al.,

1 9 7 5 ) .

T h e con cep t of no nverbal commun ication in the environment can

b e used in a t least two different ways. T h e first is in t h e se n se of ana logy

or metaphor: Since environments apparently provide cues for be-

havior but d o not d o it verbally, it follows th at they mu st rep rese nt a

form of n onve rbal behavior. T h e sec on d is m ore directly related t o

what is commonly considered nonverbal behavior. Nonverbal cues

not only themselves comm unicate, they hav e also bee n shown to be

very im portant in helping o the r, mainly verbal, com mu nication. Th ey

also greatly help in co -actio n, for exam ple by indicating th e e n d s of

verbal statements. In that sense, the relationship is very direct and

real)' environments both communicate meanings directly and also

aid other forms of meaning, interaction, communication, and co-

action. T he re are also methodological suggestions here for th e study

of en vironm ental m eaning .

In

nonverbal communication research,

th e links betw een different form s of com mu nication have been studied

by observing (o r recording o n film o r videotap e) cu es an d th en making

inferences. For example, how head and body cues communicate

affec t Ekman, 19 65 ;Ekman and Friesen, 1 9 6 7 )or how kinesic signals

st ructure conversat ions am on g children (De Long, 1 9 7 4 ) . O ne can

also study t h e am o u n t of inform ation prov ided by different cues-for

exam ple, by getting peop le to interpret ph oto gr ap hs of situations, or

th e situations themselves.

Unfortunately, ev en in t h e study of nonv erbal behavior, the stress

has often been o n its natu re as a relationship language (Ekm an an d

Friesen , 1968:

180-181 ,

hat is, on syntactics. Yet, because non-

verbal behav ior lacks th e linearity

of

language, there ha s always bee n

m 6re aw are ne ss of pragmatics-both conceptually a n d me thodo log-

ically the re has always been a simpler ap proach roo ted in pragmatics.

Th ere has always se em ed to b e an awareness tha t nonverbal com-

mu nication could be stu died eithe r structurally, looking

fo r th e under-

lying system o r set of rules so m ew ha t analo go us to langu age, or by

stressing pragmatics, looking for relationships between particular

nonverbal cues and the si tuation, the ongoing behavior, and so on



The Study

o

Meaning 5

( Dun can, 1 9 6 9 ) . T h u s in the s tudy of nonverbal behavior both a p-

proaches have been used.

T h e stre ss, how ever, o n t h e linguistic app ro ac h, with its high level of

abstraction, has been unfortunate. Early in the development of the

study of no nverbal com mu nication t h e distinction w as m ad e between

language a s digita l a n d deal ing with denotat ion a n d nonverbal com-

munication as analogic and dealing with coding; the analyses also

nee ded to be d if ferent (Ruesch and Kees , 19 5 6 : 1 89 ) .Th us environ-

mental m eaning, if it is to be studied a s a form o f nonverbal com -

m un icati on, is likely t o lack t h e linearity of lang ua ge (in sem iotic term s,

it is not syntagmatic ). Env ironm ental m eaning , therefore, probably

d o es no t allow for a clearly articulated s et of gram matical (syntactic)

rules. Ev en in the c ase of body language, it has be en suggested tha t

the re are a few aspects tha t may b e co de d in such a way that most

m em bers in a given com munity unders tand them . Most such cues ,

however, need a great deal of inference. This can be difficult, but

guesses can b e go od if

th

cues

dd

up In oth er words, d u e

to

t h e

ambiguity of c ue s their red un da nc y m ust

be

great-as have argued

elsewhere regard ing th e environment (Rapopor t , 19 7 7) .

A role would also b e played by people 's readiness to m ak e such

guesse s. This suggests tha t th e insights of signal detec tion theo ry m ay

usefully b e a pp lied t o this typ e of analysis (see Daniel e t al., n.d.;

Mu rch , 1 9 7 3 ) .This arg ue s th at all perception involves judgments. In

making judgm ents, two ele m en ts play a role--the na tu re of t h e stimuli

a n d observer sensitivity o n t he o n e ha nd , an d a person's willingness to

m ake discriminations (his o r he r criterion state) o n th e othe r. Stn ce all

environm ental cue s ar e inherently am bigu ous to an extent-that is,

there is uncer tainty (se e Rap oport , 1 9 7 7 : 1 1 7 , 15 0)-- the cri terion

state, th e observer's willingness t o act o n th e basis of weak o r am -

biguous c ue s, beco m es significant. At th e sa m e time, of course , signal

strength a n d clarity, an d he nc e thresholds, a re still important; a s w e

shalA se e, s o a re contexts-they help in drawing inferen ces from

abiguous cues. Sin ce designers ca nno t ch an ge the criterion state, they

ne ed to m anipulate those aspects they ca n control : redund ancy , c lear ,

not iceable differences , an d approp riate contexts (Rapop ort , 1 9 7 7 ) .

t

also follows that s ince enviro nm ents are inherently am biguous, they

m ore closely resemble nonverbal comm unication tha n they d o lan-

guage. H en ce nonverbal analysis provides a m or e useful mo del than

do es language.



5 THE MEANING OF THE BUILT ENVIRON MENT

Environm ents a n d nonverbal com mu nication also lack th e clear-

cut lexicons with indexical relationships to referents that language

po sse sse s. Bu t it is freq uently for go tten that in linguistics lexicons exist

be ca use of th e efforts of desc riptive linguists ov er long per iod s of time;

linguistics began with dictionaries. It may b e useful, the ref ore , to start

with com para ble app ro ac he s in s tudying environmental mea ning by

trying t o relate certain cu es to particular behaviors a nd interpreta-

tions-a poin t t o which will return. It is possib le th at "dictionaries"

can be dev eloped , as has been the case in the s tudy

of

facial expres-

s ions (Ekman et al., 1 9 7 2 ; Ekm an an d Fr iesen, 1 9 7 5 ) , k inesics

(Birdwhiste ll, 1 9 7 0 ,1 9 7 2 ) ,body m ovement(Davis , 19 72 ) ,proxemics

(Hall, 1 9 6 6 ) , gestures (Efron , 1 9 4 1 ; Morris e t a l., 1 9 7 9 ) , and o the r

types of n onv erbal cues.

f w e wish to study m eanin g in its full, natural context, we n ee d t o

begin with t he w hole, naturally occurring p h en o m en on . This is what

nonverbal s tudies have tend ed to do; so h ave ethological s tudies. In

ethology, th e view has been that a priori o n e canno t decide what to

record an d what to ignore: T h e important aspects are unknown. T h e

firs t s tep is to describe the repertoire; the data themselves, then,

inform sub sequ en t research. Bo th conceptually an d methodologically,

the over lap between ethology an d hu m an nonverbal comm unication

stud ies is very c lose.3For o n e thing, th e behavior ethologists study is,

by definition, nonverbal It is th us quite app ro pr iat e a n d significant

th at in ethology th e first, a n d critical, st ep is to record rep erto ires an d

constru ct catalog ues of behaviors-much a s a m adv ocating here. In

any case, such an effort, stressing sema ntics an d pragmatics , see m s

potentially both m or e useful a n d m or e direct, particularly at th e begin-

ning, tha n a linguistic a pp ro ac h stressing structu re a n d syntactics.

No te that all of th ese th ree ap p ro ac he s to th e study of m eanin g, dif-

feren t as they se em to be, d o have a numb er

of

gen era l characteristics

in com m on . T he se follow from th e fac t that in any com m unication

process cer tain elements ar e essential (s ee Hymes, 1 9 6 4 : 21 6) :

1)

a sender encoder)

(2 )

a receiver decoder)

3 ) a channel

4) a message form

5) a cultural code the form of encoding)

6 ) a topic-the social situation of the sender, intended receiver, place, the

intended meaning



The

Study of eaning 5

(7) th e context o r scene, which is pa rt of what is being c om m un ic at ed but 1s

partly extern al

t o it-in

any

case , a given

This comm onality links th e th ree ap pr oa ch es described at a high level

of generality.

It

sugg ests tha t in starting th e study of e nviron m ental

me aning through th e use of nonverbal communicat ion m odels , o n e

does not preclude t h e others. Eventually, should this prove necessary o r

desirable, it may b e possible to m ov e to th e u se of linguistic models.

S o far , however, environmental m eaning has not bee n s tudied

using nonverbal models, nor has the analysis of nonverbal com-

munication really dea lt with built env iron m ents a n d their furnishings,

otes

Note, ho wev er, th e existence of a new journal

1976),

EnorronmentalPsvchology

nd

Non-V erbol Behavior, whlch may begin t o redress thls gap

2 W hlle m a k ~ n g s o m ed ~to r i a lh an ge s t o t h ~ s a n u s c r~ p tn m ~ d - 1 9 8 2 , lam e across

p os tcard ~ s s u ed y Holiday Inn tha t ~ll ustr ate smy argu m ent perfectly In brg letters, ~t

says, The best surprlse is n o sur pn se

1w ~l l ot , however, review the l i terature on ethology generally or on its rel at ~ o no

hum ans o r t ts re levance to m an-environm ent research



ENVIRONMENT L ME NING

Preliminary Considerations for

a

Nonverbal Communication pproach

In line with th e particular ap proa ch described in th e preface, will

begin with a n app arently very different an d unrela ted topic-on e of

th e th ree basic questions of m an-en vironm ent studies: the effirct of

environ m ent o n behavior (Rap opo rt , 19 7 7) . This is a very large an d

com plex topic on which ther e a r e different views an d of w hich the re

are many aspects that cannot be discussed here (se e Rapoport ,

1983 .

But o n e distinction tha t se em s extrem ely useful, which will co m e u p

seve ral times, is that be tw een w ha t could b e called direct an d indirect

effects. Th e bes t way t o clarify this distinction is through th e use of two

studies a s exam ples.

In the first (Maslow and Mintz, 1956; Mintz, 1956 ,peop le were

ask ed to perform various tasks-rate ph ot og ra ph s of faces alon g

various dimensions, grad e examinat ion papers , an d s o on--in a

beautiful an d a n ugly room. Disregarding th e m eaning of the se

terms, a n d th e validity an d replicability of th e findings (o n which the re

is a sizable literature, of n o interest to us he re), it is foun d th at h u m an

reactions an d perform ance c ha ng e in response t o th e effects of th e

characteristics of the two rooms: that is, these environments have

so m e direct ef tect o n the p eop le in them .

In

t he s econd s tudy (Rosen tha l, 19 66 : 98 -1 01 , 24 5- 24 9) ,

h e

con-

cern

is;

with th e effect of laboratory settings on how pe op le perform in

psychological tests. On ly a few pages of a large boo k de al with this

topic, but foun d them seminal, s ince they got m e s tarted on this whole

topic. In th es e studies there we re still two room s, but they w ere n ot

ugly and U bea utiful, but rathe r impressive and un im pres sive. 'There

w ere also exp erim ente rs present-dressed in certain ways, of certain

age, mien, an d dem eanor-corresponding to the room that was their



6

THE ME NING OF

THE

BUILT ENVIRONMENT

setting. In brief, o n e situation was of high sta tus, th e o th er of low

status-and th es e influenced th e test results o n th e highly stan-

dardized sam ples used.

T h e critical point is th at th e effects a re social but t he cu es o n th e

basis of which th e social situations are judged a re env ironm enta l-the

size of t h e room , its location, its furnishings, th e clothing an d o th er

characteristics of th e expe rim en ter (which ar e, of cou rse, a part of th e

environm ent). Th ey all comm unicate identity, s tatus, a n d t h e l ike an d

throu gh this they establish a context a n d define a situation. T h e sub -

jects re ad th e cu es, identify th e situation a nd th e context, a n d act

accordingly. T h e proc ess is rather a na log ou s to certain definitions of

culture that stress its role in enabling pe op le t o co -act throu gh sharing

notions of app rop riate behavior. Th e question the n becom es o n e of

how the environment helps peo ple behav e in a ma nne r acceptable to

th e me m ber s of a gro up in th e roles that th e particular gro up accepts

a s appro priate for the context an d t he s ituation def ined.

In all th es e cases, cu es h av e th e pu rp os e of letting p eo ple kn ow in

which kind of do m ain o r setting they a re, for exam ple, in co nce ptua l,

taxonomic terms whether front/back, private/public, men's/women's,

high status/low status; in m or e specific term s wh eth er a lecture hall o r

sem inar room , living room or bed room ,

library or disco theq ue, good

or ordinary sh op o r restaurant, a n d s o on.

Th at this is th e c ase b ecom es clear from studies such a s that of

offices in t h e British Civil Service (Duffy, 1969 ,w he re it was found

that t h e size, carpeting, n um be r of windows, furnishings, a n d o the r

elements of a room are carefully specified for each grade of civil

serva nt. While this may ap p ea r nonsensical at first, o n fu rther reflec-

tion it m ake s extremely g oo d s ens e. In effect, onc e the c o d e is learned,

o n e knows w h o o ne's inter locutor is, and

is

helped to act appropri-

ately. T h e proc ess is, in fact, universal, th e m ain difference be ing tha t

general ly the rules are unwritten (Goffman, 19 59 ,19 63 )-w he rea s

in th e ab ov e ca se they a p p ea r in written form in m anu als. Generally in

offices location, size, controlled access, furnishings and finishes, de gree

of personalization, a n d o th er elemen ts com m un icate status. An inter-

esting question is wh at h ap p en s in o p en -s p ac e offices. In fact, oth er

sets of cu es te nd to develop.

O n e ca n su ggest that position, distance, a nd decoration in offices

comm unicate social information abo ut the occ upan t and abo ut how



Environmental Meaning

7

h e or sh e would like othe rs to beh ave w hen in his o r her room Ho w an

occupa nt organizes th e office comm unicates meanings abo ut that

occupa nt , about private a n d publ ic zones, an d he nc e about behavior.

Business executives an d academ ics,

for

example, arrange these z ones

ve

y

differently, s o that status a n d d om inanc e a re m uch less impo rtant

in acaclemic offices tha n in bu siness o r go ve rnm en t offices (Jo ine r,

1 9 71 , 1 9 7 ). Location within an office building as indicating status

seem s s o se lf -ev ident tha t

it

is used in

a

whiskey advert isement (s ee

Figure 9 ) , which s ho w s a s eq ue nc e of lighted windows in a n pffice

building as showing the way to th e top s o that on e can now enjoy

Brand

X.

O th er adv ertiseme nts also frequently us e office settings with

particular sets of ele m en ts t o co m m un ica te m eaning s very easily an d

clearly a n d h en ce t o provide an app rop riate sett ing for the particular

pro duc t being advert ised.

It se em s significant th at , with relatively little effort, a wh ole set

of

cu es can easily b e de scribed for this o n e type of setting 'These cu es

provide information that constrains and guides behavior, influence

comm unication, a nd generally h ave meaning; they provide sett ings

for behavior see n a s appro priate to th e s i tuation.

This point requires elaboration T h e conclusion of th e argum ent

ab ou t indirect effects is tha t in man y c ases th e en vironment acts o n

behavior by providing cues whereby people judge or interpret the

social contex t r

situation a n d act accordingly. In o the r words,

it is th e

socialsi tuation th at influencespeop le s behavior, but it is thep hys ical

enuironm ent tha t prov ides th e cues .

n u m b er of p oints that will be

dev elop ed later will now be introduced; they a re base d o n R apo port

( 1 9 7 9 e ) .

People typically act in accordance with their reading of environ-

mental cues. This follows from th e observation that t he sa m e peop le

act q uite differently in different settings. This su ggests tha t th e ie set -

tings so m eho w com mu nicate expected behavior

i f

the cues can be

unders tood. It follows th at th e language used in the se environ m en-

ta l cues must be und ers tood; the co de need s to be read (see Bernstein,

1 9 7 1 ;Douglas,

1 9 7 3 a ) .

f

th e design of th e environm ent is se en partly

a s a proc ess of en co din g information, then th e users c an b e sc-en as

de co din g it. f th e cod e is not shared or und erstood, the environment

doesnotcommunicate Rapoport,

1 9 7 0 b , 1 9 7 3 , 1 9 7 5 b , 1 9 7 6 b ) ; h is



8


QMbi-b h.

Figure 9

si tuation corresponds to the experience of being in an unfamiliar

cultural context culture shock. However wh en th e environm ental

co d e is known behavior can easily be m ad e ap prop riate to the sett ing

a n d t h e social situation t o which it corresponds.

f

course before cues



nvironmental Meaning 9

can b e unders tood they m ust b e noticed, an d after on e has both

noticed an d un ders tood the cues , o n e must be prepared to obey them.

This latter co ns ide ratio n did not exist in traditional s ituations a n d is a

recent problem. M oreover, it is o n e over which designers have n o con-

trol, althou gh they ca n un de rsta nd it. Designers ca n, how ever, have

so m e control over th e oth er two aspects-they can ma ke cues notice-

able an d comprehensible. People need to be s ee n a s behaving in

places that have meaning for the m (se e Birenbaum an d Sagar in,

1 9 7 3 ) , hat def ine occasions (G offman, 1 9 6 3 ) or s ituations (Blumer,

1 9 6 9 a ). In term s o f behavior in environm ents, s i tuations include

social occasions and their settings-who d o e s what, where, when,

how,

a n d including

or

excluding whom. O nc e the c od e is learned, the

env ironm ent a nd its mea ning play a significant role in h elping us judge

peo ple a nd situations by m ean s of th e cue s provided an d interpreted

in term s of one s culture or particular subcu lture.

I t would appear that the sociological model known as

s y m b o l i c

interactionism (Blumer, 19 6 9 a ), which dea ls with t he interpretation

of th e situation, offers o n e useful sta rtingpo int for an und erstan ding of

how p eo ple interpret social si tuations from t h e environm ent an d th en

adjust their behavior accordingly. N ote that a m no t evaluating this

model vis-a-vis others and that it is also clear that it needs to be

modified for th e pu rpo se by considering s o m e anthropological ;ideas

an d s om e not ions a bou t nonverbal com municat ion with which this

book deals. Th e specific question to b e a dd ress ed is how enyiron-

m ents help organize people s percept ions an d m eanings an d how

the se environments , which act a s surrogatesfor their o ccup ants an d a s

mnemonics of acceptable interpretations, elicit appropriate social

behavior. In fact, it can b e sugg ested tha t situations ar e best un de rsto od

and classified in terms of the behavior they elicit (Frederiksen,

1 9 7 4 ) .

~ h cymbolic interactionist ap pro ac h to th e definition of th e situa-

tion can be summarized in three simple proposit ions (Blumer,

1 9 6 9 a : 2 :

1)

H um an beings act towards things (both objects a n d people) on th e

basis of th e mea ning s which the se h av e for them . [This central point is

sha red by o th er app roac hes , such a s cognitive anthropology.]

(2)

The meanings of things are derived from, r arise ou t of, th e social

interaction proc ess. This is claimed t o be specific to symbolic inter-

actionsim. [Cognitive anthropology suggests that a basic hu m an nee d

is to give th e world m ean ing an d that this is do n e by classifying it into



6

THE

ME NING

OF THE

BUILT ENVIRONMENT

various relevant domains and naming those. These domains often

correspond to the settings of everyday life; Rose, 1 968 ;Tyler, 1969;

Spradley, 197 2; Rapoport, 197 6a , 1976 b.l

3) These meanings are handled

in,

and modified through, an inter-

pretative process used by people

in

dealing with the things which they

encounter. Meaning is thus not intrinsic and interpretation plays a

critical role [although. would add, the interpretation is frequently

given by the culture].

It is the position of social interactionism that human groups exist

through act ion; both cul ture and social s t ructure depend on what

peo ple do: In teract ion forms con duc t . This view ten ds t o neglect pre-

vious tradition (w hat we call culture) wh ereby we a re sho w n a n d told

how to interact, what is expec ted of us, a n d wha t the relevant c ue s are .

We are told how to behave partly through the environment-the

objects of t h e world ar e given me anin g partly by o th er peop le's

actions encoded in them.

Blum er ( 19 6 9a : 1 0 -1 1 ) spea ks of physical , social, an d abstract

objects, but in th e built environ m ent thes e a re com bined a n d interact;

mo st c on cep tualiz ation s of t h e built enviro nm ent stress this point-

that en vironments are m or e than physical (s ee review in Rap opo rt ,

1 9 7 7 : 8).

T hu s on e acts toward objects in terms of m eaning , that is,

objects indicate to p eo ple how to act; social organization an d culture

supply a f ixed set of cues, which ar e used to interpret si tuations a n d

thus help people to act appropriately. In this connection the buil t

env ironm ent pro vide s an im porta nt se t of su ch cues; it is partly a

m ne m on ic device, th e c ue s of w hich tr igger app rop riate behavior.

As already suggested, m ore s t ress n eed s to be given to th e routin iz-

i n g of beh avior, th e form ation of habits, which is o n e thing culture is

about . It is th is process that answ ers the q uest ion (Blum er 1 9 6 9 a : 1 3 6 )

abo ut ho w acts of in terpretation can be given th e constancy they ne ed .

O n e answ er, to b e d ev elo pe d later , is that this is part of th e encultura-

t ion p rocess inw hich t he environ m ent i tself plays a role (se e Sherif an d

Sherif, 1963;R a p op o rt , 1 9 7 8 a ) . It d o es this throu gh th e association

of certain env ironm ental cues an d elem ents with certain peop le an d

behaviors; this is assimilated into a sc he m a whereby t he se elem ents

co m e to s ta nd partly for the se p eo ple an d behaviors; finally, the se cu es

can b e use d t o identify unkno wn peo ple pr ior to any behavior-or

even w he n t he pe op le a re not there. At this point we begin, in fact , to

get a com bination of symbolic interactionism, environm ent a s com -

m unic ation , cognitive anth ropo logy , th e notion of b ehavior settings,



nvironmental eaning 6

indirect effects of environment on behavior , and other important

env iron m enta l themes-clearly t h e beginn ings of a fairly large con -

ceptual sch em a. W ithout co nsidering th at a ny further , let us

contrnue

with o u r the m e: th e insights th at symbolic interactionism a n d its ap-

proac h to th e definition of th e situation can pro vide.

The constancy of interpretation is partly the result of joint action

th at is repetitive, stab le, a n d essential in any settled society (B lum er,

1 9 6 9 a 1 7 ) : M e m be rs

of

a culture

n ow

how to act appropriately in

various settings; in fact, o n e definition of c ul ture is in term s of people 's

ability to c o-act effectively (G o od en o u g h, 1 9 5 7 ). M em bers of a cul-

ture also know the set t ings and the si tuations with which they are

associated; different cultures have different sett ings, an d th e behavior

appropriate to apparently similar settings may vary in different

culturc s.

T h e fixed cues a nd meanings enco ded in the envi ronmen t of any

particillar culture he lp m ak e behavior m ore c on sta nt, th at is, they help

avoid th e problem of totally idiosyncratic interp retatio n. This wo uld

not only mak e a ny social struc ture or cultural agre em ent impossible

a n d h en ce m ak e a ny social interaction extremely difficult, it is also

likely that it would d em an d s o m uch information processing a s to

exceed h um an chann el capacity for such p rocessing (see Miller, 1 9 5 6 ;

Milgram 1 9 7 0 ; Rapopor t ,

1976b,

1 9 7 7 , 1 9 8 0 - 1 9 8 1 ) .

In effect, in add ition to th e psychological an d cultural filters p eo ple

use to r ed uc e al ternatives a n d information, o n e impo rtant function of

th e built environm ent is to m ake certain interpretations impossible or ,

a t least, very unlikely-that is, t o elicit a predisposition t o act in certa in

predictable w ays. Settings,

i

pe op le notice, properly interpret, an d a re

prep ared to "obey" th e cu es, elicit appro priate behav ior . Environ-

m en ts in traditional cultures hav e d o n e this extremely effectively an d

with very high probability of success.

In

the ca se of o u r own culture

(with so m e exceptions, already discussed above), th e d eg ree

of

idio-

syncrasy h as greatly increased, mak ing th e process less certain a n d

less successful. En viro nm en ts a n d settings, how ever, still d o fulfill tha t

function-people d o act differently in different settings a n d their

behavior tend s to be co ngruent ; environments d o red uc e th e choice of

likely interp retatio ns.

C on sid er theore tical sug gestion s from tw o different fields. Re gard-

ing art , it ha s bee n sugg ested (Wollheim, 1 9 7 2 :

124

hat th e observer

does no t d o a ll

of

the interpreta tion. T h e bet ter so m eo ne understan ds

a work

of

art , the less of the con tent h e or sh e impo ses an d th e m o re is



6

THE ME NING OF THE BUILT ENVIRON MENT

com mu nicated: The work of art should be to so m e extent a straight-

jacket in regard t o th e ev en tua l ima ges tha t it is m ost likely to induce.

f

we sub stitute en viro nm ent for work of art t h e parallel is very

close, a n d th e co nc ep t of culture shock followed by learning o r accul-

tura tion parallels tha t o f aes thetic learning. It is also instructive t o co m -

pare the traditional situation in art, with a fixed canon and lexical

(share d) mea nings a n d great persis tence over time, with th e con -

temporary situation, with highly idiosyncratic and rapidly changing

m eanings, s tressing novelty an d in-group meanings. T h e parallel to

en viro nm ental design is very striking.

In a m ore sociological contex t a useful suggestion h as recently bee n

m ad e a long the sa m e lines that well com plem ents Blumer 's model .

This is th e suggestion that th e definition of th e situation is most usefully

unde rstood in term s of the dra m atu rgi ca l view (Perinb anay agam ,

1 9 7 4 ; se e also Britten, 1 9 7 3 ; Go ff man , 1 9 6 3 ) .This is useful be ca us e

this perspective inevitably includes a sta ge, an d h en ce a setting, props,

and cues. This also makes i t useful to combine the notion of the

behavior set ting (Barker, 1 9 6 8 )with th at of t h e role setting (Goffm an,

1 9 6 3 ) :T h e idea of setting becom es m uch m or e concrete.

T h e proble m is always on e of c on gru en ce betw een th e individual's

idiosyncratic definition of the situation and those definitions that

society provides-and tha t ar e en co de d in th e cu es of th e various

places an d settings within which action is alway s situa ted . Parties an d

railway stations did not just ha p pe n t o be th ere: they were established

a s ways of eliciting a particula r definition [of th e situation] from who -

ever may com e along (Per inbanayagam, 974: 5 2 4 ). T h er e is, of

course , always s o m e flexibility, so m e ability t o redefine th e situation,

a nd the situation itself always presents so m e choice, but a n a ppr o-

priate setting restricts the ra ng e of choices (Perinba naya gam , 1 9 7 4 :

5 2 8 ) . S u c h definit ions ar e greatly c ons traine d by enuironment, an d

th es e constraints often a re enforced throu gh both formal an d informal

sanction s. This is th e critical point, an d th e o n e o n w hich this inter-

pretation differs from Blumer's. Meanings are not constructed de

novo throug h interaction in each case. O nc e learned, they be co m e

expectations an d norms an d op era te semiautomatically.

Much of culture consists of habitual, routinized behav ior tha t often

is almost au tom atic; sin ce th e ra nge of cho ices is greatly restricted in

traditional cultures. th e resp on se ten ds to be m ore autom atic, consis-

ten t , and uniform (Rapopor t , 1 96 9c , 19 75 b, 19 76 b, forthcoming

.

O nc e the rules operating in a setting ar e widely known a n d the cue s



nvironmental

Meaning 6

identify that setting without ambiguity and with great consistency,

these then elicit appro pria te m eanings (Douglas , 19 73 b) , appro pria te

definitions of th e situation, an d , hen ce, app rop riate behavior.

T h e definition of a situation can thu s only arise w hen th e parties to a

transaction are at least minimally familiar with the customs

df

the

gro up an d have eno ug h know ledge to interpret the si tuation in terms

of the cues present (Per inbanayagam, 1 9 7 4 : 5 2 4 ) . In o the r words ,

people must be able to interpret the code embodied in the buil t

environment. In the current context they must be able to operate

am on g di fferent coding sys tems ( see Berns te in , 1 9 7I , n d th is com-

po un ds th e problem: O pera ting in pluralistic contexts can b e very dif-

ficult indeed. Also, rapid culture change, modernization, develop-

men t, an d t he like can lead t o e xtrem e difficulties in this do m ain a n d

thu s constitute a variable t o be considered in policymaking, plan ning ,

an d design ( se e Rapoport , 1 97 9c , for thcoming \

In this connection behavior, clothing, hairstyles, and other simiiar

elem ent s ca n also elicit appr op ria te beha vio r in similarwa ls. In fact, all

cultura l mater ia l can act as mnemonic devices that communicate

e xpec te d behav io r (Ge e rt z, 1 9 7 1 ; Fe rna nde z , 1 9 7 1 , 1 9 7 4 , 197 7) .

T h u s in th e case of t h e Fang in Africa, th e ba

Eboka

areligiou s struc-

ture for the syncretic religion know n a s th e Buiti cult, form s a setting

for a situation tha t is a m inia ture of th e wh ole cultural system: It is a

parad igm , or miniaturized setting, that rem inds participants of a whole

cultural system. By recre ating a setting that is disapp earin g in its full-

size form , it elicits ap pro pr iate behavior an d pro pe r res pon ses. In this

se n se it rem inds participants of a wh ole set of situ ations (F ern an de z,

1 9 7 7 ). Fron t lawns can play a similar role in o u r culture (Sherif an d

Sherif, 1 9 6 3 ; W erthm an, 1 9 68 ); s o can location, vegetation, materials,

and o the r env ironmenta l e lements (Royse, 1 9 6 9 ; Duncan , 19 73 ) .

This last poin t will b e discussed later in m ore detail. Fo r no w let us

cons ider clothing, m en tio ne d ab ov e. W he n clothing's role in provid-

ing identity a n d thu s helpin g to d efine social situations

breaks down

d u e to lack of consistency, it beco m es difficult t o place p eo ple into

categories, tha t is, to interpret th eir identities o n t h e basis

of

cos tum e; it

also becomes more difficult to act appropriately (Blumer, 1969'0).

Traditionally, co stu m e played a n imp ortant role in this proces s (R oa ch

a nd

Eicher, 1 9 6 5 , 1 9 7 3 ), a s did facial scars , hairstyles, an d ma ny

ot he r similar physical, a s well a s behavio ral, variables. This is impor-

tant: When peo ple can b e identified a s to type, potential situations are

m or e easily de fine d; suc h peo ple ar e n o longer fully strangers (Lofland,

1 9 7 3 ) ,an d appropr ia te behavior becomes much easier .



6

THE MEANING

O

THE

BUILT

ENVIRONMENT

Clothing is still used to classify pe op le an d is often sele cted to be

con gru ent with given si tuations (Re es et al., 1 9 7 4 ) ,but th e consistency

a n d predictability of su ch cu es is now greatly red uc ed co m pa red t o

traditional situations, in which co stum es a n d o the r suc h markers h ad

almo st co m ple te predictability; m o d e of d re ss was often laid dow n by

law a s well a s by custom. U nde r these new conditions oth er cues,

including th e built environment, b ecom e m ore important (see Lofland,

1 9 7 3 ;J o h ns to n , 1 9 7 ) .This also applies w he n know ledge of peop le

(say within a small gro up ), ac ce nt, old schoo l ties, a n d othe r similar

devices cease t o op erate . U nder all th es e conditions, a s w e shall se e

later, people's location in physical a n d social sp ac e be co m es m or e

imp ortant-and is often indicated by th e settings in which they ar e

found. These settings themselves are identified by various cues-if

these can be read.

Set t ings thus need to comm unicate their in tended na ture an d must

be co ng rue nt with th e situation s o as to elicit congru ent acts. Settings,

however, can also be und erstoo d a s cognitive dom ains m ad e visible.

This conceptualization ha s two co nseq uen ces: First, there ar e impor-

tant, continuing relationships to culture and to psychological

processes, such as h e use of cognitive sche m ata an d taxonom ies, that

te n d t o be n eglected in th e sociological literature. Sec on d, conflicts

ca n easily a rise in pluralistic co nte xts whe n se ttings may elicit different

m eanin gs a n d behaviors-or w he re particular group s may reject

m eanin gs th at they in fact fully un de rsta nd .

Thus , a t the s am e time that environments becom e m ore important

from this point of view, they also tend to lose clarity a n d h av e less co n-

gru en ce with oth er asp ects of culture; m eanin gs beco m e idiosyncratic

an d nondiscursive rather tha n share d an d he nc e discursive o r lexical

( see Hayakawa, in Royce, 19 65 ) . T o co m pou nd these problems ,

env iron m ents also be co m e less legible-various cognitive do m ains

lose their clarity an d b ec om e blurred, their intend ed oc cup ants an d

rules of inclusion o r exclusion b ec om e less clear; cod es multiply an d

are thus unknown to many. Environments cease to communicate

clearly; they d o not set the sc en e or elicit approp riate behavior (se e

Pe to n n et , 1 9 7 2 a ) .While th er e ar e also clear con seq ue nc es of cultural

an d subcultural specificity an d variability (Pe ton net , 1 9 7 2 b ; Rap oport,

1 9 7 6 b , 1 9 7 7 ; Ellis, 1 9 7 2 , 1 9 7 4 ) ,o n e finds, in broad er term s, major

differences between traditional (mainly vernacular) and contem-

porary environm ents. T h e con grue nce pre sent in tradit ional cultures

a nd environm ents, th e rules of th e organization o the environment-



Environmental Meaning 6

of space, t ime, meaning, an d comm unicat ion-have ten de d t o disap-

pe ar. The se rules were c on gru ent with e ac h oth er, with th e unwritten

rules o f culture , with t h e ways in which situation s we re defin ed, with

th e ways in which settings w ere d efin ed , a n d with th e rules of inclusion

or exclrlsion of pe op le. As a result they elicited th e expec ted behaviors.

Tod ay these processes d o not work nearly as well-there a re major

incongruences all a long the line am on g various cul tures an d sub-

cul tures an d, not least , be tween planners an d des igners on th e o n e

ha nd an d th e var ious publics o n the other .

T h e significant point for th e p ur po se of this arg um en t is that th e role

of t h e built env ironm ent in limiting res po ns es ha s b ee n m ost impo r-

tant in the definition of the situation and thus in helping people to

be hav e appropriately. Like culture, env iron m en ts have traditionally

had the ro le o f helping people to be hav e in a m ann er app ropr ia te to

the n orm s of a group. Without such help behavior beco me s m uch

m ore difficult an d dem and ing . A better u nde rstan din g of this process

sho uld ena bl e us to m ake gre ater use of this role of env ironmen ts;

he nc e this book.

Many of t h e poin ts just raised will b e el ab or at ed later.

will al so dis-

cuss the ways in which environm ents transmit those m ean ing s that

define situations an d, in turn, influence beha vior a n d com mu nication.

At this point, howe ver, on e issue briefly m en tion ed ab ov e requires

ela bo ra tion, particularly s ince it is intimately re lated t o t h e wholcb issu e

of how meanings a nd lea rned b ehavior beco m e habitual an d routinized.

This is the issue o f enculturat ion an d acculturat ion) an d th e role of th e

environmen t in that process Rapop or t , 19 7 8 a) .

ncultur tion nd environment

T h e question is basically how th ose co de s are learn ed that allow the

deco ding of t he c ue s presen t in th e environment. It seem s clear that

com mo nly m uc h of this learn ing occ urs q uit e early in life, tha t is, du r-

ing encultu ration. Fo r imm igrants an d du ring periods of rapid c ulture

ch an ge o r culture contact, this process may occur later in life an d is

the n known a s acculturation. T h e s tress in social science has b ee n o n

l.he role of verbal m es sag es of pa ren ts, caretake rs, a n d tea ch ers ; of

reward an d punishment. How ever , it seem s clear that th e environ-

men1 plays a role. While little resea rch exists o n t h e role of t h e physical

environment in the process of enculturation, some suggestive

exanlples from varied cul tures can be found Ra pop ort , 197 Ha :

55



THE MEANING O THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

5 6 ) . While m any sett ings play a role in enculturation, the role of the

dwelling and how it is used is primary in influencing small children,

often a t th e preverbal level.

It se em s intuitively likely th at th os e dw ellings in which th er e a re dis-

tinct male/fem ale dom ains, clear rules abo ut th e inclusion o r exclu-

sion of certain gro ups , a clear relation between roles a n d various

set tings , an d a clear an d unam biguou s use o f various se ttings will con-

vey different m essage s a n d h en ce teac h different things to children

tha n will tho se w he re all th es e ar e blurred-or absen t. For exam ple,

we find the insistence on a front parlor in the rather small English

working-class ho us e an d eve n in th e barriadas in Lima, w here sp ac e

an d resources ar e scarce (Turner, 19 6 7) ;at the sa m e time, we find that

w he n th e possible effects of re du ce d dwelling size in th e U nited S tate s

ar e being discussed it is sugge sted t ha t th e first thing t o b e eliminated

sho uld b e t he formal living room (Milwaukee Journ al,

1976 .T h e

effects of su ch decisions, an d of t h e lifestyles an d va lues they e nc od e,

should be considerable . It ha s also be en suggested (Plant, 1 9 3 0 ) an d

even dem onstrated (Whiting, 1 9 6 4 ) tha t children w ho s leep in the

sa m e room with their m oth er (o r parents) de velo p differently from

tho se w ho hav e their own room early. Similarly, on e could posit that

order versus disorder, or formality as opposed to informality-as

ind icate d, for exam ple, by th e pre sen ce of living ro om s ve rsus family

room s, dining rooms a s opp ose d to eat ing in th e kitchen, or eat ing

anywhere-would also hav e con sequ enc es and effects o n children s

enculturation.

T o use an example have used before: T he dif ferences between a

family that takes formal meals together a n d o n e in which m eals a re

grabbed informally at o d d t imes ar e l ikely to be important (R apo port ,

1 9 6 9 ~ ) .n fact, it has been suggested that a meal contains a great

am ou nt of information tha t is culturally lea rne d an d ca n symbolize

mu ch (Douglas, 1 9 74 ).Meals are, a fte r all, social occasions tha t include

app rop riate settings, occ ur at appro priate t imes, occur in app ropria te

ways, include appropriate foods in the r ight order, and include or

exclude certain categories of pe op le an d behaviors. In othe r words,

they have certain rules associa ted with the m . All the se things children

learn durin g th e rep ea te d proce ss of participating in su ch occasion s.

The dist inction between such formal meals and grabbing food at

various times is precisely the difference between the restricted and

elabora ted co des (Berns te in, 19 7 1) . T h e relationship betw een th ese

cod es a n d th e organiza t ion a nd use of the dwelling has be en sketched




ou t suggestively a n d persuasively by Mary Doug las (1 9 7 3 a ).Sh e s ug -

gests tha t spatial layouts that conv ey a hierarchy of r an k a n d sex , in

which evey event is s t ructured to express and support the social

ord er, will pr od uc e a very different child th an o n e in which n 9 su ch

hierarchy exists, in which e a ch child s n ee d s ar e m et individually, a n d

in which ea ch child eats whe n his or her sc hed ule dictates (Do uglas,

1 9 7 3 a : 55 -5 6) . In o n e case th e environment, in effect, imposes a n

orde r, a way of classification, th e learn ing of certain systems, behaviors,

a n d ac cep tanc e of social dem an ds. In the o th er case n on e of this is

de m an d ed or learned-a very different ord er is learned (Douglas ,

1 9 7 3 a :

81 ,

and we would then expect different enculturation pro-

cesse s a n d results.

T he English working-class dwelling clearly em bod ies, tha t is, e nco des,

m an y of th e characteristics of th e restricted c o d e in th e s a m e way th e

elabo rate d c o de of middle-class families is em bo di ed in their dwfllings

(Douglas, 1 9 7 3 a : 1 9 1 ) an d a lso expressed th rough them . Cer ta in

middle-class families an d dwellings ha ve tak en th e e lab ora ted c o d e in

term s of individualized routines, mealtimes, a n d s o o n to tha t very

ex trem e pos ited a s hypothetical by Mary Doug las. T h e relationship of

this to chan ges in th e social ord er a n d c onse nsus offers many interest-

ing que stions. As just o n e example-- Would o n e se e in this th e conflict

betwee n t h e op en p lan of t he architect a n d th e resistance t o it by m an y

users? A related point was made by Rosal ie Cohen at an

€LIRA 4

wo rksho p (n ot published in t h e proceedings) . This referred to th e

possible effect o n th e co nc ep tu al styles of children of th e very different

social, orga nizatio ns enc od ed in th e physical env ironm ents of scho ols,

specifically, th e likely im pact o n th e cognitive styles of children of o p e n

clas sroo m s, with sim ultane ou s activities, lack of classification a n d

nonlinearity, as op po se d to traditional classroom s-separate sett ings,

ea ch for a specific pu rp os e, with its label a n d co nsec utive, linear use.

S h e suggested th at this would greatly influence th e process of cate-

gorization of activities, simultaneity or sequential thinking, linearity

versus nonlinearity, work habits , behav ior a n d rules ab ou t ignoring

co nc urr en t activities, a n d s o on . In oth er wo rds, different rules would

be learn ed in th es e two sett ings, an d th e learning of s uc h rules is an

imp ortant part of th e learning of culture, o r enculturation.

In its most gen eral term s th e enviro nm ent can then be seten a s a

teaching medium. Once learned, i t becomes a mnemonic device

rem inding o n e of ap pro pria te behavior.

f o n e accepts the view that

environm ents are som eh ow rela ted to cul ture a n d that thei r cod es



68


igure 1

hav e t o be le arn ed , s ince they are culture specific, the n t he role of th e

env ironm ent in e ncu lturation ( a n d acculturation) follows a s a very

likely consequence. In turn, this learning influences the degree to

which environmental cues can be decode d easily an d behavior adjusted

easily to various sett ings. T h e topic of enculturation thu s form s a n

impo rtant link in the d eve lop m ent of t h e argum en t ab ou t how sett ings

com mu nicate meaning.

T o summ arize: H u m an behavior, including interaction a nd com-

munication, is influenced by roles, contexts, and situations that, in

turn , a re frequently com m unicated by cu es in the settings making u p

th e environment; th e re la tionships am on g a ll thes e are learned as par t

of enc ulturatio n o r acculturation. T h e fact is that w e all rely o n s uc h

cues in order t o act appropriately, al though clearly so m e pe op le a re

m ore sensit ive than others. A persona l ane cd ote, relating to offices,

may help to m ak e this clear.

This exam ple concern s a n architect in Sy dney, Australia, w ho ha d

ha d training in social science. His office was s et u p a s show n in Figure

10 After they h a d b ee n us ed by visitors, chairs w ere always repla ced

at point A. T h e architect the n observed ho w entering visitors ha nd led

th es e cha irs a n d w he re the y sat. T h re e possibilities existed: A visitor

could sit o n a chair in place at location A; h e o r sh e could move it forward

part way toward th e architect s d esk o r all th e way right u p against his

desk; or thevisitor could even lean over th e architect s desk, with his or

her elbows o n it. T h e architect felt tha t the se thr ee behav iors com-

mu nicated ever higher deg rees of status and self-confidence, an d h e

acte d accordingly. H e felt that th e results supp orte d his assum ptions

an d he fou nd th e system most helpful.

In

term s of ou r discussion, h e




clearly used th es e c ue s to identify th e po tential situation a n d modified

his be hav ior accordingly.

T h e relationship between behavior an d seating ha s long bee n known

an d can be in tepreted both as communicating roles, sta tus , an d s o on

an d a s being d ep en de nt o n context, as, for example, in the ca se of

various tasks (Som m er, 1 9 6 5 ) , jury tables (Strod beck an d I-Iook,

1 9 6 1 ), eminars (De Lo ng,19 70), an d other group processes (Michelin

e t

al., 19 7 6 ) , am ong many o the rs .

All es e indirect effec ts o p er at e by establishing th e context: Be fore

elabo rating this poin t it is useful to n o te tha t this h as m etho dolo gical

implication s rega rd ing th e possibility of estab lishing lexicons dis-

cussed a bo ve . In ef fec t, h e study of meaning, considered as pragmatics,

ca n best o ccu r by con siderin g all its occ ur ren ce s in context T he array

of different meanings associated with a ny given c ue c an only be dete r-

m ined by surveying th e possible kinds of c on tex ts in which it oc curs.

This point has been made about symbols. The meaning of a given

symbol or cluster of sy mb ols can no t b e d eterm ined simply by asking,

W hat is th e m ea nin g of

A

as a symbol? ; ra the r, it is ne ces sary to

inspect th e norm ative usa ge of

A

a s a sym bol in t h e widest array of

possible contexts (Sch neide r, 1 9 7 6 : 21 2-2 13 ) . Clearly , o ne can sub-

stitute cues for symbols without loss of clarity an d d o s o for elem ents

in the built environment.

Sin ce all behav ior occurs in s o m e context, a n d th at context is based

o n m ean ing, it follows that p eo ple be ha ve differently in different con -

texts by deco ding the avai lable cues fo r their meaning-and the se

cues may be in the physical env ironment . T hu s context beco m es an

imp ortan t consid eration for th e stud y of m ea nin g an d is, in fact, bein g

stressed more and more in various fields; here again the different

app roa che s to the s tudy o f mean ing over lap to so m e extent. This

overlap is d u e not only to th e increasing interest in co ntext in various

disciplines but also to t h e fact that it has be en discussed in gen era l

terms. Thus furni ture arrangement , posture, conversat ional style,

kinesics, a n d nonv erbal behav ior in general ha ve bee n used

t o

illus-

t ra te the importance of context an d a t tempts have b een m ad e to apply

con textual logic t o analyzing the se a t a high level of abstraction (D e

Long, 1978 .Regardless of th e particular form ulation an d a pp roa ch ,

a stron g argu m ent is m ad e f o rth e high general imp ortan ce of context-

althou gh will u se it, o n ce aga in, m uc h less abstractly. This h as lon g

be en known from perception-for exam ple, th e impac t of context o n

changing the value

of

different colors, a s in th e work

by

Albers

Size ,



7


height, a n d other such variables ar e contextual-as in th e Am es per-

spe ctive ro om illusion a n d o th e r optical illusions. This is also show n by

th e well-known ex perimen t in which th e sa m e water may be experi-

enced as both hot and cold depending on previous exposure. An

urba n an alo gu e of w hat a re essentially a da pta tion effects is th e finding

that th e sa m e city can be experienced a s ei ther drab o r interesting,

de pen din g on which cities were ex perienced before (Campbell , 1 9 6 1 ) .

Similarly, th e s am e town can be se en as clean, safe, an d quiet , o r dirty,

dangerou s , an d noisy , depending on w hether o n e came to it from a

metropolis o r a rural ar ea (Wohlwill an d Kohn, 1 9 7 3 ).

oc i a l com municat ion an d context

Behav ior vis-a-vis othe rs, social com m un icatio n, is ofte n a result of

judg m ents of oth ers base d on physical cues-such as dwellings, fur-

nishings, consumer goods, food habits, or clothing. For example,

clothing ma y h ave a st igma effect a n d thus red uc e com m unication,

but th at effect of clothing will d ep en d o n th e context-dirty o r to rn

clothing worn while working o n a ca r or in th e g ar de n will b e ev aluated

quite differently tha n would th e s a m e clothing worn at a party o r in a

restau rant. This will hav e furth er differential effects de pe nd ing o n th e

subg roup a t the party an d the type of restaurant .

That clothing communicates and is used to project quite explicit

me ssages a bo ut identi ty, status, gro up m em bership, an d s o on is clear

from the recent sp ate of book s an d articles o n how t o dress for success,

including th e dev elopm ent of com puter-p rogra m me d wardrobe

engineering for success. O n e consultant advises people, at 50

per

hour, how to dress for success-he points out that w he n a person

enters a room m any decisions are m ad e abo ut him or her based solely

o n appearance-mainly clothing. T he se judgm ents include econo mic

an d e du ca tional levels, social position, sophistication, heritage, cha r-

acter, a n d success. H e stresses that man y peo ple feel that it is unfair to

judge peo pl e by ho w they d res s, bu t it is a fact (Tho urlby, 1980).T h e

implication is th at particular suits o r d res ses , eyeglasses, colors, ties,

shirts, and so on, their organization, and arrangement make a dif-

ferenc e in th e m essages comm unicated an d he nc e success in business

(Molloy,

1976).

T h e specificity of th e re co m m end ation s also suggests

tha t this is co nte xt specific-a sugges tion th a t is quickly con firmed.

T hu s a New York appea ls court barred a Ro m an Cathol ic priest from

wea ring clerical garb while serving a s a lawyer in a criminal trial; it was

held that this m o d e of dress would b e a co ntinuin g visible

communica-




7

tion to the jury that would prevent afair trial Hiz, 1977:40).Clearly, in

other contexts the use of such garb woul d be appropriate Note also

that t communicate particular ideological, religious, and social

stances some priests and nuns dispense with clerical garb altogether.

Clothing generally has been used to communicate identity and has

clear meaning. There is a large literature on dress, clothing, and

fashion and their meanings which offers a useful paradigm also re-

garding the environment. Like built environments, dress has many

purposes, one of which is to communicate status meaning);other pur-

poses include self-beautification and magico-religious requirements

both involving meaning), protection from the elements, and so on

Roach and Eicher, 1965,

1973).

Dress indicates identity, roles, status,

and the like and changes in fashion indicate changes in roles and self-

concepts in society Richardson and Kroeber, 1940).Dress is related

to ideal body types, to activities, and to posture, all of which are

culturally variable. Fashion communicates meaning by color, line,

shape, texture, decoration, value, and so on and is used to communi-

cate group identity. This it did particularly well in traditional societies

in which it expressed ethnic and other forms of group identity and was

used to place people in social space; it was frequently prescribed for

different groups Lofland, 1973). Clothing was thus dependent on

culture, an important form of context.

There were also pros ript ions about its use-sumptuary laws-

applied to dwellings as well as to clothing, the purpose of which was to

prevent the use of particular elements by various groups as a way of

preventing them from expressing high status. This works much less

well in modern societies, where meaning generally cannot really develop

due to wide choice, mass production, haphazard use, rapid change,

and so on much as in built environments). But this very rapidity of

change may, in fact, add importance to fashion as a way of defining

particular elite groups-taste leaders Blumer, 1969b). t is the ability

of clothing to communicate meaning in traditional societies and its

much lesser although still present) ability to do so in modern societies

that have led to the disappearance of the ability to place people in

social space Lofland, 1973) ,a process also helped by hairstyles, body

marltings, and many other variables Rapoport, 1981).When all these

cues disappear, as we shall see later, environmental cues gain in

importance.

In all these cases, however. context plays a role; the meanings are

influenced by the setting. For example, wearing a tie or not wearing

one) depends on the context. In the case of students in Britain, where



7

THE

ME NING

O

TH

UILT

ENVIRONMENT

dres s style has impo rtant meaning, wearing a t ie was se en a s having

different meanings dep endin g on w hether the s tude nt was en route to

a class o r an interview (R ee s et al., 19 7 4 ).More generally, the clothing

worn a nd th e context ar e manipulated together, to establish or eliminate

social distance, to express co nformity, protest , or w hatever . T hu s

bright clothing worn by exp erim ental subjects led t o greater perso nal

dis tance (Nesbitt an d Steven , 1 9 7 4 ) .This ca n be interpreted a s being

due, at least partly, to judgments m ad e a bo ut th e wearers. For example,

informal clothing will be rea d a s app rop riate in a n informal situation

bu t will be viewed qu ite differently in a forma l con text, w he re it m ay

co m m un ica te protest, lack of care, or igno rance; oth er c ue s will, in

turn , help de fine the context . In th e study cited abo ve, in a S ou thern

California amusement park the bright clothing probably had less

effect than it would hav e had in a variety of o ther situations; th e

cultu ral con tex t will als o play a major role.

W ristwatches also hav e latent mean ings q uite ind ep en de nt of their

role in sh ow ing time. The y se em to com m unicate sexual stereotypes,

for exam ple, the m ale as strong a n d function-related, th e female a s

de lica te a n d aesthet ic (Wagner, 1 9 7 5 ) .

f

and when sex roles and

stereotypes ch ang e, th at is , new s che m ata d evelop, the de cod ing of

these meanings wil l change and one can predict changes in watch

styles a n d in their meanings-that is, th es e, to o, ar e con text specific.

Most generally, o n e can argu e that

all

goods an d co nsum er items have

m eanings that organize social relat ions (Dou glas an d Isherwood ,

1 9 7 9 ) ; this is, in fact, their latent, a nd major, function.

In social psychology, also, o n e finds that th e willingness to help

oth ers is strongly controlled by the set t ing a n d th e context that th e set-

t ingspecifies (Sadalla, 1 9 7 8 :2 7 9 ) .This also plays a n im portan t role in

evalu ating an d judging edu cationa l levels or medical states. In fact,

even self-definition can dep en d o n context (S e e S h an d s an d Meltzer,

1 9 7 7 :

87-88.

ubjective definitions

of

crowdingalso dep end on con-

text, s o ha t th e sa m e num be r of p eople in the sa m e s ize area is judged

qu ite differently de pe nd in g o n th e context-w hether it is a library, a n

airport waiting room, a cocktail party, a conversational setting, or

whatever (Desor , 1 9 7 2 ) .Th is is particularly significant for ou r discus-

sion since, in effect, up o n entering a setting containin g a given num be r

of peo ple in a given space , a judgment is m ad e whether it is" cro w de d-

that is, subjectively uncomfortable-or not , de pe nd in go n th e app rop -

riaten ess in term s of an identfication of t h e situation th ro ug h a se t of



Environmental Mea ning 7

cu es th at indicate library. waiting room , cocktail party. or

whatever .

In anthropology there has been increasing emphasis on context

( s e e S p ir o, 1 9 6 5 ; H all, 1 9 7 6 ;D e Long, 1 9 7 8 ) In psychology this has

also been th e case . s o that on e of th e mo st re pl~ ca ble ~ n d ~ n g sn psy-

chology is th e fact tha t o u r evaluatio n of virtually any even t is partly

determined

by

the context in which the even t app ears (Manis , 1 9 7 1 :

153 -

which is, of c our se , also th e thr us t of B arker's w ork, a s w e shall

see below (for examp le , s ee Barker ,

1968

In th at c as e, th e co ntex t is

t h e b e h a v ~ o retting. In th e ca se of perception, learning, an d s o on , th e

impordance of context in noticing, recognizing, and understanding

various a m b ~ g u o u s ue s in d ifferent sensory modali ties is quite clear

(Nelsser, 1 9 6 7 ) It is also quite clear that inference also increases an d

improves when context exists (Bruner , 1 9 7 3 ) . Th us miss ing sou nd s

are res tored in sen tences using context (Warren an d W arren, 19 7 0 )

and w ords and sou nd s genera lly a re m ore comprehensible in rnean-

irlgful con texts Subliminally flashed le tters ar e noticed , recogn ized,

and remem bered much be t te r wh en em bed ded in words an d rnean-

ingful syllables tha n w hen they form part of n o n se n se syllables (Kraus s

and Glucksberg , 1 9 7 7 ) . At th e s am e time, while the importance of

conte xt is acc ep te d in psy chology a n d is growing, m ajo r interest in it is

really only just beginning (s e e Ro sch an d Lloyd, 19 7 8 )

T he im portanc e of co nt ex t in te rm s of signal detection theory

is, of

cou rse, that it makes it easier to m ake rel iable judg m ents abo ut

am big uo us stimuli. This is d u e to th e p rese nce of preexisting, learn ed

interna l contexts, which prov ide th e ability to m atch perce pts with

sche m ata; the context co m m unicates th e m ost l ikely sch em ata , it is

predict ive . T h e resem blanc e to th e act ion of se t tings a s

a

type

o

c o n -

t xt

see m s c lear

In th e case of nonv erbal b ehavior , as in the case s discussed a bo ve ,

context seem s impor tant . T hu s th e role of th e s o c ~ a le tt ing ( or con -

text) is ex t~ em ely mpor tant, s ince no hum an behavior ev er occurs

outs ide a social se tt ing, s o that spo ken langu age, nonverbal behavior ,

a n d cu lture all play a role bo th in the pro duc tion o f beh avio r and tts

perception (s ee v o n Raffler-Engel, 1 9 7 8 ) . n linguistics, also, context is

increasingly stres sed (s ee Giglioli, 1972 .T h e arg um ent is , basically,

that pragmatics must b e stressed-that is , that m eanings mu st be

s tudled in contexts , cons ider ing the su r r o u n d ~ n g i rcumstances or

situation Similarly, it h as be en ar gue d tttat conte xt is most Im po r.



7

TH

ME NING

OF


ta nt in th e sensible construing of m eanin g in lang uage . T h e con text

provides a pool of sto red inform ation on which bo th parties t o a co n-

versation can draw. This information, contextual and general, that

spe ak ers believe listeners shar e with the m con stitutes th e cognitive

background to the ut terances (Miller an d Johnson-Laird , 1 9 7 6 : 1 2 5 ) .

It is pointed ou t th at children learn no t just langu age but soc ia l speech

which takes into acco unt knowledge an d perspective of ano the r person

(Krauss an d G lucksberg, 1 9 7 7 ) This , then , leads adults also to be

influenced by th e conte xt a n d th e situation-so that directions ask ed

by a stranger o r a native elicit very different resp on ses; no te th at

native o r stranger is co m m un icate d by a se t of cu es , m any of

which, suc h a s accent, clothing, a n d s o on, a re physical an d , certainly,

nonverbal (Co ok, 1 9 7 1 ). Thus. in t he case of language, context is

established to a great extent by nonverbal elements (Sarles, 1969 ,

m an y of which may be physical. Bilingualism provides a g o o d exam ple

of con text an d of t h e po tenti al relationship of linguistic analysis t o o u r

subject ,

i

it is ap pr oa ch ed in term s of pragm atics, that is, lan gu ag e as

parole not as langue. La ngu ag e, like behavior, varies with context. It

not only varies with th e social characteristics of th e sp ea ke r, suc h a s

status, ethnic grou p, age , sex, an d the like, but also according to th e

social context. Different contex ts elicit different linguistic usages. T hese

no t only involve rules of ap pro pria te or inapp ropriate (right or wrong)

usage , bu t also a ssu m e certain cultural kno wle dge, the ability to elicit

und erstandin g with minimal cu es, suc h as th e shortha nd of pro-

fessionals or t he special spe ec h patterns o f in-groups, based partly o n

the role, th e au die nc e, a n d s o on . In s o m e cultures, this is informal, in

m any othe rs it is formalized (s ee Trudgill, 1 9 7 4 ). Again, this distinc-

tion is found in environments; in some cases formalized and in

othe rs not.

The parallelism between sociolinguistic approaches to language

an d th e approa ch to environments here being developed go es fur ther.

It h as be en argu ed convincingly (Douglas, 1 9 7 3 a ) that t he us e of

linguistic c o d es a n d th e u se of dwellings parallel e ac h o th er closely in

English working a n d midd le classes. This is also implied in t h e finding

that the re a re correlations, in Britain an d th e United States, betwe en

language an d social s ta tus and group mem bership (Trudgill, 1 9 7 4 :

44-45

and the corresponding finding that different s tatus groups

have differentenvironm ental quality preferen ces, evaluating the s am e

cu es differently a n d , while c ap ab le of m aking social inferences by



Environmental

Meaning

7

reading environmental meanings, interpreting cues differently (see

Royse, 196 9) .While know of n o research trying to relate th es e two

sets of findings, th e relationship is rath er likely a s a h ypothesis. N ote,

how ever, tha t w e a re using sociolinguistic, co ntextual, pragm atic

ap

pro ache s t o language, rather th an the formal, syntactic, abstract ap -

pr oa ch es criticized before.

Analogously, th e cognitive backg round to ap pro pria te behavior is

provided by designed sett ings and th e cues that co m m unicate appr o-

priate m eaning s. O n c e a g ro up is know n, its lifestyle (in th e s e n s e of th e

choicesm ade) and behavior ca n be observed and the set tings in which

activities occu r c an be identified. This proc ess ca n be quite straightfor-

ward. It is ofte n d o n e informally in descriptions, novels, a n d t h e way

settings are used in films, television, and the like, and can be dis-

cove red by various forma l o r informal forms of co nte nt analysis; o n e

brief example has already been given and more wil l be used later

(Ra pop ort , 1 9 6 9 a , 1 9 7 7 ). Frequently, a simple inventory of objects,

furnishings,materials, an d s o on will reveal their mea ning a nd the way

in which they o pe ra te to let pe op le know in which setting or do m ain

they Find them selves (s ee Zeisel, 1 9 7 3 ; Jopling, 1 9 7 4 ) . It is striking

how quickly, alm ost instantaneo usly, this process of reading occu rs

a n d how frequently novelists h av e taken it for granted.

Clearly, in th es e pro cesses it is neces sary t o lea rn t h e cultural knowl-

ed ge ne ed ed to interpret the cues-very m uch as, in the case of

analyzing language, one needs to consider the cultural knowledge

necessary to make language work. In

all

ca ses of com m unication,

pragm atic knowledge is ne ed ed for suc h com mu nication to work.

T h e actors m ust have cultural knowledge upon which t o draw in o rde r

to em be d m essages in social contexts; tha t is , even language utter-

an ces can no t be analyzed a s an abstract system but must be con-

side red within th e con text of th e culturally de fined universe in which

they ar e uttered (Keesing, 1979: 3 3 ) .

This cultural pragm atic context often provides th e know ledge ne ed ed

to relate perceptual a n d associat ional aspects. For

ex am ple , irk m any

traditional cultures there is a relationship between the noumenal

world of invisible spiritual beings a n d th e phe no m en al, physical world

of perception. These may coincide at specific places, which then

be co m e sacre d. This relation may be invisible to outsiders (a s in the

ca se of A borigines, Eskimos, a n d others ) a n d m ust b e know n; it may,

however, be indicated by various cu es that can b e learne d (R apo por t ,



7


1 9 7 5 a , 1 9 7 7 ) .This learning for m em be rs of a culture is th e pro cess

of enc ultura tion, for ou tsiders (including resea rche rs) it is o n e of

acculturation.

Co nsider a m ore "concrete" exam ple-the m osq ue courtyard s of

I sp h ah an a lread y men t ion ed ( R ap o p o rt 1 9 6 4 - 1 9 6 5 , 1 9 7 7 ) . Th es e

can b e expe rienced an d described in term s of their perceptual charac-

teristics in all senso ry m odalities, th e transitions em plo yed t o reinforce

these , an d so on . In those te rms they can be understood a s the

m anip ulatio n of noticeable differences in th e perc eptu al realm to

define a distinct place. This place is specia l, how ever, in a ssociation al

terms ( as already discussed) an d this m eaning, the k now ledge how to

beha ve, w hat to do-a whole set of ap pro pria te rules-to en ab le o n e

to act appropriately and co-act effectively requires much cultural

knowledge. Th is last po int is basic, particularly

i

culture itself is def ined

in term s of w hat a strang er to a society would n e ed t o know in o rd e r

app ropria tely to perform an y role in an y scen e stage d by that society

( G o o d e no u g h , 1 9 5 7 ) .

T hu s in Q ue be c, at the m om en t, the re is great interest in verna cular

architectu re an d use of th e "style neo -Quebe cois" for sub urb an ho uses

using ele m en ts of tha t vernacular

such a s particular ro of forms, porch es,

windows, facades , and s o on. T o und ers tand its meaning, however, so

a s not to misinterpret it, de m an ds cultural knowledge-an aw areness

of th e curre nt cultural contex t, nationalism, se para tism , strivings for

ethnic a nd linguistic identi ty, a n d s o o n. Similarly, the imp act o n the

de ve lop m en t of Bo ston of neigh borho ods like B ea co n Hill an d sacred

sites , such as the Boston C om m on , churches , an d burying g rounds

(Firey, 1 9 6 1 ) , de m an ds know ledge of th e cultural context within

which th e environmental cu es com mu nicate .

N ote th at g enerally this process w orks m uch m or e easily for users of

"vernacular" environm ents in tradit ional societies . T he se co m m uni-

cate m uc h m ore clearly b ec au se the contexts an d cultural knowledge

are m uc h m or e shared-in de gre e of sharing, extent of sharing, an d s o

o n ( R ap o p o rt , 1 9 8 0 b , 1 9 8 0 c , 1 9 8 1 , fo rth co min g .

Recall that we

ha ve already se en that design ers an d users , an d different user groups,

perceive and evaluate environments differently so that meanings

inte nd ed by designers may not be perceived;

i

perceived, not un de r-

s tood; an d , bo th perceived an d unders tood , may be re jected ( see , o r

ex amp le, R ap o p o r t, 1 9 7 7 ) .

In

this process the understanding and

acc ep tan ce of cultural know ledge and contexts are most im portant.

Yet, as a ready pointed out, and to be elaborated later , given the




ap pr oa ch he re being deve lope d, th e discovery of cultural knowledge

is posstble a n d no t t o o difficult.

The notion of role sett ings and the dramatic analogy of human

behavior (Goffman, 1 9 5 9 ,1 9 6 3 ) can easily be ex tended to the com-

municative and mnemonic function of sett ings and environments,

which h ou se app ropriate behaviors an d also remind people how to

behave. T hu s, considering sett ings as expressing do m ains (R apo por t ,

1 9 7 6 a , 1 97 6b , 1 9 7 7 ) an d consider ing the d istinction be tween f ront

an d back, o n e f inds markedly different behaviors in front an d back

regions. A particularly striking example is provtded by the changed

behavior of a waiter moving thro ug h the swinging doo r betw een res-

taurant dining room an d kitchen (Goffman, 1 9 6 3 ) .

1

will have m ore t o

say later abo ut th es e important cognitive do m ains, which lend ih em -

selves to very different behaviors (s ee also R apo port , 1 9 7 7 ). H er e it

may suffice to rem ark o n a n e xpe rience in Baltimore, w he re similar

urban renew al projects, based o n clearing out th e interiors of blocks

a n d rc?placing them with parks a n d playgrounds, worked as inte nde d

in s o m e cases an d failed in oth ers (Brow er a n d W illiamson,

1974;

Brower, 19 77 ) .

t

is m os t likely th a t a major part of this difference ha s

to d o with front/back behavior, s ince in th e se con d c ase designs that

helped p eop le use th e s treet worked well an d transformed th e environ-

m en t No te th at th e definition of front a n d back dom ains, identified

with public and private and associated with appropriate behaviors,

de pe nd s o n par ticular cues .

Given t h e ab ov e discussion, it is clear tha t in term s of t h e effect of

environm ent on behavior, enviro nm ents a r e mo re tha n just inhibiting,

faciliiating, or e ven catalytic. Th ey not o nly rem ind, they al so predict

a n d prescribe. T he y actually

guide responses

tha t is, they m ak e cer-

tain re sp on se s mo re likely by limiting an d restricting t h e ran ge of likely

a n d possible respon ses without being determining (Wollheim, 1 9 7 2 ;

Per ir ibanayagam, 1 9 7 4 ) .N ot et ha t is ord er to guide responses--to tell

people th at they should act in such a nd such

a

way-the cond itions w e

have be en discussing m ust be met . Note also tha t Goffman

1963:3

begins by reminding us that mental d isorders are of ten def~nedn

term s of behavior tha t is ina pp rop riat e t o th e situation. Clearly th e

app ropria tene ss of b ehavior an d th e definition of the s i tuation are

culturally variable. My in terest he re, h ow ever, is in th e process w hereby

sett ings com m unic ate th e s i tuation a n d thereby t h e rules that elicit the

approp riate behavior This is do ne through inference(as n much non-

verbal com mu nication),whereby settings a re identified a s stages w he re

cohere nce prevails am on g set ting, app ear an ce, man ners , behavior,



8


a n d s o o n (G offm an , 1 9 5 9 : 3 , 2 5 ) .T h e rules linking thes e ar e unwrit-

ten , an d may be tight in so m e cultures an d contexts a n d loose in

others (Gof fman,1 9 6 3 : 19 0- 20 0) . t is he re where in fe rence becomes

impo rtant; fo r it to work the inference m ust be easy to m ake an d

shou ld be m ad e in th e sa m e way by all tho se involved, he nc e the need

for cultural specificity, clarity, stron g notice ab le differences, ad eq ua te

redu nd anc y, a n d s o on. Note, f inally, that the s am e physical spa ce m ay

be co m e several different sett ings, housing differe nt occasions, an d

h en ce eliciting different behavior that is ap pro pria te (Go ffm an, 1 9 6 3 :

21 ) . Th us the sa m e op en space may successively ho use a marke t, a

soccer gam e, a performance, a riot, an d so o n , each with appro pr ia te

behaviors. Similarly, a s so m e stud en ts of m ine fo un d in Haifa, Israel, a

single street corner may become a series of settings for different

grou ps; in this case it is th e people w ho elicit the approp riat e behaviors.

This ha s a lso been shown t o happ en in H yderab ad, India (Du ncan ,

1 9 7 6 ; c om p are R apoport, 1 9 8 0 b , 1 9 8 0 ~ ) .he co nsequ ence is that

the uses of sett ings an d a pp rop riate behavior ca n b eco m e difficult

sinc e their invariance is destroye d. In gen eral, successful settings ar e

precisely those that successfully reduce the variance by clear cues

a n d con sistent use, which in crease th eir predictability.

hav e already co m m ente d on so m e of th e reaso ns for the success of

chain operations-they a re am on g the mo st predictable settings in

our environment. A similar observation was recently made starting

from a very different perspective: that fast food restauran ts, such a s

M cDonald's, ar e settings for rituaI behav iors with an astonishing

de gre e of behavioral uniformity tha t may hav e b ee n remarkably suc-

cessful in prod ucing behavioral invariance (Kottak, 1 9 7 9 ) . n terms of

my p a p e r o n t h e definition of t h e situation, such settings restrict th e

ran ge of beh aviors a pp rop riate in th e setting, and d o so effectively,

bec aus e they are legible-their m eanings are clear an d unambigu ous.

In this legibility th e consistency of us e of various design el em en ts is

m ost im portan t in achieving a de gre e of predictability u nkn ow n since

tribal architecture. At a d ifferent level, othe r chain ope rations, s uc h a s

hotel chains, achieve the same effects by providing the uncertain

traveler with certainty as to price, food, service, layout, mattresses,

l anguage , and s o on .

In this proce ss t h e u sers play a n active role: Th ey in terpret the cues.

While they m ay be unable to notice the c ues or ,

if

they perceive the m ,

t o interpret the m , an d while they m ay be unwilling to act approp ri-

ately, in most ca ses when cue s are noticed an d un ders tood peo ple will




act accordingly-the interpretatio n is restricted in ran ge a m o n g m em -

bers of a particular gro up sharing a cu lture, tha t is, it dep en ds o n

sha red cultural know ledge an d behavior . T h e evidence

is

all ar ou nd

us that settings work-people know how to behav e a n d ar e able to co-

act effectively in sh op s, classroo m s, discoth eque s, a n d s o on . In effect,

pe op le ente r settings m any times a day, identify them an d th e relevant

information, draw up on th e applicable rules, an d act appropriately.

A

rathe r interesting a n d very gen eral argu m ent that bears o n my dis-

cussion he re h as recently b ee n m ad e. This propo ses that th e notion of

aesthetics b e dispensed with an d tha t, in effect, art be defined

contextually-those objects a n d beha viors a re artistic tha t occu r in

settings defined a s having th e purpo se of housing works of art: museums,

galleries, thea ters, conc ert halls , a n d th e like (Peck ham , 49 76 ). Thus,

althou gh Pe ck ha m starts from a totally different perspective, his con -

clusion is qu ite similar. W hile the re is m uc h in Peckham 's b oo k with

which

disag ree, this particular aspect-which ca m e across in 1 9 7 8 ,

a f te rdeveloping my argu m ent independently-seem s to fit th e m od el

base d o n a very different position, an d he nc e starting point.

Note tha t in this view art objects ar e such b ecause they elicit aesthetic

behav ior, tha t is, we play a role involving socially standardiz ed behav ior

determined by convention: A work of ar t is an y artifact in th e

pre se nce of which we play a particular social role, a culturalIy transm it-

ted com bination of patte rns of behavior (Pe ckh am , 1 9 7 6 :49 .Both

in the specific arg um en t a n d generally, playing a ro le involves a setting-

in this case o n e that defines th e situation a s aesthetic . O n ce th e

situation has bee n d efined, th e ap pro pri ate behav ior follows This is

n o different from th e process that takes place in a market, tr ibal dan ce

ground, classroom, restaurant, or whatever (see Goffman, 1 9 5 9 ,1 9 6 3 ;

Rapopor t , 1 98 0b , 1 9 8 0 ~ ) . sing the d ramatic analogy , in all these

cases we have a n actor , an audien ce, an d a s tage. Tha t this conce pt

ca n he lp in conn ection with very different prob lem s ind eed is illus-

trated by a case in which t h e n atu re an d origin of megalithic tom bs in

Britain were greatly clarified by an alyz ing th em in just t h es e terms-as

settings that ho used ritual performances involvingactors an d aud ienc e

and tha t thus had both communica t ive and mnemonic func t ions ,

eliciting a pp rop riate behaviors (Fleming, 1 9 7 2 ).

T h e form of th ese tomb s was best und ers tood by considering the m

as settings for rituals involving actors an d spectators. T h e requi rem ents

of settings can th en b e specified an d th e actual forms tested again st

them-and un de rsto od . Clearly th es e are culture specific. In an y given



8

THE ME NING O THE BUILT

ENVIRONMENT

case, o r for cross-cultural analysis, a kno w ledge of th e rituals, their

actors, and audiences and hence their requirem ents would be necessary

to un ders tand th e m eaning of the space organization an d furnishings

of such sac red sp aces. Clearly, also, thes e settings are m uch easier to

interpret w he n t he actors a n d audien ces, the behaviors, a re present. It

is thu s the total s ituation-the setting, th e furnishings, a n d the pe op le

in them-that explicates the mean ing, partly throu gh increasing re-

du nd an cy , partly by providing referents an d lexicon items (a s dis-

cussed before). In oth er words , there are shared , negotiated m eanings

that follow certain rules. Th e se involve certain social con ven tions a n d

form a cultural co de . This was o n e of my criticisms of t h e symbolic

interactionist mo del discussed above-that the me anin gs ar e not

negotiated afresh eac h time.

Clearly, cues are clearer a n d meanings m ore widely sh ared in so m e

situations tha n in o the rs: for exam ple , in traditional (vernacu lar) situa-

t ions m ore than in contemporary one s (Rapopor t , 1 9 8 0 b , forthcom-

ing .

Sin ce th e objective and subjective definitions of situa tion s may

differ, ap pro pria te rules a n d b ehaviors may

be

incongruen t with eac h

oth er. T h e setting, while permitting a variety of respo nses, con strains

them . O nc e the situation is defined culturally, behavior is limited i t he

cues are not iced , read a n d unders tood, and

i

o n e is pre pa red to obey

them ( that is, environments cann ot determ ine behavior s ince o n e can

refuse t o ac t a ppro priately ). T h e possibility of refusal to act ap pro -

priately is a new problem that was never encountered in traditional

contexts; in tho se contexts, peo ple ten ded to respond appropriately

a n d alm ost automatically. Also, desig ners ca nn ot influence this ele-

ment , as they can the o ther two: The y can m ake cer tain tha t cues are

noticed an d, onc e noticed, unde rs tood.

he

mnemoni fun tion of environment

Th e environment thus comm unicates , through

a

w ho le set of cu es ,

the most ap prop riate choices to be m ade: Th e cues are m ea nt to elicit

ap pro pria te emo tions, interpretations, behaviors, an d transactions by

sett ing up the app ropriate s ituat ions an d contexts . T he environment

can thus be sa id t o act a s m nem on ic (Rapopor t, 19 79 a , 19 79 b ,

1 9 8 0 b , 19 80 c) reminding peo ple of the behavior exp ected of them ,

th e linkages a n d sep aratio ns in spa ce an d time-who do es wha t,




where, when, an d with w hom . It takes th e rem em bering from the per-

son and places the reminding in the environment . If this process

works, an d this de pe n ds o n t he cues being culturally com prehensible,

being learn ed throu gh e nculturation (o r acculturation in s o m e cases) ,

it reduces the need for information processing, it makes behavior

easier , since o n e d oe s not h av e to think everything ou t from scratch. In

effect, o n e ca n routinize man y beh aviors an d m ake th em habitual-

which is one of the functions of culture generally.

B y

suggesting

similar, an d limited, ran ge s

o

behavior, this proce ss also helps prev ent

purely idiosyncratic interpretations, responses, and behaviors that

would ma ke social com m unica tion a n d interaction impossible--or at

least very difficult.

This m nem onic function of th e environmen t is equivalent to grou p

m em o an d conse nsus. In effect, th e set ting f reezesM ategories a n d

do m ain s, o r cultural conv ention s. In effect, information is en co de d in

the envi ronment a n d nee ds to b e deco ded . But environments can

only d o this if they communicate-if t h e en co d ed information $:an be

decod ed ( see F igure 11 ) . This is usually con sidered o n sm all scales,

but wh ole lan dsc ape s a n d cit ies can have that function, a s in th e ca se

of the Cuz co are a of pre-Columbian Peru (se e Isbell, 19 7 8 ) . have

already suggested that in traditional, particularly preliterate and

vernacu lar environments, this process worked particularly well, where -

a s in m any c o n te m p o ra y environments it works less well (Rap oport ,

forthcoming b).

Ho w well this process works can b e very imp ortant in de ed . It h as

bee n arg ue d tha t anxiety ( the disease of o ur age ) is gen erate d in an

individual wh en h e or s h e ha s to ch oo se courses of action without hav-

ing sufficient grou nd s o n th e basis of which to m ak e u p his or h er mind.

At th e s am e time, con tem pora ry environments, physical a n d social,

provide ever less information to help peo ple m ak e up their minds-

less social information ( knowing yo ur place, family, an d s o on ),

less environmental information, less cultural information (Madge,

19 68 ) These a re linked, s ince envi ronmental cues and m ne po ni cs

com m unica te social information a n d he lp make behavior m ore habitual

(Rapopor t ,

1977 .

T h e imp ortance of deco ding is also d u e to th e fact tha t

i t

is intimately

related to cul ture an d suggests th e idea that environments,

if

they are

to work, must be cu l tu re specific. Th is coding is also part of t h e ge ne ra l

idea of ordering systems, cognitive sc he m ata , an d taxo no m ies th at ar e

very important-but the se form a different topic (Ra po port , 1 9 7 6 a ,



nvironmentalMeaning 8

1 9 7 7 ) . How ever, it should be p ointed o ut that thes e schem ata, being

part of the cul ture core (Ra popo rt , 1 9 7 9 c , forthcoming

,

help strut-

con-

ure n ot only environ me nts but a lso many behaviors. H en ce th c

cep tual similarity between an environmental (for example, architectural)

style a n d

a

lifestyle-both rep res en t a set of con sistent cho ices a m o n g

th e alternatives available a n d possible.

This hav e called th e choice m od el of design, w her e al ternatives ar e

chosen o n th e basis o f schemata (R apopor t, 19 76 b , 1 9 7 7 ) tha t cor-

res po nd t o th e notion of lifestyle a s a ch oice a m o n g alternatives in

allocating reso urc es (Michelson an d Reed , 1 9 7 0 ) . It is interesting t o

note tha t thi s mo del developed f rom reading a pap er on archaeology,

in which it was p oin ted ou t tha t an y artifact (in tha t c ase a po t) is th e

result of a se t of ch oices a m o n g alternatives bas ed o n a template

(Deetz, 19 68 ) . It thus en co de s th e tem plate via a series of choices, s o

that any art ifact en co de s m eanings, priorit ies, sch em ata, a n d t h e l ike,

s ince it is th e nature of t h e hu m an mind to im pose or de r on th e world

(Rap op o rt, 1 9 7 6 a , 1 9 7 6 b ) by workingthrough form (Douglas , 1 9 7 5 ) .

s een

hu s arti facts give expression to cultural systems that can b t

primarily a s informational systems, s o that all go od s ar e part of a n

inforrnation system (Douglas an d Isherwood, 1 9 7 9 ) ; material an d

nonmaterial culture can b e see n a s

congealed informat ion

(Clarke,

1968 , th at is, artifacts a s ou tc om es of cultural proc esses e n c o d e

inforrnation.

In archaeology , where t h e basic process

is

precisely o n e of read-

ing material elem ents, th e im po rta nc e of con textual analysis h as

recently bee n s tressed (se e F lannery , 1 9 7 6 ) . Th us th e meaning of

archeological ele m ents can b e derived only if th e context is known.

This works o n two ways: th e objects, an d th e beh aviors if known, help

define th e n atu re of th e setting (on th e difficulty of inferring beha vior

from archaeological da ta s e e Douglas, 1 9 7 2 ; Miner,

1956 ;

he se t -

t ing, once and if known, can help define the nature of the objects

foun d in it. will return to th e ques tion of archae ology be ca us e th e

decoding of it is significant. Fro m o u r perspe ctive h ere , ho we ver, a

m ore imp ortant con seq ue nc e of th e congruen ce of , an d relation be-

twee n, patterns of b eha vior a n d those artifacts called built env iron-

m ents is that th e la tter guide th e former; they rem ind p eo ple how to

act, how to co-act, what to do . They guide, constrain, an d limit behavior

without being determining.

W hen similar sch em ata co ntrol behavior a n d environm ents, we find

maximum congruence between th e meanings com mun icated by en -



8


vironmen ts an d th e behaviors: culture a s habitual behavior. In t he

sa m e way we know how to dress , eat , use voice an d body, an d what

m ann ers to use, we also know how to use the environment-in fact,

th e environment helps us e ng ag e in these behaviors appropriately.

T h e appropriate information a nd meanings red uce information loads

by structuring t he e nviron m ent ( a known env ironm ent is a simplified

env ironm ent) and by structuring behavior correspondingly.

If however , many contem porary environmental meanings ar e not

clear, an d if deco ding (unders tandin g the cues) becomes mo re dif-

ficult, w ha t can b e d on e? O n e im portan t an sw er is that by increasing

redundancy, t he likelihood of messages a nd meanings getting through

is greatly increased (R apo port , 1 9 7 7 , 1 9 8 0 b , 1 9 8 0 ~ ) .h e m ore dif-

ferent system s com m unic ate similar messag es, th e m or e likely they

a re to be noticed an d und ersto od . This is imp ortant in langu age (which

is highly r ed un da nt) but e ven m ore s o in non verba l o r nonlinguistic

m ess age s, which te nd to be less explicit, less clear tha n o thers .

W e can s e e this operating in u rban environm ents in two senses. T h e

first is th e finding (Steinitz, 1 9 6 8 ) ha t whe n sp ac e organization, build-

ing form, sign system s, an d visible activities coincide, me an in g is m uch

clearer a nd urban form m uch m or e legib le a nd memorable . T he o ther

is that a s th e scale an d complexity of social systems hav e go ne up, the

nu m be r of specialized settings, ea ch with its special cu es a n d a pp ro-

priate behaviors , has gon e u p a nd t he num ber of m essag e systems has

also gon e up (Rap opo rt , 19 80 b) . This helps us to interpret th e point

m a d e by Venturi et al. (1 9 7 2 ) abo ut th e separation of s pa ce organiza-

tion an d the eikonic an d verbal me ssag e systems in m od ern cit ies an d

Carr s ( 1 9 7 3 ) argum ent abou t their proli feration as meanings com-

mu nicated by spa ce organization have bec om e less clear, as they co m-

m unica te less effectively a n d surely th an traditional urban a n d archi-

tectural spatial organizations. In th o se latter, location, height, dom ain

definition, scale, sh ap e, color, a n d th e like all have une quivo cal m ea n-

ings In m od ern environm ents, w here they are m uch less clear, addi-

tional mes sage system s of verbal signs, eikonic signs, an d s o on hav e

had

to

be a dd ed and super imposed. This point has a lso been m ad e by

others ( for example, Choay, 1 9 7 0 - 1 9 7 1 ) on the basis of semiotic

analyses. Th ese eikonic a n d verbal systems work best whe n they are

clearly related to th e sp ac e organization-that is, wh en redu nd an cy

is increased

Also important is

onsisten y

of use, which, in fact, explains the

effectiveness of traditional spatial organizations in communicating



nvironmental

eaning

8

clear m eanings. Traditional spatial organizations te nd ed to be used in

th e s a m e way in similar con texts a nd situations. Recall that this was

also th e point m ad e ab ov e ab ou t the hypothesis that part of the suc-

cess of chain op era tion s of various type s is precisely t ha t they ar e us ed

consistently a n d he nc e be co m e highly predictable; they co m m un icate

very effectively. In o th er word s, particular na m es a n d signs de fine no t

only env ironm ents but w hat they contain-types of beds, foo d, how

o n e ne ed s to dress , prices to be expe cted, what behavior is appro-

priate. They define beha vio r settings in th e full se ns e of t h e word-

milieu a n d th e ongoing patte rn of b ehavior (Barker, 1 9 6 8 ), hat is, the

environment , the rules that apply, a n d th e approp riate behavior . Note

tha t mu ch of this is d o n e thro ug h physical cues.

No te a n interesting poin t. Much of w hat ha ve be en say ing is, in fact,

also th e point m ad e implicitly by Barker ( 1 9 6 8 ).Recall tha t a principal

point of his work is th at th e s a m e pe op le be ha ve very differently in dif-

ferent be havio r settings. B ut wh at d oe s this different behavior imply?

A lthoug h h e d o es no t m ak e this p oint explicitly, it implies tha t settings

co m m un ica te ap pro pri ate beh avior In fact, it is almost a corollary. In

effect, w hat B arker is saying is that w hen pe op le e n te r a setting, tha t

sett ing provides cue s that they und erstan d, that they know wh at the

context an d th e s i tuation are, a n d he nc e what the ap propriate rules ,

an d behavior , are. This h ap pe ns s o natural ly, an d frequently, dur ing

o u r regular activity system s, tha t we ta ke it very m uc h for g ran ted . W e

only not ice th e process w hen it ceases t o work, wh en we d o not

und ersta nd the cue s, th e rules, the expec ted behavior-for exam ple,

in

a

stran ge culture (pa rt of t h e process known as "culture shock") In

that case, we cannot draw on the avai lable cul tural knowledge

necessary.

At th e s a m e time biculturalism, in enviro nm ental ter m s as in others,

is possible-peop le ca n act differently, yet appro priate ly, in sottings

belonging t o differen t cultures. This is, of cou rse, th e env ironm ental

equivalent of knowing a nu m ber of languag es This ha s be en d ocu -

mented for Arabs in the United States and in their own hom< lands

(Hall, 1 9 6 6 )a n d for Pu erto Ricans in New Y orkCity in settings belong-

ing to their own an d to Anglo cul tures (Hoffman an d Fishman, 19 7 1 ) .

In t h e latter case , it is clear that settings, defining situations, play

a

most

important-if no t crucial-role. It is the si tuation that determines

behavior, but th e setting defines the si tuation.T hus a

bodega

a Puer to

Rican grocery store , elicits P ue rto Rican behavior, an A nglo su pe r-

market m ore Anglo behavior, the Anglo work situation (a nd setting)



8

THE MEANING

O


totally Anglo behavior. Note that in these bicultural cases, settings

often elicit both behavior an d th e correspon ding languag e.

A mos t striking exa m ple of biculturalism is prov ided by a stud y of

child ren invo lved in th e cyclic migration of th e Abalyia

sub clan of th e

Ba ntu in w estern Kenya. In this case, the se children sp en d s o m e time

in a traditional, ag raria n sociophysical setting in th e bush a n d pa rt of

their time in an urba n setting. Th e children be ha ve quite differently in

th e different settings (W eisner,

1974

a n d ea ch se t of behaviors could

be interpreted a s appr op riate to th e particular setting. In th at s tudy,

th e particular role of environment l cue s was not conside red in any

detail, yet th es e be hav ior shifts d o m ak e th e basic point, particularly

since t h e en vironm ental cue s we re qu ite dist inct. T h e specific role of

env ironm enta l cu es is sh ow n by th e c as e of th e Lardil tribe of Aus-

tralian A borigines o n M ornington Island. Th ere , in th e early day s of

acculturation, the mission station, described as the co m po un d, wa s

clearly de m arc ated by fences. T he se fences be cam e places a t which

bush behavior cea sed a n d th e new co de s of mission behavior were

observed (M emm ott , 1979: 251 .Tw o things m ay be note d: first, the

different behavior in the different settings and, second, the role of

fenc es a s indicating places of transition an d ch an ge . Aboriginal behavior

also cha nge s, to this day , w he n in a work setting or a residential setting,

in a bush ca m p o r a city, in a white pu b o r an Aboriginal on e, an d

SO o n .

Th ese ar e special cases . Yet, a s already n oted, m any t imes every day

we enter set t ings and places , pick up the cues encoded in them,

decode the meanings , match them to the re levant and congruent

sch em ata a n d cultural knowledge, an d act appropriately. As we mov e

from lecture hall to s em ina r room , from cafeteria to elegant restaurant,

we adjust ou r behavior in respo nse to c ue s in th e environment that

def ine th e s i tuation a nd context for us an d help guide ou r behavior

along pred eterm ine d paths. T h e cues eve n act in a predictive sense:

We ant icipate behavior and , for example, dress accordingly an d a p-

propriately before entering particular sett ings. T h e question, given th e

a p pro a ch being discusse d, is basically how we kn ow th at a setting is

what it is, that is, which environmental and social cues specify the

na tur e of th e setting s o tha t th e ap pr op ria te behaviors a re elicited. It is

in dealing with this question th at th e no nverbal m odel s ee m s useful,

s ince the cue s a re clearly neither verbal nor vocal.



NONVERB L COMMUNIC TION ND

ENVIRONMENT L ME NING

take the nonverbal communicat ion approach to environmental

m eaning t o b e so m ething conceptual ly ra ther s imple, which is the

rea son for using it. In ord er to k ee p it simple, th e extensive literature o n

nonv erbal com m unication, so m e of which is beco m ing very sophis-

ticated a n d so m e of which is also at a high level of ab stra ctio n, will no t

be reviewed in any detail . For example, by 1 9 7 2 , an ann ota ted

bibliography o n only so m e asp ects of th e subject con tained 9 3 1 i tems

Davis, 1 9 7 2 ) an d th e rate of publication ha s increased greatly since

then .

tal ie three points of dep arture : T h er e ar e nonverbal behaviqrs tha t

are both extremely prevalent and extremely important; these both

provide the context for o the r behaviors an d also occur an d a re to be

understood in contexts; nonverbal behaviors ha ve b ee n stud ied pri-

marily by observation and recording and subsequent analysis and

interpretation. Basically, the use of nonverbal models

in

studying

environ m ental m ea nin g involves looking directly a t various environ-

m ents a nd sett ings a n d observing th e cu es present in them , identifying

how they ar e interpreted by users-that is, th e particular m eaning s

the se cu es have for hum an behavior, affect, an d s o on . This can be

done easily and directly even without a major consideration of

theoretical asp ect s of non verba l com m unication.

Th is discussion, on c e again, is best b eg un by referring to a set of dis-

t inctions that apparently ar e unrelated t o th e topic an d tha t w ere f irst

propos ed by Hall 19 66 ). Th ese comprise fixed-feature,semifixed-

feature,

an d informal better

nonfixed-feature elements.




Fixed feature

elements

Fixed-f eature elem ents ar e tho se that a re basically fixed, or thos e

that change rarely and slowly. Most of the standard architectural

elements-walls, ceilings, an d floors-belong to th at do m ain , as d o

stree ts an d bu ildings in cities. Clearly, th e ways in which th ese elem en ts

a re organ ized (their spatial organ ization), their size, location, se qu en -

ce, arrange m ent, an d s o on , do com mun icate m eaning, particularly in

traditional cultures, bu t in all cases they a re sup ple m en ted by o the r

elem ents. Th er e ar e cases, however, wh en they still tell us m uc h. For

examp le, on e can suggest that in any given case there ar e core ele-

m en ts (corresp ond ing to elem ents of t h e culture core) that will persist

while others, m or e peripheral, ch an ge (Rapo port , 1 9 7 9 c , forthcom-

ing . Applying this notio n to th e Navah o, it is fou nd that th e settle-

me nt pat tern see m s more important than the dwelling ( the hogan ); a t

the s am e time , the hogan

s

invested with m uc h m eaning a n d is often

used to identify the g roup s o that i ts pres enc e o r absen ce is a good

indicator of t h e deg re e of acculturation (Sn yde r et al., 19 7 6 , 1 9 7 7 ) .

This is particularly interesting since that d ispe rsed se ttlem ent p attern

is derived from th e Navaho s Athapascan (C ana dian) forebears an d is

both characteristic of th em a n d differs in imp ortan t resp ects from both

their Pueblo neighbors and the dominant Anglo-American culture

( Je tt , 1 9 7 8 ) .

T hu s this set t lemen t pattern both relates to th e co re values of the

culture an d contr sts with th e o the r pattern s a ro u n d it. Interestingly,

w he n in 1 7 5 0 a nativistic revival of A tha pa sc an culture o ccu rred , it

was marked by the introduction of the Blessingway as the central

ce rem on ial ritual of N av ah o religion; this specifically prosc ribed th e

building of com m unal, Pueblo-like structures an d favored a return t o a

dispersed set tlement pat tern (Jet t , 1 9 7 8 ).At th e sam e time, of cours e,

o th er rituals, langua ge, an d a variety of no nenv ironm ental m ea ns are

used. M oreover, ho ga ns a re typical of less acculturated Nav aho an d

hav e, in any case , not b een given u p comp letely. Even individuals liv-

ing in An glo-type dwellings often build ho ga ns in their backyards, par -

ticularly for tho se ce rem on ies ( including Blessingway) m ost identified

with N avaho culture. Clearly, th e co mb ination of settlemen t patterns

an d dwellings (which in th e ca se of the P ue blo ar e insepa rable) com -

mu nicates clear me anings ab ou t gro up identity tha t ar e reinforced by

many o ther, nonenvironm ental , elements.

Am ong the B edouin, also, the dispersed sett lement pattern se em s

m ore important than the dwell ing; al though have not se en any



Non verbal omm unication and Environmental Mean ing

9

studies de aling with th e

m e a n in g

of tha t pat tern , k probably ha s such

m eaning . W hat this sugge sts, how ever, is that th e o rdering principles

of f ixed-feature a rrang em ents h ave m eaning, a lthough o n e group 's

ord er may b e another ' s d isorder . Th us o n e finds U.S c ities described

by French observers as having n o orde r while

S

observers make the

sa m e comm ent abou t Moslem citie s (Rapopor t , 1 9 7 7 ) .T h e pattern of

a l ibertarian s u b u r b in California, which ha s imp ortant ideological

m essages for the bu ilders an d users (Barne t t 1 9 7 7 ) , undoubted ly is

see n by t he sur rounding res iden ts as comm unica ting d isorder an d

m essiness T hu s the order ing sche m ata a re cul turally variable an d

their readingn in eac h case draws on cul tural sch em ata T h e pe op le in

th e are a se e it as positive; the peo ple outside s e e ~ta s negative, a s a

stigma, an d th e a rea a s a s lum. With changing values it could b e s ee n

as a special place, an d n ot negative, even by outsiders Similarly,

traditional African cities w ere often se en as disorganized by Eu ro pe an s

be ca us e their o rd er reflected h u m an relationships-social, religious,

e thnic , occupat ional , k inship an d l ineage, h ierarchical (Hull, 1 9 7 6 .

122 )-rather than geometrical .

Semifixed feature elements

Semif ixed-featuree lem ents range a ll the way f rom th e a r rangem ent

an d type of furni ture , cur ta ins a n d otherfurnishings, p lants an d N w h at -

nots, scr een s a n d clothing t o street furniture, advertising signs,

windo w displays

in

shops , garden layouts and lawn decorat ions , and

other urban elemen ts (including th e verbal a n d eikonic me ssage systems

discussed abov e). T he se ca n, an d d o , ch an ge fairly quickly a n d easily.

Note tha t these beco m e particularly impo rtant in e nviron m ental m ea n-

ing in ou r ow n contex t, w here they tend to com m unica te mo re than

f ixed-feature e lem ents . Most peop le m ove in to read y-m ade environ-

m ents an d f ixed-feature e lem ents a re rarely a l tered. Th ey ten d t o form

a given, a l though th e par ticular choice m ad e d oe s a lready com m uni-

ca te, in a n d of itself. Fixed -feature elem en ts are also un de r t h e control

of cod es, regulations, a n d the l ike While personalization a n d ev en

gard ens a re control led t o a n extent , the control is m uch less than for

f ixed-feature elements. Also, environmental preferences are fre-

quently related to the degree of lack of outside control over per-

so naliz atio n T h ~ ss on e impo rtant (althou gh obviously not th e only)

reaso n for the c lear-cut prefere nce for detache d houses ove r o the r



9

TH MEANING OF TH BUILT ENVIRONMENT

forms of housing, of ow nership as op po se d to renting, of to w nh ou ses

as opp osed to h igh-rise apar tments , an d so o n .

T hu s it ap pe ar s that semifixed env ironm ental elem ents ar e of par-

ticular im portanc e in studying m ean ing in o u r curren t environ m ent. At

the s am e t ime, these e lements have b een used to establish m eaning

from earliest times. For ex am ple , in Catal Hiiyiik, o n e of t he earliest

urban settlements, the distinction between residential rooms and

shr ines o r ritual ch am be rs is indicated primarily (a lthou gh no t exclu-

sively) th ro ug h semifixed elem ents o f various sorts-that is, they are

"furnished" differently and more lavishly than dwellings.

f

th e "fur-

nishings" were removed, they would conv ert back to "ordinary" room s

and dwellings (Mellaart, 1 9 6 4 , 1 9 6 7 ; Todd, 1 9 7 6 ; Rapoport , 19 79 a) .

Also, wh en Pizarro first reach ed S ou th America, h e "knew" tem ples

even thoug h they were the sa m e height and s ize, and of th e sam e

materials, as the dwellings. This w as b eca us e they w ere covere d in

jewels an d gold. N ote th at this was in a

very different, never before

se e n, culture O nc e these decorations were rem oved, the buildings

wou ld, in effect, revert back to dwellings.

An even more striking example is provided by the Ashanti Fetish

ho us es in Africa, which a r e identical to dwellings in p lan, construction,

an d e ven decora tions. W hat is different ar e

1)

he contents (sacred

objec ts of v arious kind s), (2) th e uses of s pa ce , 3) h e activities that

occu r within, and 4) he occupa nts (Swithebank,1969).This stresse s

the importance of semifixed and nonfixed elements, but also re-

emphasizes the impor tance of context.

It

is th e relationships of t h es e

objects, behaviors, an d pe ople to the sett ing that have m eaning a nd

can be "read."

T h e use of fixed-feature an d semifixed-feature eleme nts to m ak e

inferences ab ou t behavior ( tha t is, ab ou t non fixed-featu re elem ents) is

the rule in archaeology, al though we have seen that this presents

problems; it is particularly difficult to read fixed-feature elements

alon e in term s of their m eaning, al though s o m e inferences can be

made. Yet archaeology does provide a most useful paradigm since

m ea nin g mu st be derived from artifacts al on e in m aking inferences

ab ou t behavior. Th us, in th e cas e of anc ient Tollan, in Hidalgo, Mex-

ico, on e could distinguish between front d oor s (de corated ) an d interior

doors ("modest"). Decorative facings were used differentially and

se em to indicate status; status indications a re reinforced by t h e width

of entran ces, the use of porch es consisting of roof an d posts, with

painted floors and wall plaster and decorative elements, and with



Nonverbal ommunication and Environmental Meaning

9

spacious rear room s almost identical to tem ple structures at Teo tihuaca n.

Since, however, these room s include utilitarian-nonritual-objects,

o n e is dealing with a dwelling H ea lan ,

1977 .

H er e it is th e prese nce

o f semifixed-feature e lem ents tha t clarifies the m ea nin g of th e sp ac e;

th e ho us e groupings themselves, with hou ses with an d without thes e

status-indicating elem ents, sugg est social relationships.

How m eaning can be read f rom archaeologica l da ta is shown v e y

clearly by th e Maya C en te r of Lub aan tun in British H on du ra s H am -

mond , 1972 .First, it prove d possible to s e e that overall plann ing wa s

involved, since a prodigious am ou nt of labor an d material resources

were used to modify the topography in or de r to implement the plan.

Since the p lanne d layout was clearly imp ortant to th e builders, o n e

can co nc lud e tha t the layout itself h ad imp ortant m eaning . In this case,

the sup erstru ctures h ad walls of pole s a n d roofs of palm th at ch , like

Maya dwellings. All that w as left w ere th e s to n e bases, which we re of

varied sizes an d heights. O n th e basis of

these variables, th e structures

w ere classified into large religious, cere m onia l, elite residential, a n d

residential; that is, th e m ea nin g of structures was judged o n th e basis of

size an d the height to which s to ne exten de d Locat ion also seem ed

important , since not only were structures aro un d any o n e plaza of o n e

category, bu t centrality wa s relate d t o importance-a religious co re

was surround ed by a ceremonial zon e an d a resident ia l -center zone.

T he se z o n e s could be cro ssch eck ed by accessibility criteria, providing

an ot he r instance of m ea nin g in term s of public/private domains.

W here cerem onial ar ea s had low accessibility, it suggested that th ese

particular activities we re con fined to special, elite gro up s.

T h e specifics are less imp ortant tha n the fact that , as is co m m on in

archae ology, th e site could b e re ad o n th e basis of its fixed-feature

elements, although this was greatly helped by semifixed-feature ele-

ments. As already pointed out, in traditional societies fixed-feature

elements com m unicate mu ch m ore clearly , as c ities such a s lspha han

o r Marrakesh will show; th e hierarchy is easily re ad .

T h e difficulty

of

m aking behavioral inferences from archaeo logical

data has a l ready bee n me nt ioned se e Douglas ,

1972;

Miner,

1956 .

This difficulty has to d o with th e problem s of interpretation w he re

m any elem ents a re missing an d cultural knowled ge is ab se nt. It als o

ha s to d o with th e existence of cultures with few fixed -feature or e ve n

semifixed-feature elements, such a s Australian Aborigines a n d t he

like. In th e cas e of t h e Aborigines, not only a re im portant a re as such a s

sacre dpla ces, story sites, a n d da nc e a n d initiation gro und s often indis-



9

THE MEANING OF THE UILT ENVIRONMENT

tinguishable from the surrounding milieu, or the cues are so subtle that

they are difficult for outsiders to see, they also disappear rapidly. Yet

while these cues are present and these places are being used, their

meaning can often be read quite clearly (Rapoport, 1975a).Therefore,

conceptually, the argument stands: It s possible to read the meaning

of the environments, including space organization, even among

Aborigines (Rapoport, 1979a). Among Aborigines, as among other

nomadic groups (seeRapoport, 1978c), t is also frequently necessary

to keep spatial relationships fluid deliberately, to preserve avoidance

and other interaction rules. This may pr v nt freezing the environ-

ment, so that even today this inhibits the use even of furniture among

Aborigines-it is easier to shift position when sitting on the ground

(Memmott, 1979) .Yet while these behaviors occurthey can be read so

that the meaning of spatial organization can be decoded and under-

stood, since it reflects sacred schemata, social structure, and hierarchy

(such as among the Swazi people in Africa; Kuper,

1972).

Another, contemporary example in which the semifixed elements

disappeared when the event ended not only shows the meaning of

space but also the significance of boundaries. This is a photograph of

two Latin American presidents, Carlos Lleras Rostrepo of Colombia

and Raul Leoni of Venezuela, meeting in the center of a bridge span-

ning a river along their border. They embraced while toeing the border,

then ate lunch at the precise center of the bridge, without leaving their

respective countries (Time, 1 9 6 7 ~ ;ee Figure 12 ) .

In our own culture, there is another possible reason why semifixed-

feature elements may be more important, which has to do with the dif-

ference between designers and users. Thus it has been suggested that

designers' stress on users' participation in the original design may be

due to their own professional bias and training. Users, it is suggested,

may be much more interested in decisions about furnishings, arrange-

ments, and the like (Becker, 1977: 13)-precisely those elements that

are here termed semifixed.

Thus in our own culture, both in domestic and nondomestic situa-

tions, semifixed-feature elements tend to be used much-and are

much more under the control of users; hence they tend to be used to

communicate meanings. Yet they have been ignored by both designers

and analysts who have stressed fixed-feature elements. For example,

among Nubians, traditionally, both house form and decorations were

important (Fernea et al., 1973; Lee, 1969a ). Upon the population's

relocation after flooding due to the Aswan Dam, new, and most

unsuitable, house and village forms were provided. These could not



Nonverbal Communication and Environmental Meaning

9

Figure

2

be changed; however , colors and other external decorat ions were

cha ng ed immediately (particularly aro un d

doors

L ee , 1 9 6 9 a ;Fernea

e t al., 19 73 )-a suggestive point regarding me aning.

In o u r ow n culture, in th e ca se of dom estic situations, w e find th e

whole ran ge of elem ents su bs um ed un d er personalization -inter-

nally, t h e use of colors, materials, pictures, curta ins, furnishings, a n d

s o on ; externally, of colors, trim, shutters, m ailboxes, street nu m be rs,

decorations, planting, a n d t h e like. In no nd om estic si tuations, we find

th e cha ng es occurring in urban sh op s an d in roa dsid e str ip buildings

where t he sa m e f ixed-feature e lements can act a s se ttings for do zen s



9

THE

ME NING

O F THE

BUILT

ENVIRONMENT

of uses and activities through changes in the semifixed elements-

de co r, decoration s, signs, an d th e like. Very few longitudinal studies

ha ve be en don e , but it is easy to think of ex am ples i we ha ve observed

a sh op pin g street or se gm en t of roads ide strip for any length of time.

Increasingly, for exam ple, o n e ca n observe gas stations converted for

oth er uses. In o n e case, a gas station was turne d into a n Italian res-

tau ran t thro ug h so m e minor c ha ng es in a limited num be r of semifixed

el em en ts in plaster, ch ipboa rd, lighting (internally), and a sign a nd

front d o o r (externally). A noth er exam ple might be a gas station con-

verted t o a ban k through th e addition of a m an sa rd roof (a s flimsy a s

sign), a sign, a front do or with deco rative walls, an d s o m e dec orative

window panels.

T h e distinction prop ose d between duck an d decorated shed

architecture (Venturi et al., 1 9 7 2 ) ca n be inter pre ted in term s of fixed

an d semifixed elemen ts: A

duck relies o n fixed elem ents to com -

m unica te its m ean ing; a deco rated shed relies o n semifixed a n d

chan geab le elements . This , of course, also has t h e econ om ic adva n-

tage of be ing reused easily (se e Rubin, 1 9 7 9 : 354ff .N ote also that in

non do m estic situations the m ean ing of particular elements b eco m es

particularly easy to study: O n e can observe which elem ents ar e used

for what and which are

changed ow

whe n uses ch ang e. This cor-

res po nd s t o the obs ervation , in n onv erbal analysis, of facial expres-

sions, gestures, and body postures an d relating them to th e context of

particular situations, behaviors, interactions, an d s o forth; it is a very

direct a n d easy m ethod to use.

Given the fact that today most pe ople move into ready -ma de environ-

m ents , for exam ple , housin g, th e study of m ean ing will necessarily be

primarily in t h e semifixed-feature re alm . For exam ple, considerin g a

g ro up of Pu erto R icans inhabiting public hous ing in th e S o ut h End of

Bo ston, it w as fo un d tha t a particular aesthe tic complex was devel-

o p ed internally, which c om m un icated ethnic an d ot he r identi ty, that

is, ha d m ea ni ng for th e group . This consisted of t h e selection of certain

deco rative objects (often brou ght from P ue rto Rico) arra ng ed in cer-

tain ways, the use of specific colors, the use of particular furniture

grouped in particular ways (space organization) and so on. Since

external personalization was impossible, clothing, cars, and other

devices were used a s ways

of

comm unicating meanings having to d o

with g ro up identity, a n d respectability-with maintain ing front

(Jopling, 1974 .Note th at it was observation-of roo m s, their con -

tents , people's clothing, cars, a n d s o so-that first led to th e notion o f-

t h e m e a n i n g of th e particular cho ices m ad e.



Nonverbal Com munication and Environmental Meaning

9

Similarly, for th e s a m e ethn ic grou p, but in New York City, it wa s

throug h t h e observation of semifixed e lem en ts in living roo m s (a n

inventory) tha t a n und erstand ing of th e m ean ing of th ese settings was

derived-that they repres ented sacred spac es (Zeisel, 1 9 7 3 ) .This

m eanin g h ad clear design implications. In th e sa m e study, in th e cas e

of kitchens, it was the observation of women's behavior in kitchens

(nonfixed-fe ature elements) an d t h e appliances in kitchens that clearly

indicated the meaning in this culture of kitchens and their latent

functions-very different to th o se o f Anglo kitchens. In th e ca se of th e

Pu ert o Rican culture, sta tus is gaine d during a party th roug h a ho stess

being see n to produce food, being see n in the ki tchen, a n d perform-

ing in front of a n au d ie n ce of h er peers; in Anglo culture, a w om an is

seen as a good hos tess when sh e apparently doe s n o work , yet food

appears as though by magic. The design implications were quite

clear-an efficiency kitchen is un su itab le in this particu lar Puer to

Rican housing because of the meaning of that setting.

Similar exam ples can b e given from oth er cultures. In th e ca se of t he

Apache, cooking involves the presence of others, with much social

interaction (associated activities). T h e co operative effort an d t h e social

aspects an d com panionship ar e th e impo rtant (latent) aspects of th e

action of cooking . Du ring holidays, feasts a r e held th at involve th e

entire comm unity. A great dea l of roo m is nee de d to p rep are th e food.

Similarly, th e living s p a c e setting ha s m ean ing in term s of th e beha vior

exp ected of g uests. O n arrival, o n e expects to

sit peripherally aro un d

th e room, far from o thers, with n o conversation. W hen fo od is ready,

and eating begins, talk and interaction also begin (Esber, 1972).

Without large kitchens and l iving rooms, people could not behave

appropriately. Again, observ tion was th e key to discovering th es e

meanings.

In Kenya, a com plex se t of culturally specific m ean ings at tac he d to

different rooms-the living roo m a s semipubiic spa ce, bed roo m s a s

private, an d lavatories, bathrooms, and kitchens as hiddenv-were

com m unicated by furniture a n d furnishings a s well as by visibility. Cur -

tains over doorways, ty pes of furniture a n d their arran gem ent, an d the

like clearly com m un icate d th e a bo ve meanings, as well as do m ain s of

m entwom en, posit ivetnegative, a n d provided cu es as to where o n e

shou ld sit while entertaining a n d being entertained, wh ere to ea t, an d

so forth (Kam au, 19 78 t79 ).

A

clear distinction in m ea nin g was fo un d

betw een eating a s a social activity involving ente rtaining visitors an d

eating for nourishment. This was clearly indicated

by

th e zoning within

th e living roo m , which stressed the m axim um possible spatial sep ara -



9

THE MEANING

O


tion betwe en furniture groups: m atched sofa a n d chairs (un m atch ed

less prestige), coffee table , en d tables, an d s o on , on the o n e h and, and

dining table an d chairs on th e o ther. Again, l iving room s a re furnished

in specific an d distinct ways in te rm s of furniture, objects, ar ra ng e-

ments, colors, and the like, which provide information about the

income of th e m en, the hou sek eepin g abilities of th e wom en, an d the

st at us of th e family; it is a p rojection of t h e way in which they wish

others to think of them and of the ways in which family members

interact . Among bedrooms, rank is shown by the master bedroom

being larger an d having a better a n d larger bed , use of a b eds prea d,

higher degree of c leanl iness , a n d s o on . Bathro om s an d kitchens are

regarded as unclean a nd shameful , and therefore are hidden; they are

also the women s dom ain.

Note that the positive/negative nature of spaces reflecting the

dom ains of m en/w om en is foun d m ore generally, an d is ec ho ed in the

corresponde nce between right/left and men/w om en (N eed ham , 1973 .

Note two more things: First, in all these cases, we are dealing with

laten t asp ects of activities-how they ar e d o n e, associa ted activities,

a n d , particularly, their meaning-so that th es e ar e critical in th e con-

gr ue nc e of setting an d activity; se co nd , th es e complex findings, re-

sembling semiotic and structuralist analysis in some cases, is done

rathe r simply an d in straightforward ways by observ ation of semifixed-

fe atu re elements an d behavior-nonfixed-feature elements.

Nonfixed feature elements

Nonfixed-feature e lements are re la ted to the hum an occup ants or

inh ab itan ts of settings, their shifting spatial relations (prox em ics), their

body positions an d posture s (kinesics), ha nd a n d a rm gestures, facial

expressions, ha nd a n d neck relaxation, he ad nodding, eye contact ,

spe ech rate , volume

and

pauses, a nd m any o ther nonv erbal behaviors

discussed previously. In fact, th e study o f nonv erbal behavior ha s be en

de ve lo pe d in, an d a lm ost entirely restricted to, this do m ain; it is th e

nonfixe d-feature elem ents that form th e subject of nonv erbal com-

munication studies. T h e questions comm only asked con cern what is

being com m unicated, o r hidden, by such behaviors a s ange r, revul-

sion, fear, o r whatever, a n d a lso what role thes e behaviors play in

interaction.

T he task in applying the nonverbal m odel to environm ental m ean -

ing is thus to m ove from the nonfixed-feature realm to t h e semifixed-




9

an d fixed-feature elements, but asking com para ble questions: W hat is

being com m unicated? Why and by what m eans? W hat role d o the

cu es play in behavior, social interaction , a n d s o on ? It is my ar gu m en t,

following what ha s already be en said ab ou t semifixed e lem ents, th at

th e m ost productive first s te p is to try to bridge th e g a p between the

work o n nonfixed an d semifixed elemen ts, an d to d o it in th e simplest

a n d m ost direct way-by assum ing, o n th e basis of th e discussion th u s

far , that th e environment acts a s a form o nonverbal com mu nication,

a n d pro ceed ing from the re by direct observ ation, th e analysis of exist-

ing studies, th e c on ten t analysis of descriptions, a nd th e like.

S o m e sugg estions for th e validity of this a pp ro ac h can be fo un d in

nonverbal com m unication studies in th e non fixed-feature realm. For

example, on e can use m ore than facial express ionsof em otion a n d use

th e face itself-as a n ou tc om e of facial expre ssions over years. T hu s it

has bee n sug geste d Ek m an, 1 9 7 8 ) that face information consists of

facial sign vehicles th at c an be:

statrc-These cha ng e, but very slowly Included are bo ne structure, th e

size, sh ap e, an d location of eyes, brows, no se, m ou th, or skin

pigmentation-what o n e could call featu res.

slow--These cha ng e mo re rapidly an d include bags, sags, po uch es,

cre ases, wrinkles, blotches, a nd t he Irke.

raprd-These cha ng e very rapidly an d Include m ovem ents, skin ton e,

coloration, sweat, an d cues su ch as eye g aze direction, pupil size,

head pos i t~oning , nd so on .

artif~c[al--These include glasses, cosme tics, face lifts, wigs, and the

like.

T h e last categ ory, of course , relates to clothing, settings, an d fur

nishrngs tha t, with th e face an d body, lead to judgm ent of peop le-

person perception, stereotypes, an d th e like W arr an d K napper ,

1 9 6 8 ;Ekrnan , 1 9 7 8 ) .Like the se oth ers , facial characteristics a re used

to judge personal identity race, gen der, kinship), tem pe ra m en t, per-

sonality, beauty, sexual attractiveness, intelligence, state of health,

age , mo od , emot ions , and s o on . While th e face is sa id to b e th e m ost

com m only em ploye d identity sign, clothing, furnishings, a n d setting s

ar e also thu s used N ote also th e interesting similarity

o

th e division

ab ov e into static, slow, a n d rapid with fixed-fea ture,semifixed-feature,

an d nonfixed-feature environm ental elements.

For o n e thing, there h as been at least so m e work o n th e m eaning of

semifixed elements, a l though not near ly a s advanced a s tha t on non-



9


fixed. ha ve already referred to th e use of inventories. Th ese h av e long

bee n used in anthropology. Also, a s early as the 19 3 0 s, th e condition

a n d cleanliness o f living roo m s, furniture, an d furnishings, their

orderliness a n d impression of good taste, which ap p ear sub jec-

tive, pro ved t o be very effective indicators of social statu s (Chapin .

1 9 3 8 : 7 5 4 , n o te 8 an d , indirectly, lifestyle an d t h e effect of reh ou sing .

Althoug h this finding was repo rted only in a footnote. it see m s generally

accepted a n d ag reed tha t com binations of intentional a n d uninten-

tional displays of material things, including hu m an s, set th e sc en e for

social enc oun ters . In judging public h ousing a n d oth er en vironmen ts,

the negat ive me aning of t rash, bad m aintenanc e, vermin, an d oth er

objects that co mm unicate st igma h as been used for so m e t ime (Rain-

wate r , 1966) .T h e contrary is also true-good m ainte nan ce a n d up-

keep, cleanliness, underground wires, greenery, and the like all

communicate positive messages and result in perceptions of high

environmental quality, desirability, and satisfaction. This will be dis-

cussed in so m e detai l la ter (see also Rapoport , 1 9 7 7 , ch. 2; Burby et

al., 1 9 7 6 ) .T h e fact th at physical elem ents in th e environm ent ar e read

easily a n d directly a s indicators of social characteristics, a n d he nc e

guides for behavior , h as no w been confirm ed amply (Royse, 1 9 6 9 ) .

Note also that in discussing th e u se o f pho togra phy in the social

sciences (Wagne r, 1 9 7 9 ), it is taken fo r granted an d self-evident tha t

ph otog raph s ( th at is, visual ima ges of nonfixed-sem ifixed-and fixed-

feature e lem en ts of th e world) can be inte rpreted. Th us in studies of

skid row, shabby p ersonal ap pea ranc e, drinkingin public, a n d the se t-

t i n g o f d o o r s t oo p s a n d

alleys

in a dirty

part

o f t he city (W ag ne r, 1 9 7 9 :

31;

emphasis added) match the public image of derelicts. In other

words, they co m m un icate skid row by being con gru ent with people's

cognitive schemata. Photos of skid row settings communicate this

thro ug h t h e typ es of pe op le (their fac es, clothing, postures , activities,

a n d s o o n ), t h e am bie nc e signs (su ch a s signs saying loans, barbe r

college, Bre ad of LifeMission, typ e of ho tel sign), an d also th e typ es

o f oth er sh o ps visible.

O n e ca n clearly identify tow ns by t h e kind of clothing pe op le w ear,

build ings, sh o p s igns , an d so on (Wagner, 1 9 7 9 : 1 4 7 ) .A photographic

record of a h o m e setting wo uld reflect religiosity, ethnicity, a n d e le-

m en ts of history, and might provide insights into psychological processes

by revealing orde r o r disorder (m or e correctly th e nature of the ord er)

throu gh t h e art ifacts a nd their arrang em ent, the inhabitants, their age,

an d pass age of life (a s show n by face, han ds, a n d posture). Clothing



1


language (gestures) , action language (walking, drinking, an d s o o n) ,

a n d object an d spatial language ( that is, nonfixed-, semifixed-, a n d

fixed-feature elemen ts). It con cen trate s on semifixed-feature e lem ents

(al though it do es no t u se tha t term ),an d st resses th e nonverbal aspects

of verbal messages, for example, the nature of lettering in terms of

style, materials, color, an d s o on . It even add ress es the issue of the

interplay of biology a n d culture in n onverbal c om m unic ation1 an d

also has m uch to say ab out th e importance of redun dan cy (which is

called m utu al reinforcem ent ). All in all, R ue sch a n d Kees's bo o k is

no t only still th e m ost relevan t published application of nonv erbal c om -

mu nication to env ironm enta l m eanin g, it is also a veritable ag en d a for

much research. It is a pity that it was not really followed up in the

further dev elop m ent of nonve rbal com mu nication research. Bu t even

that provides a methodological approach based on observation, whlch

is a lso su m m arized elsewhere, for aw ide range of behaviors , including

nonverbal , spatial , a n d othe rs (se e Weick, 1 9 6 8 ) .

C on tex t greatly influences social interaction. While social con text

ha s ra ther dramatic an d important ef fec ts upon in terpersonal in ter-

action , they ar e rarely ta ke n into acco un t; similarly, physical a n d oth er

asp ects of th e total environm ental contexts tend to be ignored (La m b

e t a l . , 1979 :

265,

2 6 9 ). N ote that social interaction is studied by

observation of no nfixed-feature elem ents a n d their su bse qu ent anal-

ysis. T h e transfer of this a pp ro ac h t o ana lyze semifixed- a n d flxed-

feature elem ents m ake s things easier: th e problem of th e te m po of

eve nts, th e fleeting yet critical cue , is missing. O n e h as m ore time.

T he re a re also m any stud ies that, while nonexplicitly in this tradi-

tion, can easily b e in terprete d in this way; w e h av e already discussed

so m e, oth ers will be discussed in m o re detail later.

T h e approach a do pted here begins with an emphasis on

semifixed-

feature e lements (a l though it is not conf ine d to those ) . S o m e reaso ns

for this h ave already been given. T he re is anoth er: It can be show n tha t

nonfixed and semifixed elements tend to covary, while the f ixed-

fea ture e lements rem ain un chan ged in th e sa m e situat ion. Consider

an example of a con ference that was ph otogra phed over a per iod of

several days (Collier, 1967 .At the beginning, people sat around

maintaining formal body posture, formally dressed, wearing their

identity labels. Th ey m aintain ed formal prox em ic distance a n d their

body language c om m unica ted com parab le messages. They held coffee

cups a nd sau cers on their knees. At th e e n d of several days all th es e

nonfixed cu es had changed-nothing was formal, personal distance



Non verbal ommunication and Environmental Meaning

1 1

was greatly reduced, body contact was often present, body posture

was extrem ely informal, clothing exp resse d relaxed informality, coffee

cu ps an d other e lem ents we re scat tered all over. T h e m eaning of the

nonverbal m essa ges was qu ite clear. But it sud den ly struck m e tha t the

furniture arrangements, the coffee cups, ashtrays, and the l ike, by

themselves-that is, without th e pe op le present-would ha ve com -

municated almost the whole s tory; a great deal o f the m eaning had

been encoded in the semifixed realm. Nothing, however, could be

de du ce d from th e fixed-feature elem ents-the walls, floors, a n d ceil-

ings. N ote also tha t, at least initially, t h e a rran ge m en t of th e semifixed

elements furni ture) had a n impact on hum an comm unication an d

interaction an d gu ided it in specific ways.

Since o u r task is t o apply t o semifixed- a n d f ixed-feature elem ents

the no nverbal comm unication a pp ro ac h deve lope d primarily in the

nonfixed-feature realm, it is useful to begin with a brief review of

that.

he

nonverb l communic tion ppro ch

In the nonfixed-feature realm many lexicons of the meanings of

animal express ions an d act ions h ave been compiled, for exam ple, of

dogs,gulls an d o th er birds, primates, an d s o on for a recent review of

so m e of these , se e Sebeo k, 1977b) . n the caseof hu m an s th e work of

Ekman and his collaborators, Eibl-Eibesfeld, Birdwhistell, Hall, and

others show s tha t a s tar t ha s been m ad e. Given th e exis tence of s om e

lexicons at least, th e q ues tion is really twofold:

Is th e lexicon itself, th at

is, th e se t of possible devices, cultu re specific or universal? A nd , eve n

i

th e lexicon is universal, d o sets get picked tha t ha ve universality o r

comm onality) o r ar e they culture specific?

T he re ar e three m ajor views ab ou t nonvertjal com mu nication in the

nonfixed-feature realm:

1) Th at it is an arbitrary, culture-specific system, he nc e s~ m il a ro language

in that respect For examp le, ther e is an assumpt ion

o

an analogy be-

twe en kinesic behavior an d lang uag e se e Birdwhistell ,

1970, 1972

An e xtreme sta tem en t is that non verbal behavior may be a s culture

bo un d a s I~riguistic eha vior Lloyd, 1972: 25) .

2) Tha t i t is a pa n-c ultu ral, species-sp ecific system a n d t hu s very dlfferenf

from langua ge se e Eibl-Eibesfeld, 1970, 1 9 7 2 , 1 9 7 9 )



1 2

THE ME NING

OF


3 ) A resolution of these conflicting views in an interesting model that,

while rejecting the linguistic approach and concerned with how non-

verbal behavior communicates feeling states, actually incorporates

aspects of both (Ekman a n d Friesen,

1969b;

Ekman, 1972 .

In t he ca se of th e first two of t hese views, th e ar gu m en t is essentially

about evolutionary versus linguistic models (Eibl-Eibesfeld, 1972;

Leach, 1 9 7 2 ) . So m e of the different f indings may b e d u e to the

exam ina tion of different activities, for exam ple , gestu res versus facial

expressions, which may h ave different deg re es of cultural a n d biologi-

cal com pone nts .

Cross-cultural studies by Eibl-Eibesfeld and Ekman and his col-

laborators indicate the existence of certain universal pan-cultural

elemen ts in facial expressions th at se em universally, or at least v e y

widely indeed, recognized. The se, the n, see m to be nonarbitra an d

biologically based (s ee Darwin, 1 8 7 2 ) .W hat the n is th e role of culture?

T he model proposed ( the neuro-cul tural model ; Ekman, 1 9 7 7 )

resolves the se two points of view in o n e way (th e third a p pr o ac h

above; Ekman an d Friesen , 1 96 9b ; Ekman, 19 7 2) .T h e suggestion is

th at in t h e ca se of facial expressions, ther e is a universal, pan -cu ltura l

affect pr og ram involving facial muscles an d their mo vem ents in asso -

ciation with stat es such as hap piness, an ge r, surprise, fear, disgust,

sadn ess, interest, a nd s o on. T h e elicitors of these , based o n setting,

expectation, mem ory, situation, a n d s o on, are culturally variable a s

ar e the display rules, tha t is, wh at is allowed w he re a nd w hen. T he se

amplify or intensify, deamplify or deintensify, neutralize, blend, or

mask the affect program. The outcome is a particular facial display,

which, w he n interp reted, has affect and behavioral con seq ue nc es in

social interaction. The cultural differences, then, are due to differ-

en ce s in elicitors an d display rules, an d h en ce th e blend, althou gh t h e

e l e m e n t s of

expression a re universal (s ee Figure

13 .

This is clearly n o t languagelike system. Note that not only ar e the

elicitors of fac ial expression socially learn ed and culturally variab le,

but s o are many consequence s of an aroused emotion (such as whether

it is expressed or hidden). At the same time, however, the facial

m uscula r m ovem ent for a particular em otion, i

it is displayed ( th at is, i

displays rules d o no t inte rfere and inhibit it) ar e dictated by a n affect

prog ram th at is pa n- hu m an an d universal.

T h e conflict betw een th e two points of view can b e ap pr oa ch ed in

aq ot h er way. Nonverbal b ehav ior in t he nonfixed-feature realm in-

volves origins, or how these behaviors become par t

of

a person's



1 4


repe rtoire (which is not o f m ajor interest h ere); usag e, th e circum -

stanc es of its use; a n d cod ing, th e rules that explain h ow the b ehavior

conveys information (Ekman and Friesen, 1969b . T h e a r g u m e n t

abo ut wh ether such beh avior is innate , pa n- hu m an , or culture (o r

oth er gro up) specific applies m ainly to origins. Usage se em s clearly

culture specific since i t deals with the external conditions such as

environmental sett ings, si tuations, roles, relationship to associated

verbal a n d vocal behaviors , aw are ne ss of emitt ing th e behav ior an d

intent ion to communicate feedback f rom others , and whether the

information is sh a re d or idiosyncratic. Co din g varies in te rm s of uni-

versality ve rsu s cultural specificity, a n d is of th re e types: intrinsic,

which

is

eikonic and the act

is

the meaning; eikonic but extrinsic,

al though th e ap pe ar an ce of the behavior is like wh at it means; an d

arbitrary, culture-specific extrinsic c od es with n o visual resem blan ce

to w ha t they signify.

O n the bas is of he three types

of

coding, o n e th e n f inds thre e c lasses

of nonverbal behaviors ( for exa m ple, hand gestures) : adaptors ,

i l lustrators , and emblems (Ekman and Friesen, 1972; Johnson e t

al.,

1975 .

adaptors-These are the least intentional, most intuitive, exhibiting

least awareness (no te hat one can have objectadaptors-a

potential

link

to our subject).

illustrators-These augment or contradict what is being said, but have

less precise meanings than emblems.

emblems-These have exact verbal transla tions,with precise meanings

known to all, or most, members of a group, and are delib-

erately used for m essages, so that the sender takes respon-

sibility for them. These can also be described as symbolic

gestures (Ekm an, 1976) and are the most languagelike

(Ekm an, 19 77), or culture specific.

T he se tend to b e s tudied using p roced ures derived f rom social psy-

chology a n d linguistics. Different gro ups ha ve dif fe ren t em blem

repe rtoires, for exam ple, varying in size (Ekm an,

1976 ,

which tends

to cor respond to l anguage a s in the case of e l ab o ra te d o r re-

str icted co de s (see Be rnstein, 1971 .

Th us em blem s, being closer to lang uage tha n illustrators or ada pto rs,

show more influence of cul ture. Although even here one expects

so m e comm onal i ties across cultures, based on biology, these tend to

b e hid den by th e cultural differences; th e further from l an gu ag e, as in

th e ca se of ad ap tor s an d il lustrators, th e m or e th e influence of biology



onverbalCommunication and Environmental Meaning

1 5

an d the less cultural variability is to be exp ected Ek m an, 1 9 7 7 .Hinde ,

1 9 7 2 ) .

This, th en , provides a n ot he r way of resolving th e argu m ent-

contradictory f indings may be d u e to th e a n al y s~ s f different be-

haviors: adaptors, illustrators, or emblems. While these distinctions

are proposed within th e d om ain of gestures , o n e would expect them to

be even more significant across types of nonverbal behaviors, for

exam ple, facial exp ressions versus gestures.

It se em s intuitively likely th at body positions Birdwhistell, 1 9 7 0 ,

1972 , spa tial relations Hall, 1966 ,an d gestures Efron, 1941 are

m ore arbitrary, emblemlike, an d culture specific tha n facial expressions.

O n e woultJ also expect em blematic g estures to be mo st languagelike,

particularly

i

stud ied verbally This is, in fact, th e ca se .

Recently an a t tempt h as b een m ad e to s tudy what a re c learly em -

blematic gestures mainly through ~nterviews-that is, verbally-

al though direct observation, st i l l and cine photography, and the

analysis of historical illustrations a n d d escrip tions we re a lso u sed

Morris et al., 1979 .A total of2 0 of th ese gestures and their meanings

were studied cross-culturally in

40

localities in 2 5 coun tries of

Western an d Sou thern Eu ro pe an d the M edi ter ranean region, using

15 ang uag es. In effect, th e at tem pt was to build

a

lexicon of m ean ing s

by compiling diag ram s of ge stures bo th illustrated an d described-the

basic m orpho logy, distinctive fea ture , selective symb olism, generic

m eaning , and specific m ess ag e of e ach .

T h e gestures s tudied w ere assum ed t o vary f rom cul ture to culture.

Since they can stand for abstract qualit ies, they therefo re dep en d o n

convention, are culture specif ic , and may be meaningless in some

cultures; their distribution m ay b e w ide o r may be restricted to small

group s their geog raphic distribution was plotted s o th at th e lexicon

also s ho w s spatial distribution).

Findings indicate that most of the gestures studied have several

varied major meanin gs so m e ev en in a single region); so m e of the se

me aning s may b e in conflict in different places S o m e gestures hav e

truly national m eaning s, oth ers e xte nd across national a n d linguistic

bou nda ries, still others hav e bound aries w i t h i n

linguistic areas often

d u e to identifiable historical even ts), an d still oth ers ar e restricted to

part icular subgro ups in a given populat ion. G estures chang e with t ~ m e

at different rates.

Ap art from th e fact th at a lexicon c n be p repared, and apar t from

method ological implication, so m e of th e f in d ~ n g s re signif icant for

o u r purposes. While m eanin gs clearly d o vary, an examination of the



1 6

THE ME NING O THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

histograms shows that many gestures have much more common

meanings than others: constancy seems to be a matter of

egree

rather tha n being an either/or situation.

Sec on d, ha nd gestures-particularly the se emblematic ones-seem

m o re variable tha n facial expressions, which have also been studied

cross-culturally. Thu s a s o n e m oves from facial expressions an d adap tors

throu gh illustrators to e m ble m s, th e cu ltural variability a n d specificity

tends t o increase. T he ques t ion , then , is what h appe ns as o n e moves

into th e dom ain of semifixed- an d fixed-feature elements-that is, are

th es e e lem en ts primarily ada ptorlik e, illustratorlike, o r em blemlike? In

t y i n g to apply this m odel to env ironmental cue s in th e semifixed- or

fixed-feature realms, ar e there any universals-or are they all culturally

variable? This is difficult to answer: S o far the re ar e n o lexicons a n d

hardly any research which is urgently ne ed ed ). But on e may examine

so m e of the ev idence an d so m e of what is

known in a speculative

mode. That evidence seems somewhat equivocal , but there does

s e e m t o b e

considerablevariability; o n e canno t , however, say wh ether

th e elicitors an d display rules alone ar e variable or whe ther the e lem ents

a re a lso. Put differently, th e q ue stio n is twofold: Is th e set of elements

constituting noticeable differences in th e environm ent, an d up on

which the des igner in the broadest sen se Rapopor t, 1 9 7 2 ,1 9 7 7 )can

potentially draw , universal or culture specific? Within that set, ev en

i

th e form er applies, are ther e a re com m onalities in which specific cues

get selected to com m unicate particular meaning s or ar e used to infer

m ean ings ), o r is that particular repe rtoire cultu re specific?

A list of possible potential cu es is easily listed Ra pop ort, 1 9 7 7 :2 2 9 -

2 3 0 ) .A m on g thes e o n e ca n suggest the following as being particularly

relevant altho ugh this is not a n exh aus tive list):

physical elements

vision: shape, size, scale, height, color, materials, textures, details,

decorations, graffiti, furniture, furnishings, etc.

spaces: quality, size, shape, enclosing elements, paving, barriers

and

links, etc,

light and shade, light levels, light quali ty

greenery,presence of planting, controlled versus natural, type of

planting, arrangement

age-new versus ol

type of order, order versus disorder




1 7

perceived density

level of maintenance

topography-natural or hum a n- m a de

location-prominence , centrality ve rsus pe riph ery , hills or

valleys, exp osed or hidden , etc.

s o u n d sound quality-dead versus reverberant, nolsy versus quiet,

hu m an-m ade sounds ( industy raffic, music, talk, laughter, e tc

versus natural soun ds (wind, trees, blrds, water, etc.); tem pora l

changes In sound

smells hum an -m ad e versus natural, such as industry, traffic, etc versus

plants, flowers, th e se a, etc.; pleasant versus unpleasan t,

foods an d th e type of foo d, etc

socral elem ents

p e o p le languages spok en, behavior, their dress, physical type, occu pa-

tion, a ge , an d sex, etc.

actlvrtles

a n d uses lntenslty, type-such as

industry,

clubs, restauran ts, residen-

t ~ a l ,ellg~ous, airs, markets, shop s, recreatron, sep ara ted an d

un ~f or m versus mtxed, cars, pedestrians, or other travel

m odes, co o k ~ n g , atlng, sleeprng, playlng, etc

objects signs, advertisem ents, foods, de co r, fences, pla ntsa nd garden s,

possessions, etc

temporal differences of various kinds

For exam ple, i we consider planting, the very fact that different

plant com plexes in ga rden s ar e easily identifiable with particular ethnic

groups, as w e shall s e e later,

suggestsculturalvariability.

If w e co ns ider

height, it is usually rela ted t o statu s, a n d is th us fairly com m on-the

high er off th e gr ou nd , either in pers on or in building form , th e h igher

th e status-but so m e interesting reversals can occur, a s for exam ple,

between North an d So uth Indian temples , where th e height gradient

in its relation to t h e d eg re e of sanctity is reversed (s e e Figu re

14 .Yet

the imp ortance an d sancti ty of the t emple as a

whole

is exp ressed in

term s of height in both c as es (s e e Figure 15 .

T hu s height, in th e s en se of above/be low (in context) , may well be

an important universal category for indicating the meaning impor-

tan ce ; certainly in th e s en se of relative

size o r scale, that is, th e tem ple

a s a w hole vis-a-vis th e house s a n d oth er urban elements . This u se of



1 8

THE MEANING O THE

BUILT

ENVIRONMENT

o m

P do

5 0 l K ~ N ~ t k O

T5hl\fI f55

~prpoit>fa

igure

4

height is s o co m m o n cross-culturally bo th

in

building elements and

location) that examples so on b ecom e to o nu m erous to handle ; con-

sider just the cathedral in a medieval city, churches in towns and

neighborhoods, o r the H au s Tamb aran in a Sepik River village in New

Gu inea see F igure 16 .



Nonverbal

Communication

and Environmental Meaning

Note also that in tradit ional Thailand, co m m on er s always ha d to be

lower th an nobles, and n o o n e could b e higher than the king, with

implications for th e design of buildings a n d settlem ents . Similarly, in

Cam bodia, nobles ha d raised h ou ses an d s laves were a llowed only o n

th e g ro un d floor; red un da nc y was increase d by restricting th e use of

tile roofs to nob les; co m m on ers were restricted to leaves o r thatch

(G it ea u , 1 9 7 6 ) .T h e use of podia , thrones, the high table , and so on

in th e sem ifixed-feature do m ain a n d of bowing, kneeling, genuflect-

ing, and even crawling on one's belly in the nonfixed domain also

com e to m ind .

f we consider centrality, we find that while in most traditional

societies central location

s

related t o high status, the re ar e cas es in

which this do es n ot see m to b e th e cas e (that is, where there is n o rela-

t ion) an d still othe rs (such as th e c onte m por ary United States) in which

reversals occur (Rapopo rt , 1 9 7 7 : 49 .T h e differences, eve n today,

between th e Uni ted States andl ta ly (or even France) consti tu te a lmost

a reversal (Rapoport , 1 9 7 7 ; Schna pper , 19 71 ) . Yet th e constrast be-

tween central versus peripheral locat ion see m s so w idespread as t o be

almost universal. It is also fou nd t h at th e distinction o r oppo sition be-

twee n right a n d left, although universal-possibly related to o u r bodies'

bilateral symmetry-is m o re variab le in te rm s of m eanin g. W hile in

m ost ca ses right is se en as positive a n d left a s negative, th er e d o exist

rar e cas es of reversals (a s in th e ca se of C hin a; N e e d ha m, 1 9 7 3 ) ;o n c e

again, th e c ontext plays a role.

It may be useful to consider color in more detail , since there is

eviden ce that it is o n e of th e clearest noticeable differences (Rap op ort ,

1 9 7 7 ) .S o m e recent evidence suggests tha t color is mu ch m or e clearly

located in semantic space than are, for example, spatial relat ions,

which tend to b e m ore am biguous (Miller an d John son-Lai rd , 1 9 7 6 ) .

Th is may partly h elp exp lain th e gr ea ter utility of semifixed-feature

elements for com m unicating m eaning: Spatial relat ionships, p er se ,

while critical in the organization of the perceptual world, are inher-

ently am bigu ous by

themselves an d also op er ate m uch less effectively

in th e associat ional realm. They a re also m uch less noticeable a s cues,

whereas color is highly noticeable.

T h e qu estio n of specificity o r universality in c olor app lies to its per -

cep tion an d naming as well a s the m ea nin g. While this discussion is not

directly relevant to th e qu es tio n of m ean ing, t h e centrality of color in

semantic space mbkes this question worth addressing briefly, par-

ticularly since tha t which is not n am ed , an d he nc e no t perceived

con



2

THE

ME NING

O

THE BUILT

ENVIRONMENT

sciously is unlikely to have major meaning and hence to be used

as a cue.

In this a rea th er e also ha s been mu ch arg um ent, particularly whether

the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (that language influences perception)

applies at all an d ,

if

so , whether in t he strong, weak, or weakest form

(for a g ood brief review, see Lloyd, 1 9 7 2 ) .T h e whole rang e of positions

ha s bee n taken, but it app ea rs tha t, while all hu m an beings can dis-

criminate color, th e nu m be r of n am ed categories, th e salien ce of color,

an d t he persistence of color as an attention-eliciting dim ension vary

with culture (Lloyd, 1 9 7 2 : 1 5 0 ) .Color sposition in th e deve lopm ental

sequ ence am ong children a lso varies (S uch ma n, 1 9 6 6 ) .

T he re do es seem to be a universal, pa n- hu m an inventory of eleven

basic perceptua l color categories, from which va rious cultures draw all

eleven o r fewer. All lang uag es, however, h av e two of th e categories-

black an d white. If three ar e used, then red is next, i f four, ei ther gree n

or yellow (but not both), an d so o n. Th ere thus see m s to be a clear ,

f ixed seq uen ce of

evolutionary stages thr ou gh which langua ges m ust

pass a s their color vocabulary increases; there ar e two tem por al order s

in this evolutionary se qu en ce (Berl in and Kay, 1 9 6 9 ) .

If however, o n e accep ts th e increasing variability as o n e go es from

manifest to latent functions (that is, meaning) a n d from th e con crete to

th e symbolic object, on e would expe ct to find m ore variability a nd

greater cultural specificity for meanin g tha n for percep tion o r naming.

At first glance, this see m s to be t he case. T h u s th e color of mo urning

can be white, black, or purple ; th e Nazis used yellow a s a stigma color,

whereas it has the oppo si te meaning in Buddhism, and s o on. In so m e

cultures, such a s the United States, color u se se em s to b e arbitrary or

rand om , whereas am on g the Navaho , colors are explicitly ranke d in

terms of

go od lb ad (Hall,

1961: 104 .

n th e latter ca se this may be

related t o th e identification of colors with directions, which ar e clearly

ran ked . W hite is identified with ea st, blue with so uth , yellow with w est,

an d black with n orth. Each is also related t o specific ph en om en a, par-

ticular m ountains , jewels, birds, an d s o on. Also, east a n d s ou th (white

an d blue) a r e male, w here as west a n d no rth (yellow an d black) ar e

fem a l e (Lam p he re , 1 9 6 9 ) .This relation betw een colors an d cardinal

directions is form ed also in oth er cultures, ev en in the United S tat es ,

wh ere, how ever, th es e relations a re no t explicit and he nc e no t widely

shared and more idiosyncratic; for example, there are regional dif-

fe rences (Som mer and Es tabrook, 1 97 4 ) .

B ut t h e evid enc e for th e g reate r variability an d cultural specificity

between color an d m eanin g is som ew hat equivocal an d ambiguous.




3

Th us th e pract ice of using colors an d color na m es to com mu nicate

affective m ea nin g is fou nd in m any widely different cultures. More-

over, white is very com mo nly s ee n a s positive a n d black a s negative,

not only in W estern culture but a m o n g Siberian tr ibes, M ongols, so m e

Africans, an d Am erican Indians. Althoug h there may be exceptions,

the evidence suggests considerable cross-cultural generality in the

me anin g of black a nd white an d o the r colors an d color na m es (Williams

e t a l., 19 70 )

Black artd wh ite th us ev ok e positive a n d negative affective associa-

t ions and m eanings Th ese are m ore polar ized in the West , wh ere

black ha s extremely negative m ean ing , than , for exam ple, in J a p a n ,

where b lack a nd whi te tend to harmo nize more a nd are see n m ore in

terms of a complementary balance of opposites, although even in

J a p a n w hite is still pre ferre d. Wh ite is ra ted positively by H on g K on g

Chinese, Asian Indians, Danes, English, German s, a n d white Am ericans,

wh erea s black 1s uniformly negative. T h es e two colors se em t o involve

universal meanings (Goldberg and Stabler , 1973) modified by cul-

ture.

Sim ~la rly, oth white a n d black children in the United Sta tes

attach n egative meaning s to black a n d positive m eanings t o white

(Stabler and J o hns o n , 19 7 2) .Th us , while a few exce ptions exist, black

generally h as negative c on no tation s, white positive (Stabler a n d

G oldberg, 19 7 3 ) .

It is quite clear, tho ug h, that colors generally d o have me aning, both

in the m selv es, by contra st with nonco lors , and in term s of inc reasing

th e redu nd an cy of o the r cues. For exam ple, in ancie nt Peking, most of

th e city was low a n d gray; th e sac red a n d hierarchically impo rtant

section was centrally located, larger in scale, more elaborate, and

higher, an d t h e u se of colors was restricted t o tha t section.

Th us , generally, o n e finds m any exa m ples of explicit color m ea n-

ings. O n e exam ple is th e com plex color symbolism of medieval times2

based on the notion that every object has mystical meaning. The

colors used h ad four sources: 1) nc ient religious archives a n d cere-

monies

of

Iran, India, Chin a, a n d Egypt, 2) the Old Tes tament , 3)

Gree k and Rom an mythology , an d

4)

based o n the othe r three, color

meaning

of

na tur e This included red for pow er (b loo d), yellow for

warm th an d fruitfulness (su n) ,green for youth an d hop efulness (spring),

a n d s o on . T h e re were clear a n d explicit rules for using color: (a) only

pu re colors were to be used, (b) com binations of colors to give tints cor-

respo nde d to c om pou nd meanings, a n d (c) th e rule of opposi tes , tha t

is, reversing th e natural meaning-thus green, which normally stood

for youth a nd hop e, could b ecom e despair (Blanch, 1 9 7 2 ) .T hus the



4

THE ME NING

OF


use of color constitu ted an arbitrary system that ne ed ed know ledge of

the cultural context to be read .

Although it seem s rath er equivocal, th e cross-cultural generality of

the meanings of colors other than black and white has also been

strongly ar g u ed for exam ple, se e Williams et al.,

1970 .

W hile every

culture h as had its own expressive system of color meanings, an d the re

were h en ce so m e variat ions, these have been widely s har ed am o ng

cultures Kaplan, 1 9 75 ) .Yet m any such argu m ents ar e not fully con-

vincing. T he re is also the fact that colors see m to hav e s o m e striking

com m onalities in their physiological effects, su ch a s levels of arou sal.

B ase d o n this, it ha s be en sugg ested th at since in all cultures colors are

related to affect a n d m oo d , an d since m uc h of this relation is based o n

association with natu ral p h e n o m e n a an d th e physiological imp act of

colors, th e result is a widesp read stereo typing of colors Aaro nson ,

1 9 7 0 ) .

M ore impo rtantly, a n d m ore generally, it is th e presence or abse nc e

of color in a context-color a s a no ticeab le difference-that is impor -

tant. It usually indicates so m eth ing special or important; th us th e role

of color in a mo n o ch ro m e o r natural for exam ple, m ud brick) environ-

men t, a s in th e cases of Peking o r Isphahan already discussed. In suc h

an environm ent a w hitewashed building, such a s a church, may stan d

ou t, as in th e Altiplano of Pe ru o r th e Pu eblos in New Mexico. Alter-

natively, a m o no ch ro m e building a church ) reinforced by a ch an ge of

materials , such as natural stone, may stand out in a polychrome,

stu cco ed setting such as Mexico) o r in a whitewashed setting as n th e

case of Astuni in Apulia, already discussed) where it is further rein-

forced by location, size, height, form d o m es an d towers), and e labora-

tion. In the case of materials or forms, age-old or new-also may

indicate im po rtanc e or status. T hu s in t h e cas e of R um ania n village

churc hes, em phas is, vis-a-vis dwellings, was ob tain ed by th e us e of

new materials; in th e case of Pue blo Kioas th e con trast is achieved

through th e use of a n archaic form.

T he re is clearly so m e uncertainty ab ou t th e de gree of con stancy

eve n in th e no nfixed-feature realm, that is, nonverbal co mm unication

pro pe r. It s ee m s partly a m atter of th e kinds of cues, such a s emblem s

o r ada pto rs, gestures o r facial expressions. In a re as of overlap

betw een nonfixed features a nd semifixed- o r fixed-feature elem ents,

the same condition exists. For example, male genital displays are

extremely comm on am on g infrahuman primates. O n e a lso f indsaco r-

respondingly common reflection among humans in the widespread




5

use of phallic figures a s gu ardia n f~ g u re s n d m arke rs (Eibl-Elbesfeld,

1 9 7 9 :43 -4 6) found In m any pe r iods and am on g cu l tu res a s d~ v e r se s

Euro pe, Ja pa n , Africa, New G uinea, Polynesia, Indonesia, and a n c ~ e n t

S ou th America, to m ention just a few

In gen eral , thou gh . the survey abov e an d o ther evidence suggests

that in the case of env ironm ents, w h ~ le onstancies exist, the repertoire

or pale t te grows an d there s m ore variability a n d cultural specificity

T hus th e reversals on e finds In th e me aning of env ironm ental elem ents

ar e s triking M ountains that were desplsed b eco m e subl ime with th e

rise of th e Ro man t ic M ovem ent (Nicolson, 1 9 5 9 ) ;Ro m an ruins that

were pag an , an d hen ce evil, bec om e rem nan ts of a golden ag e with the

R e n a i s s a n c e ( a s d e s c ri b e d in R a p o p o r t , 1 97 0b , a b o v e ) ; t h e

urban center has highly posit ive meaning in I taly and France, and

nega tive m eaning in the Uni ted S ta tes(R ap op or t , 1 9 7 7 ) ; h e m e an in g

of urb an settlem en ts vis-a-vis wilderness com pletely reve rses in th e

Uni ted S ta tes in a comparative ly brief t ime (T ua n, 1 9 7 4 : 1 0 4 -1 0 5 )

f

we compare Austral ian Aborigines and Northwest Coast Indians of

North A merica, we f ind tha t am o n g th e latter th e set t lem en t pattern is

dete rm ined by ecological an d eco no m ic co nsid eration s; it is th e dwell-

ings, determined by ritual considerations, that are the bearers of

meaning. Am ong the former , however , dwellings seem to respond

mainly t o instrum ental forces (al though this h as recently been qu es-

t ioned; Reser, 1 9 7 7 ) while the se t t lem ent pat terns , in thls ca se th e

m ovem ent pa t te rn a nd relat ionship to th e land (in themselves highly

culture specific) , ar e ba sed o n r itual an d a re mo st m eaningful (R ap o-

port, 1 9 7 5 a , forthcoming c) .

It thus ap pea rs tha t as o n e moves f rom the nonfixed rea lm, throug h

clothing, to the semifixed- an d finaliy f ixed-feature elem en ts, th e

repertoire, or palette, grows and there is ever more variability and

specificity related to culture. In other words, the trend is to a more

languagelike m odel , but o n e that is less arbi trary than lang uag e.

Ekm an's neuro-cul tura l m odel , however. compris ing both constant

an d variable elem ents, see m s useful, as do es th e notion of a global lex-

icon,

which

may be broadly l~ m ited o certain types of elem ents; from

that, different gro up s m ay select repe rtoires m or e o r less restricted in

size a n d m or e or less con stant in usa ge We

will

know m ore w hen lex-

Icons a rc deve loped and cues a re s tudied historically and cross-

culturally

At the sam e t ime , on e can see a cons tan t t endency to s t re s s

differ

ences-height , color , ag e, location, materials , layout, sh ap e, or w hat-



6


ever are used to establish and stress differences. In most cases, a

distinction o r noticeable difference ten ds to be established betw een

various elements; i t is these that express meanings. For example,

dom ains, such a s sacred jprofane , f ront jback , tnen/women, public /

private, a n d s o o n , ar e distinguished; dist inctive cu es indicate that . T h e

process seems universal , the means var iable . There are probably

limits to t h e m ea ns available a n d certain likely, or e ve n alm ost inevi-

table, things might ha pp en. He ight will te nd to be used a n d in mo st

cases do es indicate imp ortance or sacredness; color will ten d to be

used even i f specific colors vary; orientation tends to be significant,

even

if

specific directions vary; centrality (for ex am ple , navel of th e

world, axis m undi) is comm on-although its m eaning may b e reversed;

size or d egree of e labo ratenes s and other c om parab le e lements will

tend to recur and even ten d to be used in cer ta in ways ra ther than

others . Th us height in th e North an d So uth Indian Tem ples is , in o n e

sen se, used in o pp os ed ways in m aking sacred ne ss within the tem ple,

but in op po sin g tem ple/tow n height is still used to m ark the sac red .

This corresp onds , for example, to the re la tion of up d o w n sacred:

profan e or pure:pol lu ted found am on g the Kwaio in the Solo m on

Islands (Keesing, 1979 an d m any other cul tures .

It is interesting to e xam ine sta tus, hierarchy, prestige, a n d pow er.

For o n e thing , they are re la ted to soc ia l rank o r dom inance an d the se

ar e almo st universal , not only in hu m ans but a m on g many animals. In

higher animals, status is related t o atte nti on . Hu m an prestige striving

is hom olo go us with primate self-dom inance, but the primate tend ency

for seeking high social rank is transfo rm ed into self-es teem , which is

m aintained by se ekingprestige; the self or gro up is eva luated as higher

( a significant word ) tha n oth ers . T o get attentio n, distortions of per-

cep tion a nd cognition a re u sed . In traditional cultures, culturally pat-

tern ed strategies a re us ed for this; culture contact o ften destroys the se

(Barkow, 1975 .T h e built env ironm ent is on e of th es e strategies, a n d

in trying to establish prestige, height is, in fact. a very commonly

used cue.

f

we examine how sp ac e and physical objects com m unica te rank

an d pow er, w e find height frequently use d, altho ugh clearly this can

only be understood in context. Many examples can be found. One

very striking on e has to d o with th e way ran k was com m unicated in

palaces. I t ap pe ars that the Em peror of Byzantium had a th ron e that

rose through mechanical means while those before him prostrated

themselves (s ee Can ett i , 19 62) -a real-world analo gue of the well-



No nv erbal Comm unication and Environmental Meaning

7

known sc en e in Ch arlie Chaplin's

The

reat

Dictator

Oth er examples

from B angkok, Ca m bod ia, an d oth er places hav e already be en given.

This klnd of c u e is, su sp ec t, alm ost universally un de rsto od .

Horizorltal space can also be used in this way, as in Versailles,

Hitler's chancery (Blom eyer , 1 9 7 9 ) ,o r in t h e well-known ex am ple of

Mussolini 's office; m any executive offices also u se this. R ed un da nc y is

also used clearly to communicate rank and power clearly-height,

horizontal sp ace, decorat ion, materials, guard s , an d s o on . Th us o n e

can con sider th e palace of the ph ar ao h in ancient Egypt a s a ruling

machine ( Uph~ l l , 9 7 2 ) .H e r e

a

wide variety

of

architectural m anip -

ulat ion a nd orn am en t was u sed t o produ ce a sui table feeling

of

aw e in

visitors. N ote th e implication th at it w as self-eviden t

t

all an d tha t we

ca n still s o interpret it. T h e palace was a se t of m essages to com m uni-

cate aw e a nd subservience: abso lute s ize, scale, sett ings , approach ,

spatial seq ue nc e, color , doorways, panel ing, an d other d ecora t ion,

courtiers , co stum es,

furnishings,

an d many o ther e lements were used

to create a setting overwhelming in itself-and even m or e so in th e

con text of t he typical mud-brick villages a n d ev en larger hou ses. Th is

con textua l im pac t is, of c ours e, critical in un de rsta nd ing any e nviro n-

ment-a New En glan d tow n in th e se ve nte en th cen tury in its clearing

of fields con trasting with th e d rea d forest; any h um an ize d a re a in a real

wilderness (such a s a v~ l l agen prehis tor ic times; Ra pop ort , 1 9 7 9 b );

major mon um ental complexes o r spaces , such a s the Acropolis in th e

context of ancient Athens or the Maidan-i-Shah in the context of

seventeenth-century I sphahan.

While in all thes e case s th e m eanings described would ha ve be en,

an d still are, imm ediately comp rehensible s ince s o not iceable d u e to

redun dan cy, context , an d th e use of natural cue s , th e specific read-

ing of th e m eanings requires so m e cul tural knowledge. T h e co de s

must be known in order for the meaning of the order under lying

buildings, cities, an d w hole co untries to be un de rstoo d. This was the

case in Ancient Cam bod ia (se e Giteau, 1 9 7 6 ) an d in the layout of t he

entire Maya lowlands, to give just two e xam ples. T he se latter ne ed to

be interpreted in terms of a sac red mod el base d o n the quadriparti te

view of th e universe an d th e co ns eq ue nt use of fou r capitals. This

organization pe ne trat es do w n to level of t h e villages, which a lso con-

sist of four wa rds (Marcus, 1 9 7 3 ) .This is, of cou rse, an an cien t and

co m m o n pattern ; o n e of t h e earliest cities, Ebla, was s tructure d in this

way (Berman t and W eitzman, 19 7 9 :

155,

1 6 7 ) , as were m any o ther

cities

Rapoport,

1 9 7 9 b ) . Similar mod els under l ie Y oruba environ-



8


m ents (K am au, 1 9 7 6 ) a n d Mexico, where a know ledge of ancient

Aztec organization can help in read ing th e m ean ing of t h e organiza-

tion of a contem porary small town suc h as Tlayaca pan (Ingham ,

1 9 7 1 ) .T hu s knowing th e underlying sch em ata, having internal con-

texts, he lps in reading t h e m eanings.

ha ve b ee n discussing th e fact tha t although c ontext an d cultural

knowledge a re imp ortant, many of these cues s ee m t o be almost self-

evident, although from th e distant pas t and from very different cultures.

This suggests th e n ee d briefly to c onsider again the suggestion m a d e

ab ov e that there may be regulari ties in th e m ea n s available that may

be likely, natural, a n d almo st inevitable. This may b e inte rpe ted in

term s of th e notion of e volutionary ba ses for behavior. O n e suggestion

is th at a m on g m or e or less widely sha red associations, the re may b e

arch etyp al associations-that is, certain c o m m on res po ns es to certain

stimuli, o r archetyp es defined a s th e m ost l ikely schem ata (se e McCul-

ly, 19 7 1) .A no the r app roa ch is that , du e to evolution in particularcon-

ditions, th e h um an species exhibits constancies in behavior, ne ed s,

an d th e ways things tend to b e d on e, s o that there a re limits to th e

ran ge of possible ways of doing things (R ap op ort , 1 9 7 5 b ; Ham burg,

1 9 7 5 ; T ig er a n d S h e p h e r , 1 9 7 5 ; Tiger, 1 9 6 9 ; T iger and Fox , 1 9 7 1 ;

Fox , 1 9 7 0 ; Boyden , 1 9 7 4 ; Rossi, 1 97 7) .

It may also well be th at n ot o nly is th e rep ertoire o r palette limited,

but t h e rules of com bina tion m ay b e similarly limited. H er e again,

there may eventually be an area of overlap between the study of

environm ental meaning in terms of non verbal cues an d m ore formal

structuralist, semiotic, symbolic, linguistic, and cognitive anthropol-

ogy models. Note that many of these are based on the notion of

oppositions-that is, contrasts-so that m an y theorists in th e ar ea

arg ue that symbols occur

in

sets an d tha t th e mean ing of particular

symbols is to b e fo un d in th e contrast with o the r symbols rather tha n in

the symbol s su ch , s o that individual symbo ls have layers of m ean ing

that d ep en d upo n what is being contras ted with what (se e Leach,

1 9 7 6 ) . This no tion of contrast o r opposit ion see m s basic to dis-

crimination or meaning, and forms part of the context that

have

bee n stressing.

O n e of these c om m on processes discussed abo ve was the tendency

of the hu m an mind t o classify the world into dom ains such a s nature/

culture, us/them, m en lw om en , private/public, frontlback, sacred/

profane, g oo dl b ad , an d so on ; built environments of ten give physical

expression t o t hes e domains (Rapoport, 1 9 7 6 ~ ) . ote that recently the

strict binary nature of such oppositions has been modified by the



Nonverbal Communication and Envlronrnental Meaning

9

realization that frequently a n imp ortant middle term (o r terms) exists

that m ediates o r resolves the opposit ion. O n e exam ple is provided by

th e con cep t of field as mediating between village a n d b u s h in

various cultures; also, in t he opp osition

s a ~ r e d / p o l l u t e d , ~ 'he re is

the middle term ordinary (Keesing, 1 9 7 9 :

3;

Fernandez, 1977;

Rapoport , 19 79 b) .Am ong th e Zapotec, o n e finds the graveyard used

as the category mediating between th e wild (field) an d t h e dom estic

(house ) domains; there o n e f inds a whole gradation o r continuum of

terms defining do m ains that a re exp ressed in terms having to d o with

fields, villages, hou ses, patios, a n d s o on, a n d with conc epts su ch a s

sacred, profane, goo d, bad, safe, dangerous, an d s o on . Knowing

these clarif ied the environment and i ts meanings (El Guindi and

Selby, 1 97 6 ) .Con trasts ar e thus often am on g expressions of d om ains;

while the results may vary, the processe s a n d rules a re constant.

In defining dom ains, an d in grouping env ironmental eleme nts into

dom ains, it is necessary to judge whe ther, a n d how, elem ents a re th e

sa m e or different. It has bee n sugg ested tha t the re ar e five main m od es

of eq uivalence: perceptible (color, size, sh ap e, position, a n d s o on );

functional (for w hat it is used ); affective (em otiona l resp onse su ch as

liked or disliked); nominal (based on ready-made names in the

lang uage) ; an d by fiat, that is, arbitrary (Olver a n d Hornsby, 1972) .

T h e use of equivalence cri teria an d their types a re constant; th e

specific type used varies am o ng different cultures (see Greenfield et al.,

1 9 7 2 ; S uc hm a n, 1 9 6 6 ) .

O nc e domains ar e def ined, an d their equivalence or difference

established, cu es n ee d to be used to m ak e them visible. This is th e role

an d purp ose of th e contrasts we h ave b een discussing. For exam ple,

the mo dern movem ent in archi tecture, mo dern ar t, a n d all avant-

garde

n

itself

ha s me aning simply by contrast with wha t is not av an t-

garde

through being identified with an elite minority. This is, of course ,

the role of fashion today, as we h ave already seen (Blumer, 19 69 b) .

Equivalerlt to these is being modern in Third World environments

through t he use of m ode rn materials , sha pes , or gadgets, which we

hav e already discussed ; it is, in fact, a perfect ana logu e throu gh con -

trast with th e context, for exam ple, m odern hou ses, con crete floors,

cem ent blocks, galvanized iron, an d wood fram e a s opp os ed t o U b u s h

houses with mud floors, mud and stick walls, and thatched roofs.

Recall that in a setting of galvanized iron roofs it is th e th at ch ed roof

that may hav e special me aning.

W ithout noticeable

differences contrasts meaning is more dif-

ficult to read . For exam ple, in C am p o Rugia, a traditional neighborho od




2

in Venice, windows v a y greatly in size an d form; this com m unic ates

th e social m ea ni ng of dwellings. In th e new ne ighb or ho od of Villaggio

S an Marco, th e windows a re all of th e sa m e size a n d form; they th us all

s eem to have the s a m e impor tance and do not comm un ica te ( Chenu

e t al., 1 9 7 9 : 1 0 6 , 1 1 0 - 1 1 1 ) .

W e ha ve already see n tha t differences beco m e m ore noticeable,

a nd me anings clearer, wh en they ar e uniqu e ( o n e clearing in a forest,

o n e colored building). Scarcity value is th us im portan t in e m phasizin g

ab sen ce or presence thro ugh contras t . For example, the shabby, non -

manicured landscaping of upper-class are as (Du nc an , 1973) com-

m unicates no t only throug h m atching the sch em a of wilderness and

simple, natura l things, bu t by contrast with th e pre va il~ ng ub urb an

norm of m anicured la nds cap e This landscaping bec om es a m arker.

Similarly, since Venice h as few arca de s, they have a special m eaning

that indicates special areas of social importance, of interaction and

meeting; they physically de fin e th e m ost im portan t public places in th e

urban fabric T h e two main one s ar e th e Rialto-the business an d

financial center-and th e Plaza S an Marco-the political and rel~gious

cente r (Ch enu e t a l .,1979:

76).

Clearly, in B ologna, where arca des ar e

th e norm , their abse nc e may h ave equivalent meaning.

Much w ork ne ed s t o b e d o n e in reviewing all thes e issues historically

an d cross culturally. At th e m om en t it still se em s unresolv ed, but

Ekman's model see m s t o be applicable wh ether semif ixed- an d n on-

fixed-feature ele m ents ten d t o be m ore like em ble m s, illustrators, o r

adaptors; w heth er they ar e mo re like gestures or facial expressions

( see F igure 1 7 ) .

I t thus appears that this approach, derived from nonverbal com-

mu nication, can usefully b e applied to environm ental m eaning, avoid-

ing th e pro blem s pr es en ted by formal linguistic, semiotic, o r symbolic

approaches. Recall , however, the suggestion already made, rein-

forced by the above discussion, that by starting with this relatively

simple, straightforward, an d largely observ ational a pp ro ac h, o n e is in

n o way blocking its even tual integration with, an d relation to , mo re

formal linguistic, structuralist, semiotic, an d symbolic analy ses.

otes

Interestingly, the

au thors

ru r t h e n a t t h e S a n F r a nc is co r n e d i ~ a l c h o o l of t h e

Un~vers l ty

of

Ca l~fo rn ia , he re Ekma n , wh ose work w ~l i hor tly d iscuss , has been

w o r k ~ n g



22


2. Note that this a nd many o the r s tud ies o n co lor ar e d iscussed in terms of

symbolism. As pointed out in Ch ap ter 2 t h e r e

is

n o loss in clar ity whe n t he conc ept

symbol is omit ted an d th e quest ion, What is th e me aning of colors? or What d o

colors communicate? s substituted.



SMALL SCALE EXAMPLES O

APPLICATIONS

Although m any var ied exam ples have b ee n u sed in the discussion

s o far, it now se em s useful to exa m ine ex am ples of th e application of

the ap pro ac h advo cated in m or e detail. While, in g eneral, the exam ples

will concentrate on our own time and Western culture, occasional

m o re exotic exa m ples will be use d t o stress specific points. In this

ch apte r, smaller-scale exam ples will b e exam ined; in th e next, those at

the urban scale.

As a lready poin ted out, th e ad van tage of this app ro ac h is th at it is

relatively sim ple an d straightforward, involving observ ation a n d inter-

pretatio n. No te that th e early work of Ru esch a n d Ke es, Hall, Bird-

whistell, Ek m an, an d oth ers involved observation and/o r pho tograp hy

followed by analysis. This led t o a n in dex o r catalo gue of cue s, which

led to hy potheses tested by further observa tion o r experimen t. In this

book, th e suggest ion

is

m a d e that this early, relatively simple ap pr oa ch

is extremely useful. Basically, one begins by looking and observing;

o n e sensitizes oneself to s ee , observe, an d understand: It is not a linear

process, bu t o n e involving a n intuitive creative leap o n c e o n e ha s

satu rated oneself in t h e information (Ra po po rt, 1 9 6 9 d ) . This is , of

course, also a n analo gue of design a n d of the u se of m an-en vironm ent

studies in desig n.

T h e observation itself a n d th e understanding be co m e easier with

practice, that is, a s on e develops this m o d e of th ou gh t. Clearly, o n e

need s to intuit the m eanin g of w hat o n e sees; that intuition t he n n ee ds

to be ch ec ke d systematically an d in m or e linear fashion. In both

proc esses, of co ur se, knowing t he cultural con text is extremely useful,

bu t even that ca n be sugg ested by observation. In conven tional non .

verbal comm unicat ion s tudies in the nonfixed-feature area , on e can



24

THE ME NING

OF


study both the encoding a n d decod ing of th e behaviors in a n inter-

action (Ekman an d Fr iesen, 1 9 7 2 ) . n applying the approac h to semi-

fixed ( a n d f ixed-feature) eleme nts o n e can also study the encoding

(wh at sett ing would o n e provide for X) and decoding (what does th is

setting sugge st o r me an ). O n e description of how this process might

oc cu r is given in th e h ypothe tical ex am ple of how o n e might gradually

co m pre hen d th e m eanings of various elemen ts in S pa in, beginning

with obs ervatio n (Poy atos, 1 9 7 6 ) . Clearly, this process of grad ual

com prehe nsion implies, as a lready pointed out , th e n eed to acquire

th e cultural know ledge necessary to interpret th e cu es, that is , th e co n-

text available to th e users. At the s am e time, how ever, th e early stages

described involve a person, newly arrived in Spain, observing and

record ing various fe at ur es n th e environ m ent: blending of offices an d

dwellings, the signs attached to balconies, film placards, sidewalk

cafes, o pe n -d oo r bars, traffic, proxemic beh avio r, various sm ells, an d

s o on ; meanings can then be inferred an d checked.

Spatial organization at small scales can co m mu nicate m eanings a t

th e level of semifixed elem en ts. For exa m ple , i o n e considers court-

roo m s in several cultures (Ha zard , 1 9 7 2 ) , the suggestion is that by

observing th e spatial relationships am o n g five elements-judge's se at,

def end an t 's sea t , jury 's seats, defending attorney's sea t , an d pro secut-

ing attorney's seat-the major and essential fea tur es of th e criminal

justice system can be determ ined s o that even a n em pty courtroom

tells o n e a great deal (s ee Figure

18 .

W he the r this is, in fact, th e ca se is

less important than the point that we can judge relative position,

status, a n d th e whole situation through such cu es that, effectively, are

in th e semifixed realm , which is extremely significant for my arg um en t.

Th ese c ues m ay be very subtle, a s a saw-cut in the bench behind which

judge a nd prose cutorsit in P oland to m ake them distinct. Fo rexa m ple ,

th e jury is sepa rate from th e judge in th e United S tate s an d Britain, an d

they retire sepa rately to different places. In G en ev a, the judge an d jury

retire together; in tha t c ase, th e pros ecu tor is higher spatially tha n th e

defense a t torney, accu sed, an d witness s tand. In o th er p laces, o ther

variants are found.

A

significant point a bo ut th e jury/judge re ation

ab ov e is th at how a n d w he re they retire is significant. Th is clearly su g-

gests th at with pe op le pres ent, their dress, behavior, an d interaction

will com m un icate even m or e. For ex am ple, th e n ature of th e judge's

seat-its size, de co ra tio n, location, w he th er it is raised-will co m -

m unica te m uc h. T h e judge's dress-robes, wigs, cha ins, o r sa sh es of



Small Scale Examples

o

Applications 125



26

TH ME NING OF THE

BUILT

ENVIRONMENT

office-will ad d m ore; th e nonfixed fea ture s, such a s th e usher's cry of

all s tand an d the crowd's behavior, all ad d even more data .

Note that, moreover, one finds that clothing style, behavior, and

the subtle differences in t h e way lawyers an d witnesses spea k in th e

courtroom can have a profoun d effect o n th e ou tco m e of a criminal

trial (New York Times, 19 7 5 ). Th us th es e mo re typical non verbal

cue s also play a role. T h e report also com m ents tha t the Am erican

criminal trial is a public ritual th at is us ed t o reso lve conflicts. This is, of

cou rse, typical of all cultures; th e discussion h er e bears on th e setting

for these rituals an d it reflects th em . N ote th at, on ce again , th e fixed-

feature elem ents com m unicate m uch less .

T h e adv anta ge of such a n ap proa ch is that it is s imple en ou gh con-

ceptually to be used quickly a nd easily by practitioners a n d stud ents.

Basically o n e identifies sets of noticeable differences am o n g environ-

m ents a nd m akes inferences abou t them. O nc e a single case is analyzed

and relationships established, other comparable cases allow infer-

enc es to be m a de m ore easily, a s we shall see below. O n e can also

observe overt behavior and obtain demographic characteris t ics of

populations to help interpret the se m eanings m or e fully.

It even be co m es possible to disprove hyp othese s

in

this way. Thu s,

for example , on e s tudent (Janz , 1 9 7 8 ) com pare d semifixed elem ents

in several hun dre d dwellings in an a re a on th e So ut h sid e of Milwaukee

(a white e thnic , b lue-collar area) with a n are a o n th e East s ide ( a

profession al-acad em ic, fairly high-status ar ea , with a sub sam ple of

architects ' dwellings there). He a ssu m ed t ha t personalization would

be higher on the East side. In addition to field analysis, he photo-

grap hed the hou ses for further analysis. It soo n bec am e clear that per-

sonalization th rou gh semifixed elements w as very mu ch higher on t he

S o ut h side-in fact, wh at w as typical of th e East side was th e bsence

of personalization. In other words, two different subculture codes

were being used to which people conformed. The meanings com-

municated- I am a go od person who belongs hereu-were com -

municated through both the presence and absence of personaliza-

tion externally.

Various qu estions an d sub hyp othe ses could quickly be formulated.

Was the lack of personalization on th e East side d u e to lifestyle variables

am on g the inhab itants s o that th e popu lation established identity in

othe r, nonenvironm ental ways, fo r exam ple, through professional

achievem ent (se e Rapop ort , 1 9 8 1 )? Alternatively, o ther environ-

men tal m ea ns might be involved, for example, a gro up identity achieved



Small Scale Examples of Applications

127

thro ugh th e arch itectu ral quality of th e dwellings a n d overall chara cter

of th e ar ea tha t at tracted p eo ple th ere in th e first place and that would

b e d a m a g e d

by

major cha nge s in th e semifixed e lem ents Was the

location of t h e ar ea a n d residenc e in it sufficient to co m m un ica te a

particular social identity th at, on t h e S ou th side, ne ed ed to b e achieved

throu gh personalization? T he se questions, too, could

b e

answered

relatively easily.

It was also n ot t o o difficult for a s tud en t to begin to list the elem en ts

to be examined tha t is, th e palet te :

external materials

colors

fences

planting and landscaping

visibility of house from street

visibility into house

shutters

awnings and decorations on them

mailboxes

street numbers

newspaper holders

external lights

handrail:;

signs on front of house

flagpoles and their location

air conditioners

storm doors

other objects

For each of these elements, many specific questions can easi ly be

listed.

Similar ques tions and appr oach es can be used to s tudy front jback

distinctions. T hu s lists of noticeab le differences can b e no ted a m o n g

fixed a n d semifixed a n d eve n nonfixed) featu res that are use d to

indicate front or back. T h es e can be, an d hav e b ee n, applied easily in

the field by researchers , pract i t ioners , and s tudents One

can

look

a t

the state of lawns

maintenance of houses

colors

presence and absence of porches



28


locat~on f garages and cars

varlous uses and how treated

various objects

locatlon of paths

landscaping

absence or presence of people, th e ~ r ress, and behav~or

presence, absence, or treatment of fences

a n d m an y othe rs. (Inventories of this kind ca n also be used , both ex-

ternally a n d internally, for man y o th er studies.)

An example of o n e such study d o n e by students examined the

object language in two subculturally different residential areas in

U rbana , Illinois (An derson a nd M oore,

1972 .

T h e study investigated

th e dem arcation of s pac e throu gh planting a nd fences, an d beg an by

observing a n d recording objects; a classification an d typology easily

followed. T h en , qualitative evaluations an d quantitative differences

were s tudie d. T h e process was direct, straightforward, an d easy, and

results were enlightening. T h e eleme nts consti tutingthe m essage con-

tent of th e barriers used to d em arc ate sp ac e were also quite easily

derived: location, materials, type, size, continuity. Other forms of

boundary ph en om en a, such a s markers (equ ivalent to point barriers) ,

are quickly no ted ( ev en

not studied); hey ca n then quickly be se en to

relate to o ther studies of such m arkers. T h e prese nce or a bse nce of

semifixed-feature elem ents su ch a s othe r planting, chairs, tables, sun

umbrellas, o r barbecues, a nd nonfixed-feature eleme nts such a s people

a n d their activities could also be obse rved an d u sed to clarify the issue.

T h e study, like th e M ilwaukee exam ple abo ve, was d o n e as project for

a term pa pe r an d would hardly have been possible with mo re sophis-

ticated means.

Another advantage of this app ro ac h is tha t m any studies exist th at

can be in terpreted in these terms: Th ese begin to show pat terns an d

exhibit relationships, enabling o n e t o work in th e m an ne r described in

th e preface, that is, relating many dis pa rate studies a nd integrating

them into larger conceptual systems. An example is provided by a

com parison of hou ses in so m e parts ofAfrica with th os e in th e S ud an .

In th e form er case, o n e finds grana ries a s major elements-in size,

sh ap e, color, decoration, location, an d s o on . Th ese clearly a re impor-

tant in th e mean ings they ha ve for people. In th e S u d an , bec aus e of

Islam, it is G o d wh o is hon ored ra the rth an grain. H en ce grain is stored

in simple an d unobtrusive grana ries; it is m os qu es an d tom bs of sa ints

that, in form, size, color, a n d s o o n , do m ina te th e m ud-brick villages



Sm all Scale Examples o Applications

29

(L e e, 1 9 7 4 ) .T h e differences are clarified using cultural kno wled ge, but

simple obs ervation an d lis ting of elem ents m ak es th e point quickly

a n d forcefully In W est Africa both ele m ents a re stressed - the m ea n-

ing of g ran arie s reflects th e essen tial nat ur e of grain a n d is ex pre sse d

thro ug h m ost elab ora te craf tsmanship an d use of th e highest skills ; th e

m os qu e h as m eaning as a n express ion o f spir ituality as th e granary is a

spiritual exp ression of m aterial we ll-being . In o th er pa rts of W est

Afr ica, however , for example, among the Dogomba, i t is not the

granary but the do orf ram e of th e com po un d portal that has th e mos t

mean ing; am on g the Mossi, it is the doorway an d lock (Prussin, 1 9 7 2 )-

all judged o n th e basis of em ph asis an d elaborat ion. Th us, in th e case

of each of th e W est African grou ps, a different elem en t co m m un ica tes

m ean ing; this is revea led thr ou gh

notice ble

dif ferences :elaborat ion,

location , materials, decorat ion , an d s o o n. O nc e noted , inferences can

be made, the e lements analyzed and in terpre ted , and the re levant

cultural , contextual knowledge relatively easily obtained to check

th es e Interpretations.

Front lawns in ou r own cul ture provide a go od exam ple. Short ly

after arrived in M ilwaukee in 1 9 7 2 ,a rather interest ing cas e occurred

in the s ub ur b of W auw atosa, Wisconsin Given th e local climate, a n d

th e par ticular or ienta t ion of h er ho use , a wom an decid ed that s h e

wou ld ha ve her veg etable ga rde n in front-where a lawn is normally to

be fo und in Ang lo-Am erican cu lture. T h e municipali ty w as ou trag ed ,

and many special counci l meet ings were held. Court act ions took

place an d the ca se eventually reach ed th e Wisconsin S u pr em e Co ur t .

In th e e n d , th e w om an was al lowed t o grow her vegetables , but w hat is

far mo re interesting is th e obviously strongly affective reaction to t h e

atte m pt. Obviously a front lawn is inde pe nd en t of sp ac e organiza-

tion-it is m or e th a n a cer tain n u m b e r of s q u a re feet of grass. It m us t

m ea n som ethin g very important-as we would also suspect f rom th e

an ec do tal material on social press ures for well-maintained laws. B ut

ca n o n e find m o re scientific ev ide nc e? It is, in fact, difficult to

avoid it.

The central role of the lawn in communicating meanlng is con-

firmed by stud ies do n e in new com m unities in California. In th es e new

communit ies , af ter the purchase of the house, l i t t le money of ten

rem ained available to residents Y et, frequently, a lawn was put in a n d

mainta ined while t he ho us e lacked a de qu ate furniture (Eichler an d

K a pla n, 1 9 6 7 ; W e rt h m a n , 1 9 6 8 ) .T h e imp or tance of the se lawns was

in their m eaning; they co m m unica ted ad he ren ce to a par ticular imag e



13


tha t established a g ro u p identity a n d certified the worthiness of the

individual t o inhabit the particular are a. Parenthetically an d to be dis-

cussed la ter) , the w hole area , and the m eaning a nd purpo se of plan-

ning, we re s ee n a s the crea tion of a particular im age certifying a n d

maintaining status, self-worth, and self-identity. In effect, the lawn

be co m es a n expression of a particular message-the front region

par

excellence.

In alm ost all stud ies having to d o with th e e nv iron m ental quality of

residential area s, m i n t e n n c e plays a m os t im po rtant role, that is, it

is

a most important com po nen t of that ra ther complex conce pt for a

review, see Rapoport , 1 9 7 7 : ch. 2) . A m ost important a l though, cer-

tainly, not t h e only) aspec t of m ain ten an ce

is

th e quality of t h e front

lawn. Th e front yard an d its lawn, its up ke ep an d layout, are indicators

of the taste, status, and lifestyle of the family who owns it. The

presence or ab senc e of fences a lso h as m eaning , a s we h ave a lready

se en . In the U nited Sta tes, fences used t o be com m on , but then disap-

pea red. T hey w ere, and are, see n as com m unicating self-sufficiency,

individualism, an d nonconformity Jac ks on , 1951 .N ote th e role of

context: Fe nce s clearly m ea nt s om ethin g different before an d after

their general d isappea rance, an d they m ean som ething different in

th e United Sta tes than they d o in Britain an d oth er places whe re they

are com m on. fence where there are no ne or few has different m ean-

ing tha n a fenc e that is o n e a m o n g many: It is noncon form ing in the

former, highly conforming in the latter; in the former case it com-

m unica tes attitudes ab ou t privacy, interaction, and boun dary contro l,

while in th e latter it do es not se e Figure 19 ) .

Th ere are ,

of

course , are as of th e United S tate s wh ere fe nces a re still

co m m on and, a t the m om ent, they see m t o be proliferating general ly

in th e U nited States. Their persis tence, disappearanc e, and reap-

pea ranc e, a n d cha nge s in their height, solidity, an d s o o n, all hav e

mo re to d o with m e n i n g than anything else; and so d o the mater ia ls

used or chang es in their use Anderson an d Moore, 1 9 7 2 ) .

We already have s een that thes e meanings are part of th e encultura-

tion process and occur very early in life, providing the cues and

stan dards for social comparison processes whereby peo ple a re judged.

In Texas, for exam ple, w here both lawn and country gar den s ba re

earth and flowers) existed, quite young children judged people by

the se, with lawns se en as indicating higher-status and better-quality

people Sherif an d Sher if , 1 9 6 3 ) . In oth er cultures, d iffe ren t devices

are used to achieve similar ends. For example, in the Barriadas of



Sm all Scale Examples of Applications

131

FEPJR

~d T VO , , . c ~ L T ~

~ Q T O

t

Figure 9

Lima, Peru, a n elabo rate front d o or is purchase d often before a roof

can be afforded-in a climate wh ere roofs are , to put it mildly, a

necessity Tu rner, 1 9 6 7 ). n oth er cases, front fences ar e used , such as

in Puerto Rico, where elaborate wrought-iron grilles may cost more

than th e dwelling they en clos e. T h e false fronts of frontier settlemen ts

in the United S tates and t h e false fronts am o n g th e Maya of C oz um el

an d generally in Putun-d om inated Yucatan Sabloff an d Rathje, 1 9 7 6 )

are o ther examples am ong many others that can be given Rapo port ,



32


1 9 7 9 a ) .W hat they all sho w is th e im po rtan t m ea ni ng of front region

being com m unic ated by th e use of various devices.

An exam ple of c ue s com pa rable to lawns and fen ces in a different

culture is provided by the h ead -high, imp ene trable beec h he dg es in

front of ho use s in Denm ark. T he se ar e grown from scratch an d take

between eight an d seve nteen years to m ature; n o in terim boundary

definers o r privacy screens are used (Sel igm ann, 1 9 7 6 ) .T h e pr imacy

of the

m e a n i n g

of this elem en t, its laten t rath er th an m anifest function,

is clear: T h e pur po se is to establish front an d com m unica te self-worth

in th e culturally a pp rop riate way, even tho ug h Sel igm ann arg ues that

in D en m ar k generally, front definition is of m uch lesser im po rta nc e

tha n in th e United States. T h er e ar e also oth er g roup s for which this is

of less im po rtan ce a s pa rt of a ge ne ral lack of atten tion to dw ellings

and other envi ronmental means general ly to communicate s ta tus ,

identity, a n d s o o n ( D u n c an a n d D u n c a n , 1 9 7 6 ; R a p o p o rt , 1 9 8 1 ) .

W hen fron t lbac k reversals occur , we find inappropriate behavior , as

in th e ex am ple of B altimore cited abov e. Alternatively, an ar ea may be

defined a s aU slu m n the basis of behaviors classified by o n e gr ou p a s

belong ing in back region s occurring in front regions. Ex am ple s of how

area s are rea d as urban s lums in th e Anglo-American realm might be

th e pres en ce of g arbag e c an s o r pe op le sit ting in their unde rshirts

drinking be er; in rural area s, th e pre sen ce of str ippe d an d can nibalized

cars visible from t h e ro ad (th at is, a front region for m ost Am erican

travele rs ; se e Rapo por t , 1 9 7 7 : ch . 2 especia lly pp. 9 6 -1 0 0 ) . Th ese

larger scale examples will be discussed in more detail in the next

chapter .

T h e analysis of lawns, country gard ens, an d he dg es is base d o n th e

fact th a t o n e of th e eas iest ways of ch an gin g me an ing is by th e u se of

semifixed-feature eleme nts su ch a s plant ing. Th e very c om m on use of

such elem ents leads to their expressing m eaning, an d he nc e the use of

gardens and plant complexes by cul tural geographers as a cul ture

indicator is significant (Kimber, 1 9 6 6 , 1 9 7 1 , 1 9 7 3 ; Wilhelm, 1 9 7 5 ;

A n d e rs on , 1 9 7 2 ; S im o o n s, 1 9 6 5 ) .T h e imp lication of this is, of co urse ,

tha t gardens an d p lan ting pa tt erns hav e m eaning and , to those who

can d eco de the m eanings , can com munica te e thn ic and o the r g roup

identities. T h e cultural specificity is striking, s o that traditional C hi ne se

garde ns are of two types and , if the c o d e is understood, can b e shown

to sum marize an d express Taois t an d C onfu cian philosophies, respec-

tively (Moss, 1 9 6 5 ) . n th e forme r, m an is se en as a natural being; in th e

latter , as a social being. Each of th es e positions ha s environ m ental



Sm all Scale Examples

of

Applications

33

implications. Thus the Taoist garden stresses irregularity, lack of

sym m etry, av oid an ce of axial vistas o r ave nu es , a s ea rch for surprise,

and intimacy rather tha n m onumentality. In the Confucian view, gardens

are less important than hou ses , palaces, temples, a n d othe r official or

cerem onia l settings-that is, th e do m ain of culture. Co nfuc ian ga rdens

also com m un ica te that: hierarchically arra ng ed a n d explicitly define d

spaces, symmetry, rectangularity, and rectilinear direction change

an d axiality we re so ugh t; curvilinearity was av oid ed . In both cases, th e

specifics--layout, us e of p lan t materials, rocks, water, an d s o on-

follow from th es e ideals.

In the United States, also, the landscaping of dwellings can be

read quite easily. It ca n be sug gested t h at planting lawns, flowers,

an d the like is a m od e of communication a bou t th e own ers an d the

social situation. This, then , bec om es theU chie f, l though no t only, pu r-

po se of garden planning (An derson , 1 9 7 2 :

181 .

Again, th e front/

back dis tinction of ten s ee m s basic even w hen both yards are s ee n.

O ther binary opp osit ions ar e fou nd : lawn/ground cover, cult ivated

flowers/wildflowers = we eds) , a n d s o on . While in this ca se a semi-

structuralist analysis is m ad e, th e reading is straightforward a n d

simple, s tart ing with th e observed elements; th er e would b e n o less of

clarity in using th e nonverbal com m un icatio n app ro ach . It is signifi-

cant that two subcultural groups, Mexican-Am ericans a n d Jap an es e-

Am ericans in Los Angeles, transfo rmed previously identical residential

area s throug h planting a nd gard en design: In th e former case, with

walled ga rd en s, patios, little o r n o grass, bright flowers an d flowering

trees, cacti a n d s o on ; in t h e latter cas e, with grass, rocks, bon sai trees,

s tone l anterns , and s o on (Rapopor t,

1 9 6 9 c : 131,note 15 .

Other e lements of environments , such a s subu rban h ouses , can also

b e read in this way. T h u s early twentieth-century U.S. popular

ho us es wer e ana lyzed directly using th e co nc ep t of au dicule a n d try-

ing to identify wh at was b eing co m m un icated , th e cultural meanings

(Seligmann, 1975 T he se mean ings a re interpreted in terms of th e

interaction a n d conflict betw een co m m un al roles an d private identity,

an d o the r meanings . While th e task of unders tanding the h ou se a s

com m unica ting certain life value s by de co din g a se t of signs s o u n d s

semiotic ( and does not use the app roach of this book), it is d on e directly,

straightforwardly, by beginning with observation and by identifying

the elements . Th e analysis IS concrete, clear, an d, he nce , useful

Similar analyses have b een d on e for the New Zealand sub urban

hou se (which d o not have) an d the Vancouver hou se (Holdswor th ,



34


1 9 7 5 ) . n this case also, although the nonverbal comm unication model

is not used formally, th e a pp ro ac h is effectively th e o n e being ad -

vocated-observation a n d analysis. T h e use of wo od, for exam ple, is

not d u e just to its local availability, but also t o t h e fact th at t h e brick

urban world had negative connotations related to the nineteenth-

century industrial city (Holdsw orth, 1 9 7 5 :

4 .

T h e mean ing of the

de tached hou se as

home

of th e fireplace a n d other elem ents, bec om e

clear from a n analysis of adv ertisem ents . Individuality was im por tant

(again, partly in c ontrast to th e English urban landsca pe, from w here

the inhabitants came) and t he overal l ap pea ran ce of th e ho use w as

influenced by th e West Coast lifestyle-thus the impact of th e So uth ern

California bungalow in a very different setting and climate. Differ-

ences can be found between the working-class "hqme" and el i te

dwellings. T h e meanings of the latter can be s o easily read, understood,

an d illustrated tha t they ar e used in adve rtiseme nts (s ee Figure 20 .

T h e task is fairly straightforward an d, given ev en a minimal know ledg e

of th e con text, can b e relatively easily ach iev ed .

T h e at temp ts to achieve the image of the freestanding hou se a t high

densities helps explain the use of narrow lots in nineteenth-century

Milwaukee (Beckley, 1 9 7 7 ) ,where th e spacing between houses m ay

be a s little a s four feet. In P ittsburgh, on the co rne r of Ha mlet a n d

Op helia streets (in Sou th Oaklan d), recently saw ho uses ab ou t eighteen

inch es apart-they were still freestanding (Recall th e saw -cu t in th e

Polish courtroo m described ab ove.) A no the r exam ple of the m eaning

of fre estanding ho us es in nineteenth-c entury w orking-class U.S. are as

is provided by th e "three-decker" house in Worcester, Massachusetts-it

is a com prom ise between th e econo m ics of urban land a n d th e ideal of

th e f ree stan ding , single-family dwelling (Barnett, 1 9 7 5 ) . It is th e

meaning rath er than t he reality of the de tac he d ho us e that is impor-

tant. Interestingly, with changing contexts and images, these same

dwellings now often com municate negative meanings, and new elem ents

are used in redevelopment in Milwaukee to communicate positive,

an d he nc e appropriate, meanings, a s we shall see in the next chapter.

Similarly, by ob serving the spatial relation ships of just two pe op le

(patien t an d therapist) in a psychiatric situation in a n um ber of "schools"

of psychiatry-Freudian, Ju ng ian , Reichian, Gestalt, an d s o on-

often expressed an d expressible in furniture arrangem ents, o r th e

absence of furniture, one can determine equally well the essential

philosophy of th e particular schoo l (G oo dm an ,

1959 .

O ne could add

to this oth er exam ples, such a s Morita thera py in Ja p an an d various



36

TH

ME NING OF TH BUILT ENVIRONMENT

ethnopsychiatric situations. This argument can also be extended to

restaurants an d to parliamentary institutions, w here com parison

of

the F rench Assemblke Nationale, the British H ou se of C om m on s, an d

the U.S. S en a te prov es m ost instructive in th e way me an ing is com -

municated by the location of seating as expressing political

philosophies.

Note that in many,

i

not most , of these cases , the cues a re in t he

semifixed realm an d in the nonfixed realm when p eop le are present)-

th e fixed-feature elements com mu nicate m uch less.



URB N EX MPLES O F PPLIC TIONS

Many dwell ings together become resident ia l areas and many

gard ens toge ther becom e hn ds ca pe s . More general ly , cul tura l land

sc pes are t h e results of m an y artifacts gro up ed to ge the r in particular

relationships. Th ey a re also th e result of th e decisions of innum ,erable

individuals. It is mo st striking tha t they ca n, a n d d o , ta ke o n clear

character . This suggests, of course, th e prese nce of s ha re d sche m ata

am ong part icular g roups (Rapopor t , 1 9 7 2 ,

1977 1980b

1 9 8 0 ~ ) .t

a lso sugges ts tha t o nce th e schemata or cod es a re known, such land-

sc ap es have m ea nin g in term s of various forms of gr ou p identity a nd ,

moreover , that they c an be read in th e s am e way as smaller-scale

exam ples-instantaneously. Also, sinc e it is mainly, alth oug h not

exclusively, semifixed- and nonfixed-feature elem ents that com mu ni-

ca te meaning , the developm ent

of

specific character at t h e areal level

de pe nd s o n s om e level of hom ogenei ty . In a ho m og ene ou s area, per-

sonalizations a n d hum an behavior ad d up to produ ce st rong, c lear,

an d red un dan t cues; in highly h etero gen eou s are as they result in ran-

do m variations with little or n o m ea nin g at th e scale of t h e a re a. Also,

particularly fo r residents, o r users, th e cultural knowledge ne ed ed to

decode nonverbal behavior in the nonfixed- and semifixed-feature

dom ains is much clearer in the o n e case than in th e oth er (see

Fioure 21 ) .

All the se characteristics play a role in th e relatively gre at er effective-

ness of traditional en vironm ents in com m unicatin g to their users vis-a-

vis contemporary situations. But even the latter frequently exhibit

clear m ean ing s given th e persisting clustering

of

pe op le in cit ies an d

regions

by

perceived homogeneity and the result ing cultural land-

scapes (Rapoport , 1977) Note that the main dif ference between



38

THE MEANING

OF


igure

2

the se cases a nd the smaller-scale o ne s is that cu es a re collective rather

than individual. Redu nda ncy bec om es ev en m or e imp ortant for clarity

sinc e ev en with ext re m e hom oge neity a d eg re e of variability is inevi-

table. Th us at th e ar ea level judgm ents are theoretically m or e dif-

ficult to make-more potentially disc ordant m essage s ar e present.

Yet a s we shall see judgments are m ad e constantly quickly a n d

easily. Possibly given th e im porta nce of su ch c ue s in cities m a d e u p of

very diverse individuals and group s observ ers ar e pre pa red

to

act o n

th e basis of very limited inform ation;

n

term s of contem porary

U.S.

cities fo r examp le observers ar e ready to mak e judgments o n the

basis of m inimal o r uncerta in cues.

Note o nc e again that the process o f understanding cultural land-

scap es is very analog ous t o that pertaining to interperson perception

studied in psychology. The re individuals ar e required to ma ke sn a p

judgm ents ab ou t strange rs o n th e basis of limited information-they



Urban Examples of pplications

39

m ake inferen ces on t he basis of rules that see m q uite regular a nd are

based on the nonfixed-feature elements already discussed-facial

expressions, skin, dress, speech, and so on. Often, stereotypical

sche m ata a re used t o evalu ate the se perceived characteristics (Warr

a n d Kn a p pe r, 1 9 6 8 ; M a n n,

969:

especially pp. 9 2 -1 0 0 ; references

in R apoport , 1 9 7 7 ; an d m any others) . In th e cases being discussed

here, a wider rang e of cue s, fixed, semifixed, a n d nonfixed fe atu re, a re

being used t o judge areas, and through the m the character of groups.

An exam ple of this process, an d of th e schem ata u sed t o stereotyp e

an d judge peop le, is provided by a gr ou p of architects who, in a pa r-

ticular c ase, classified large are as a s slum s ev en th ou gh , in fact, they

were highly maintained an d greatly improved T h e judgments were

m ad e o n th e basis of t he use of part icular materials (such a s fake sto ne

an d plastic sh eeti ng imprinted with brick patterns) that th e architects

dis liked an d despised (Saue r , 19 7 2 ) ; heir comparison s tand ard was

based o n different cues-materials replaced lawns-but th e process

was s imilar a n d s o was th e o utcom e. A

ifferent

form of cultural

land sca pe (in th e con text of architects' images) was judged negatively.

Since peo pl e ar e judged by w he re they live, th e gr ou p identity was

negative or stigmatizing: Slum s ar e inhabited by b a d p eop le.

T h e use of materials com mu nicates me aning over an d ab ov e spa ce

organization. Th us , in stud ying th e early M esoam erican village, o n e

finds ad ob e f irst us ed in public buildings, replacing wattle a n d d au b,

an d the n gradually beco ming used for houses-first elite a n d the n

noneli te. Th us, at that m om en t in t ime, ad ob e was eq ua ted with high

status. In oth er cases, it may b e brick o r stone , h um an -m ad e materials

generally, an d s o on. T h e insistence o n m ode rn materials in th e Third

World already discussed is an exam ple. But sh ap e may also comm uni-

ca te in this way. For e xam ple, in large parts of th e Middle Eas t, flat

roofs a re no w reg ard ed a s a m ark of poverty. Pitched, tile roofs have

be co m e virtually a statu s sym bol-people giving u p nec essary instru-

mental a n d m anifest functions, such a s work sp ac e an d night sleeping

space, for th is purpose (Hodg es, 1 9 7 2 ; for o ther examples, se e

R a p o p o r t , 1 9 6 9 ~ ) .

Th us people read environmental cues, mak e judgments abo ut th e

oc cu pa nts of settings, an d the n act accordingly-environments com -

mu nicate social and ethn ic identity, status, a nd s o on. For ex ample,

environm ental quality is often judged throu gh m ainte nan ce (R apo port,

1 9 7 7 ) .M ain ten an ce itself is judged th ro ug h a w hole se t of c ue s, which



14

THE ME NING OF THE

UILT

ENVIRONMENT

will become clearer shortly. In terms of identity and how it is com-

mu nicated by g rou p landscap es (s ee Rap oport, forthcom ing a ) , t is of

interest to examine immigrant grou ps in new environm ents. It is widely

believed that, first, they ten d to select landsca pes like th os e back

hom e be cau se they have affective m eaning, although this view ha s

recently bee n challenged (see McQuillan, 1 9 7 8 : 1 3 8 -1 3 9 ) .Be tha t as

it may, they d o frequently transform th e landsca pe through layout,

space organization, buildings, plants, and so on. Thus one f inds

Ukrainian, G erm an , Ja pa ne se , an d otherculturai landscapes in So uth

America (Stewart,

965;

Eidt, 1 9 7 1 ) . Frequently , those groups tha t

use familiar, traditional elements and that are able to create cor-

respond ing la nd sca pe s ten d to be m ore successful in their settlemen t

attempts (Eidt, 1 97 1 ).This can be interp reted partly in te rm s of m ea n-

ing: T he se environments are supportive be caus e they ar e familiar,

beca use they express elem ents of th e culture core (Ra pop ort , 1979c ,

forthcoming a) .

T he ca ses of A ustralia an d, particularly, New Zea land ar e ev en m ore

striking: The re, English landscap es have be en recreated over large

areas of th e country (Shep ard , 1 9 6 9 ) .Early topo grap hic drawings of

Australia an d descriptions of o th er unfamiliar env ironm ents (such as

th e G rea t Plains o f th e U nited States) also clearly show the inability

even t o perceive the alien landscape an d the negative con nota tions it

has; the urge t o transform it, to give it me an ing th rou gh t he use of

familiar cues, becom es unde rstandable.

It is also fascinating to study the landscapes created by various

ethnic a n d cultural groups at sm aller scales, for exam ple, in th e Middle

East. Thu s, in Haifa, Israel, are as settled by G er m an s in the ninetee nth-

century a re quite different from others-they contrast ho us e forms,

s h a p e an d m aterial of roofs (pitched an d red tile versus flat) , d o o r

details, an d s o on , establishing a Euro pean m eaning . Similarly,

vegetation is different (a s o n t he G erm an Carm el). In the contex t of

that rather wild a nd rem ote place, a t the t ime the a rea was sett led the

m ean ing was clearly imp ortant an d very strong. In th e plain of S ha ro n,

descendants of Bosnian settlers in the village of Yamun, East of

Nablus, can still be recognized throu gh th e fact that their ho us es ha ve

red tile roofs (Ilan, 1 9 7 8 ) . This differentiates the m fro m their A rab

neigh bors, who live in tradition al, flat-roofed h ou ses. As a final se t of

examples, we find th e treatm ent

of various religious enclaves in the

Sinai, Jerusalem, and the Judean desert . Their origins are clearly

comm unicated-whether G reek, I talian, or Ethiopian.



Urba n Examples of Applications 4

All th es e are, of course, ex am ple s of th e notion of cultural lan dscape s

in geography as capable of comm unicat ing m eaning a nd thu s of being

read. The se not only e m bod y values an d ideals, but influence hum an

behav ior; they a re system s of settings de vel op ed to elicit ap pro pria te

behaviors. T o d o th at , they must be read. Similarly, archaeology, as we

have see n, re lies o n t h e fact that th e physical environm ent can be seen

as enco ding information, thus it can be dec ode d o r read even i that

reading m ay be difficult o r inaccurate in s om e cases, as we hav e se en .

Note th at in archaeology also th e reading can occur at the urban scale

a s well a s at sm aller scales. T h u s in M onte A lban (O ax aca , Mexico), a

com bination of fixed-feature an d sem ifixed-feature ele m en ts we re

used in a s urface survey to m ake inferences abou t the popu lation,

social struc ture, uses of are as , political organization, history, an d s o o n

(Blan ton , 19 78 ) .Also, as alread y stressed, th e extent to which environ-

m ents comm unicate thes e m essages effectively de pe nd s on redu n-

dancy. In most cases, therefore, o n e f inds multiple cue an d m essa ge

system s co-acting in o rd er to provide sufficient red un da nc y for th e

m essage t o g e thro ugh . This works particularly well in traditional a n d

vernacular environments , whe re, for exam ple, s ta tus a nd impo rtance

in a So uthern I talian town such a s Ostuni (s ee Figure in C ha pt er 2 is

indicated by location of buildings, their size, fenestration, features

such a s do m es, towers, a n d pediments , mater ia ls , colors , and s o on

Bu t eve n in o u r culture this still works a n d is used for intergroup c om -

munication. Recall th e exa m ple of W estchester Cou nty , w he re two

distinct c~ iltu ra landscap es were fo un d that well com mu nicated group

identity (Du ncan, 1 9 7 3 ) .C ue s include d street paving, street lighting,

na tur e of planting (clipped or na tural), h o u se visibility, th e pre se nc e o r

ab se nc e of colonial eagles, a n d th e use of ela bo rate mail boxes or of

rural mail boxes. While th e respective landscap es w ere partly cou nte r-

intuitive--the m or e scruffy o n e indicated th e higher-status group-

the correlation between cultural landsca pe an d gro up identity was

extraordinarily high; on ce th e c od e was known , memb ership could be

read very easily and effectively. Note also the likelihood that the

counterintuitive na ture of th e high-status lan ds cap e wa s a cunning

way of ma rking tha t gr ou p an d a su btle, a n d effective, way of exclud-

ing th e lower-status group.

Befo re returning to the United S tate s to consider a ran ge of examples,

let us see how such codes work in different cultural milieus. For

exa m ple, in Old Nubia, different group s alo ng th e Nile us ed t om bs of

saints to id en t~ fy roups that also h ad different hou se an d village



42 THE

ME NING

O

THE BUILT

ENVIRONMENT

forms. All houses, however, were decorated in very striking ways.

When rehoused in uniform and highly unsuitable houses after the

building of t h e Aswan D am , th e first thing th e Nub ians did was to begin

to d ecorate the hou ses (Fernea et al., 19 7 3 ).Th ese decorations became

the elem en t com m unicating ethnic identity, that is, a specific mean ing

vis-a-vis th e o th er inh abitants.

A

clear contrast was se t u p with th e con-

text . T hu s noticeable cues are created-knowledge of the co d e then

enables th e m eaning ( Nubians ) to b e read. In this case the cues are

traditional; th e con trast with the co ntex t of traditional environ m ents

may be se t u p through th e use o f mo dern mater ia ls an d colors.

T h u s a village may blend in with the local color (bein g built of m ud

brick) a n d loo k like

a

rock outcrop; houses m ay b e beehive shaped -

as in No rth Syria. M ore substantial dw ellings of c on crete o r sto ne , with

balconies o r with grilles, an d pain ted, indicate high er status , higher

incom e, or contact with overs eas relatives, even tho ug h th ey m ay be

less comfo rtable, hotter in s um m er, an d colder in w inter. This is no t

unlike the distinction in India between houses of mud brick

(kufcha)

a n d of bu rn t brick (pukka); th e me aning of t h e latter is clear from th e

English term

pukk

sahib. In Mexico and other countries of Latin

Am erica, an d in m any Indian o r eve n M estizo (or Ladino) villages, th e

double-story or painted (or both) dwellings will have similar com-

municative function (s ee Figure 22 ). This corres po nds to t h e use of

whitewash for a cha pe l in th e Altiplano of P eru or the red or blue

do m es on churches in Mykonos ( to which refer in Rapoport, 1 9 6 8 b ;

s ee also Figure 7 in C ha pt er 2). In th e case, how ever, in which th e

env iron m ent generally-that is, th e context-is polychrom atic ( a s in

s o m e G re ek Islands, Italy, or M exico), color will

ot

ha ve that role.

C ha ng es in traditional environm ents also nee d to be u nde rstoo d in

this way. For exam ple, th e cha ng e to W estern, freestanding, outward

facing, Eu ropean -style bungalows, new suburban location, th e

ad op tion of W estern dom estic furniture, furnishings, an d eq uip m en t,

an d th e co n se q u en t behavior in India w as an indication of status: It

was a m ark er. It beg an with elites, being a way of m arking the m , dis-

t inguishing between them and others

King,

1 9 7 7 ) . T h e s e c h an g e s

were assertions ab ou t changing values and attitudes; they were m arkers

of a particular g ro up m em bership . Th eir major significance was in the

realm of

meaning

Note that these chang es correspond to chang es in

the nature of the elite groups: Traditional elites do not need visible

manifestations-the ir quality is nown (see Duncan and Duncan,

1 9 7 6 ) .Clearly, all exam ples of th e stress o n new m aterials an d form s



Urban

Examples

of Applications 143

T ~ ~ P ~ O ~ A L EeN lnC?h3F~L lfi~5td \I(U (*E

hN

T O ~ J ,M E xl L O

+b ch

Figure

a r e t o

e

se en not in te rm s of com fort, im provem ent in livability, a n d

th e like, but as statem ents of m eanin g, ab ou t modernity. Th ey ar e in

th e associational realm.

In

the S u da n, houses m ad e of flimsy wood an d grass a re considered

old fashioned a n d symbolic of t he lowest econ om ic an d social classes;

a s soo n a s on e can afford them , mud dwellings a re used (Lee, 19 69 b) .

Similarly, th e cho ice of house form, m aterials (suc h a s red brick), a n d

large windows (unco m fortable,

but

indicating mo dernity)

all

indicate

prestige, which is equated with an identification with elements the

meaning of which is u r b a n

life

t h e hierarchy, in ascen ding ord er, is



44


wood an d thatch, mud , and red brick. This se qu en ce , which can be

interp reted in terms of increasing dista nce from nature toward cul-

ture (Vogt, 1970 , s particularly clearly developed into a code in

Latin America.

In m an y parts of Latin Am erica, th e sca ttered , hap haz ard layout

of Indian o r rural area s, th e proliferation of vegetation, a nd th e us e of

natural materials contrasts with urban lan dscap es, which stress

rectilinear, grid layouts, human-made materials forming what one

could call a n urba n wall, a n d a n ab se n ce of vegetation, which is

inside courts. The vegetation in plazas is controlled, for example,

ple ac he d, stressing its belonging to the dom ain of culture. Paren theti-

cally, this vegetation the n be co m es a clear cu e indicating plazaV (that

is, important p lace), which is reinforced through church steeples,

arca des , light quality, activity types a n d levels, an d s o on . As a village

becomes modernized an d urbanized, the se types of ch ange s occur

(Rapoport ,

1977:

348 .All relate to U d is ta n ce o nature as identifying

status an d mem bership in th e two major groups: Indian an d L adino (or

Mestizo), w ho also h av e clear sta tus, low a n d high, respectively. In a

study of S a n Pedro , Colombia (Richardson, 1974 ,

a

nu m ber of suc h

cue s indicated relative status: location-central as high statu s, periph-

eral a s low; sp ac e organization-ordered a n d rectilinear a s high status,

scattered and straggly as low status; the presence of visible large

masses of natural vegetation versus clipped vegetation localized in

plaz as (a n d in cou rt interiors); m ateria ls-hu m an-m ade (tile, brick,

an d s o on) as h igh s ta tus , na tural tha tch , bam boo, an d s o on a s low

status.

Note three things. First, these are all environmental quality cues.

Sec ond , in other cultures, such a s h e United State s or Australia, many

of th ese cu es a re reversed: irregular layout, natural veg etation, a n d

peripheral location would generally indicate higher status than an

ur ba n wall, ab se n ce of vegetation, a n d c entral location (w e will return

to this point later).Third, the cue s described w ould, of cou rse, be rein-

forced by o the r cues such as the types of peo ple enco unte red, their

dress, their behavior, the language spo ken , the kinds of sh op s an d

what they c ontain ed, th e presenc e or ab senc e of markets, soun ds,

smells, a n d so on-that is, th er e would b e a large ran ge of noticeable

differences (Rapoport, 1977 that would indicate sta tu s an d , in this

case, ethnicity. Also note that, first, while each cue by itself would

hardly d o it, all acting together an d congruently could no t fail to g et the

message across, becaus e redund anc y is high. Sec ond , consistent a nd

repe ated use would lead to grea ter clarity

of

mean ing since the response



Urb an Examples of Applications 45

would te nd to be co m e alm ost auto m atic. In fact, th e clarity of this co d e

in Latin America m ay be d u e t o th e prev alenc e of this pattern.

In Las R osas, Chia pa s (Mexico), h e c en ter with w hitewash ed walls

an d red tile roofs un sh ad ed by ve getatio n con trasts with th e outskirts

with tha tch ed ro ofs , m ud walls , an d m asses of green ery Pe op le also

act, behave, a nd dress

differently

an d Indians in the center do not

belong and ar e unacknow ledged by non-Indians (Hill, 1 9 6 4 ) .This is

also clear from stud ies o n th e village of Ixtepeji (Kea rne y, 1 9 7 2 ) ,for

instance. In Latin Am erica, these pattern s (a n d othe rs, such as u npa ved

streets versus paved o n es , animals in th e s t reet, an d s o on ) clearly

com m un icate mo dernity, s tatus, at t i tudes, a n d culture-a large set of

basic attitudes (se e Figure 2 3 ). Indians clearly use m or e natural features

tha n Lad inos be ca us e they also co nce ive of their habitat differently in

term s of ide as, beliefs, religion, social relations, a n d attitu de s tow ard

natu re T h e latter, for Indians, is s o mystical, powerful, an d co m -

pelling, th at o n e tam pe rs with it a s little a s possible-it is do m in an t. For

Ladino s, na ture is m ore objective, a thing that o n e can control ,

do m ina te, an d exploit (Hill,

1 9 6 4 : 1 0 0 , 1 0 3 ) .T hus o ne can r ead m or e

tha n just gro up m em be rship a nd relative status; th es e cultural land-

scap es can be read to help de co de major cul tural at t itudes .

Note th at these p atterns ar e formed elsewhere a nd may carry similar

but no t identical m ean ings, a s in th e ca se of Zanzibar, with th e Moslem

Stonetow n an d African Ng am bo dis tric ts (Rapop or t , 1 9 7 7 : 2 3 3 ) . In

term s o f my principal arg um en t, th e significant poin t is tha t it is po s-

sible to look at the se cultural lan dsc ap es, notice differences, an d inter-

pret them fair ly easily without any complex symbolic or semiotic

analysis. No te also th e g reater importance

of

redundancy a n d multiple

cues in urban examples.

In simpler cultures, v e y subtle cu es m ay suffice-or even n o cu es at

all, tha t is, o n e may know what is necessary, but even th en the mnem onic

function of th e env ironme nt may be useful. O n e exam ple is provideti

by M 'Buti pygmy ca m ps , w here , given th e small size of th e ba nd , social

relations a re well kno w n. Yet th e direction of do orw ays com m unic ates

shifting social relations, which are changed overnight. In addition,

spite fe n ce s ar e bullt to reflect ch an ge s in social relations (Turnbu ll,

1 9 6 1 ) O n e

k n o w s

these social shifts, but one is reminded by the

environmental cues , which also tell returning mem bers wh at ha s be en

going on . In ad dition, of co urse, ch an ge s a n d shifts in ba nd com pos i-

t ion reflect this in th e nonfixed-feature d om ain . Similar events a n d

dev ices a r e f ound am ong the Had za ( s ee W oodburn , 19 7 2 ) .

To



Urban Examples of Applications

47

reiterate: In all these cases, the social relations are k n own but the

environmenta l cues ac t as mnem onics for those who are there an d as

indicators for th os e returning after an ab sen ce.

Similarly, in th e ca se of a Kung Bu shm an c am p, o n e knows wh ere

th e fronts of dwellings are-they face th e fire a n d th e co m m on space .

At the s a m e time, h ou se s a re built a t least partly t o indicate this. This

bec om es clear from th e fact that som etime s hou ses a re not built, but a

h o op in pu t in the grou nd to indicate th e location of t he do or an d

hen ce t he front. Som etim es even with th ese h oo ps a re not used. After

all, th e small gro up in que stion

k n ows

whe re the front is an d how t o

behave . Yet, the house , o r the h oop , he lps remind peo ple where m en

an d wo m en sit, what behavior is app ropriate, and s o on. Equivalents

of th e hoop-a freestanding gateway in an Arab village o r Ja p a n e se

farm-may indicate front o r entry, th e t ransi tion a m o ng dom ains , an d

he nc e behavior shif ts ( se e Figure

24 .

In oth er cu ltures, directions o r orientation may indica te front-east

am on g the Navaho or Bedouin , o r west a m on g the W odaa be of Africa

(S tenning , 1 9 5 9 ) .Clear ly, such m eanings need to be

k n own

but the

know ledge ca n be gained easily through observation. Privacy gradients,

th e m ean ing at tached to var ious do m ains , can be indicated in very

subtle ways: a c ha ng e in g rou nd surface, a small cha ng e

in

level, a

bea d curtain. In ot he r cas es m uch clearer barriers-that is , m uc h mo re

not iceable cues an d greater redundancy-are nee ded (Rapopo r t ,

1 9 7 9 a , 1 9 8 0 ~ ) .learly, th e a bs en ce of cu es or the use of very subtle

cues , such a s the us e of swept ear th am o ng Australian A borigines to

indicate th e pr ivate zo ne a rou nd th e dwelling o r a par ticular b eam to

indicate th e private are a within a Norwegian fa rm ho use (R ap op ort ,

1 9 7 9 a ) ,d e p e n d s o n consistency of use c om bin ed with consistency of

location. T h e clear unde rstan din g of th es e subtle cues also involves a

know ledge of t he rules regarding b ehavior defined by th e situation

an d a willingness to follow the se rules. W ithout all thes e con ditions,

th e system would not work.

In ot he r words, indication throu gh physical cu es may be less im por-

tant in traditional cu ltures be ca us e things ar e

k n own

partly thro ug h

consistent use a n d partly thr ou gh consistent, rigid, an d s ha red rules. In

o u r cities, know n social as pe cts a re still impo rtant but clear physical

cue s ar e ne ed ed In traditional sett lements, for exam ple, cue s ar e

often no t visible t o th e outsider at first glance, either being know n an d/

o r indicated by subtler cues. The y can , however, be discovered by

observing b ehavior (w ho doe s what , wh ere, wh en, a nd including or



48

THE MEANING

OF


Figure

4

excluding whom) and also through more systematic studies. This

applies to sett lements of m an y groups-Porno Indians R apo po rt ,

19 69 c) , Q uebe c Ind ians Rapoport , 1 9 7 7 ) , A paches Esber , 1 9 72 ) ,

Australian Aboriginal camp s M em mott, 1 9 7 9 ),an d p recontac t African

cities, wh ere what ap pe are d a s rand om disorder ,

in

fact, was organiza-

tion ba sed o n social relationships Hull , 1 9 7 6 : 1 2 2 ). All thes e cases

can be i llustrated through a generalized diagram se e Figure 2 5 ).



Urban Examples of Applications 49

I

Figure 5

edundancy and

clarity of cues

Note, however, how m uc h clearer a Yo ruba city m a d e u p of com -

po un ds or a M oslem o r Ch inese city m ad e u p of well-def ined quarters

is-particularly w hen th e physical definition is reinfo rced by a ho st of

semifixed- and nonfixed-feature elements. Physical cues, such as

walls, gates, colors and materials, and house styles, reinforced by

kinds of p eo ple , their dres s, lang uag e, activities, so u n d s a n d smells,

an d many other var iables, com bine to com mu nicate socia l meaning.

In cities of m ore c om plex an d pluralistic societies, with weake r rule

systems, such cues are even more important, thus higher levels of

redu nda ncy ar e necessary. For exam ple, being able to orient oneself in

a city, in term s of c enter-p eriph ery a nd know ing w he re o n e is locate d,

is easy in a small, trad ition al city. In a la rge

U

S. city, this is m uch less

c lear. However, as o n e moves toward the o r a cen te r, o n e would



15


generally expe ct gr ea ter traffic density, greate r difficulty in parking ,

m or e trafficlights, narrowe rstreets, m ore sho ps, m ore signs (n eo n a n d

s o o n ), higher levels of activity, older buildings, run -do w n areas, tall

buildings, a nd s o on .

f

all thes e cues a dd up, an d reinforce o n e anothe r , the indications

could be quite clear; if not, less clear or unclear (Rapopor t , 1977;

Steini tz, 1 9 6 8 ) . This type of ap pro ac h ha s even b een used in sug-

gestions regarding how clear cue s an d sufficient red un da nc y could be

used to c om m un icate suc h locational meanings in ideal urban trans-

por ta t ion systems (Appleyard an d O kam oto, 19 6 8 ) .

Th us, a s o n e go es from preliterate, tribal (primitive) env ironm ents

through t radi t ional vernacular ones to modern ones , one could

hyp othe size tha t a curvilinear relationship would be fou nd rega rding

th e levels of red un dan cy a n d clarity of cu es as op po se d to a l inear

relationship a m o n g levels of red un dan cy an d clarity requ ired, thu s

defining a problem are a (se e Figure 26 ) .

Clearly, th e m or e com plex a n d culturally pluralist th e setting, th e

greater th e required red un dan cy to pro du ce sufficiently clear cues,

particularly since m any pe op le a re the n outsiders. In fact, m ost

exam ples in suc h situations involve large nu m be rs of cu es s o that

noticeable differences are present; on ce on e's attention

is

draw n to

the m , interpretatio n ca n follow. This interpretatio n req uires cultural

knowledge, but , as ha ve be en arguing, this is not to o difficult to

obtain either by sensit ive observation o r oth er m eans. Consider the

judg m ents ab ou t overriding poverty in th e Kowloon City a re a of

H on g Kon g m ad e by a n English observer . Th ese judgments were

m ad e o n th e basis of th e general a pp ea ra nc e of th e area , which is said

to be fully compatible with that hypothesis (Leem ing, 1 9 7 7 : 15 6 ) .

N ote tw o things: First, th er e is a m atchin g of perceived characteristics

against a sch em a or im age, an d se con d, these cu es ar e sufficiently

s t rong and redundant to draw attention to th e ar ea vis-a-vis oth er

area s, that is, th e context.

Am ong th e cues making u p that general appearance are :

T h e extreme antiquity of the area (tha t is, age , with th e notion that

ol

= bad .

This, in turn , is indicated by narrow stree ts a n d narrower lanes, freq uen t

corne rs, a n d c ha ng es in level, including short flights of step s in th e

street.



rbanExamples of pplications 5

mmba-

I

Figure 26

Other cues include open drains, noise from factories, piles of rotting

refuse in unfrequented spots, and lack of street lighting.

In urban parts of Kowloon City: overhanging buildings, lack of light,

gentle curves in most streets, high walls and gates in traditional building

types, such as the Yaman and Temple.

In village areas within Kowloon City: irregular placing of low buildings,

occasional patches of vegetation.

In th case of North Carolina in the 1920s a contrast developed

with social conflict consequences, that is, related to the organization



Urban

Examples of Applications 53

a n d their environmen tal quality, w heth er they are upgrading, stable,

or declining

How easily, quickly, a n d naturally these judgments ar e m ad e can be

seen initially from three examples: from scholarly research, a news-

pap er s tory , an d a novel. F or example, a t a sem inar a t th e Depar tm ent

of Geog raph y, Heb rew University, Jeru sale m , o n De cem ber 26,

1979,

Julian W olpert was reporting on a m ajor neighb orhoo d study. Part of

th at stud y con siste d of a windshield survey of env ironm enta l quality,

improvements, and so on. This involved those cues that could be

obs erve d while driving dow n th e s treet. Tw o things w ere of interest in

term s of o u r discussion: first, th e ex tremely high correlation of su ch

judgments, m a d e o n th e basis of a ten-m inu te trip per street, with

hou seho ld surveys involving a great de al m ore effort; an d s econ d, th e

selection of items or cue s to b e ob served, th e assum ptions underlying

their choice, an d th e fact that they se em ed s o self-evident as not to

require com ment . Th e cues observed included aban done d shops ,

quality of ga rb ag e pickup, up k ee p of h o u se fac ade s, quality of lan d-

scaping i f any) , gangs of young peop le hanging aro und corners , and

th e like.

In describing part of downtown Milwaukee that, according to a

ne w sp ap er story, is sagging, a se t of cu es is des cribe d th at tell eve n a

casual observer that things are not a s nice as they might be, whlle th e

visitor with a keen ey e a n d u nderstan ding feet might co m e away with a

much m ore negative impression (Manning an d Aschoff,

1980 .

Thus,

while facades along W est Wisconsin Av enue between N 4 th a n d N 9 th

streets have b een spru ced up, alleys an d back streets sho w th e backs

of th es e sa m e buildings with rusting fire esc ap es , dirty a n d crumb ling

bricks, unlit electric signs, o r failed o r mo ved businesses. T h e cha r-

ac ter of t h e a re a is also indicated by

t ransient commerce

f la tt ened b ee r can s

broken wine bot t les

the l ~ t t e r f lose r s w ho pa ss th rough th e a rea

d r u n ks o n t h e s t re e t a n d o t h e r ch ar ac te rs ( w h ~ ch r e j ud g ed by cues

vulgari ty-adul t bookstores an d tawdry bars (w h ~ ch ,h em se lv e s a r e

i n d ~ c a t e d y c u es )

sur face parking lots

vacan t

buildings

with sq ua t, ugly faces



54

THE ME NING O F THE BUILT ENVIRONM ENT

inco ngru ous , ill-advised use s

of

land that should b e most valuable ( th at

is, a mismatch with expectations; s e e Rapoport , 1977)

general a tmo sphe re that scares people , w ho d o not like the way

dow nto wn looks -that is, w hat th e physical cues indicate

Note how self-evident all these se em to the journalists con cerne d.

Equally self-evident an d taken for granted ar e the cu es used to com -

municate m eaning and to set sce ne in the next example, f rom a

detective novel. Both of th ese exam ples, of course, ar e related t o the

argu m ent have m ad e before abo ut th e importance of analyzing

novels , newspapers , and th e like (R apoport , 1 9 6 9 b ) , which can be

used without engaging

in

formal conte nt analysis (Rapoport , 19 7 7) .

In th is case (Childs , 1 9 7 9 : 9 0 -9 2 ,9 8 ) , he a ttempt is to describe a n

are a of down town Los Angeles. T h e contrast is m ad e between a street

of beautiful nineteenth-century houses shaded by pale green trees

a n d

a

different a re a to which it sudd enly gives way. T h at latter are a

has:

n o t r ee s

wea ther -bea ten o ld house s

che ap marke ts

(No te that th ese ar e inferences themselves

fleabag hotels m ad e o n th e basis of sets of cues.)

kids batting a softball ar ou nd

graffiti

on

t h e sides of buildings

lit ter o n th e sidewalks

drifters an d out-of-work labo rers am bling in th e streets,

gathering in aimless gro ups

m en with stubb led chins drinking ch ea p red wine an d muscatel

from bottles in p ap er bags

peo ple in ragged, dir ty overcoa ts huddling on benche s

p awn sh o p s

hotel with w indows o n th e first two floors cov ered with heavy

wire screens

grimy shops , som e vacan t, o thers with ch ea p secon dha nd goo ds

a jeweler sp ecializing in 75C repairs o n

5

watches

a d ress sh o p with adver t isements that n o i tem is above 10

a bar with continuous topless entertainment

T h e description of a hote l lobby a n d hallway is similar, altho ugh o n a

sma ller scale:

a motley collection of c ou ch es in th e lobby with stuffing pok ing o u t

of ho les in plastic cove rs




smell of decay

dim hallway with narrow strip of worn c arpe t running down th e cen ter

stale air

smell of a ged urine

peeling brown doors

The se ad d up to aU hi gh lass flophouse (Childs, 1 9 7 9 :98).This term

is clearly a'n ima ge o r sc he m a against which t h e perceived cu es ar e

matched.

T h e basic agreemen t between these thre e descrip tions of area s on

th e basis of se ts of cues, all from t h e United S ta te s, is extrem ely striking

a n d impressive. S o is the implicit fact that no t only ar e the cue s take n

to be self-evident, but all that is involved is observation and fairly

direct-and very rapid-interpretation. It is a sim ple pro cess. It ca n be

show n t o work, an d specific cue s identified, through m ore systematic

work. Conside r two examp les: th e u se of rem ote sensing, or of drawings

o r re touched pho tographs .

T h e very fact is s ignificant that rem ote sensing techn iqu es ca n be

used to identify physical surrog ates, which, in turn , se em t o b e go od

indicators of social an d ec on om ic con ditions of a given pop ulation

an d their area . In o n e s tudy, n ine such surrogates were fou nd:

1) land crowding

(2)

condition of private free space

3) nonresidential land uses

4)

litter

5) condition of landscaping

6)

noise, hazards, an d nu isance from transpo rt systems

7)

nonresidential activities

8)

hazards an d nuisances

9)

architectural styling-which nee ded t be checked on th e ground

T h e last variable in tu rn in clud ed n ine characteristics, including

eight design features, as surro gate s for the age, condition, and size

of housing:

1)variety of housing, that is, higher quality tha n subdivision

(2) block size or sh ap e

3) presence or absence of alleys, and sidewalk location

4) lot sh ap e, size of lot, site coverage, and setback

5) orientat ion, sh ap e, an d spacing of hou ses

6) garbage an d driveway location

7) roof design a n d materials



56

THE MEANING

OF

THE UILT ENVIRONMENT

8)

oca tion and esign of ch i m n ey s an d f lu e s

9)

pre sen ce o r absen ce of minor a rch i tec tu ra l fea tu res such as

porches,

s t eps , patios, e tc . Howard

et

al., 1974)

Basically, th e high-quality e nv iron m en t is well m ain tain ed , ha s well-

m aintain edv ege tation, little litter, few vacan t lots, go od street up ke ep ,

ad eq ua te but not to o luxur ious vegetat ion D unca n, 1 9 7 3 ; Royse,

1 9 6 9 ) , a n d few com mercial structures. T h e oppo site se t of cu es in-

dicates a low-quality enviro nm ent; clearly all these c ue s are remarkab ly

similar to tho se alread y described-and still to be discusse d.

T hro ug h the u se of drawings o r retou che d ph oto gra ph s, it is pos-

sible t o identify specific cue s mo re rigorously. T h e form er we re used in

Baltimore, w he re drawings of street fac ad es had additions-such a s

pe op le performing various activities, children playing, an d s o on , in

th e street or on th e steps, occupying various locations in th e street ,

window f lower boxes an d the like were added-and people ma de

clear a n d explicit social judgments on tha t basis Brower, 1 9 7 7 ) .

G enerally, th e pre sen ce of recreation in th e street was se en a s a nega-

tive, low-status indicator eve n w hen th e peo ple themselves actually

en ga ge d in such behavior-a difference betw een cultural

knowledge

a n d behavior se e Ke es in g, 1 9 7 9 ) .This influence of s tree t recreation

o n ar e as being identified a s slums h as already b ee n illustrated an d is

fou nd genera lly Rapop or t , 1 9 7 7 ) .

An exa m ple of the latter is a major stud y by Royse 1 9 6 9 ) . By

retouching pho tograp hs o nev ar iable a t a t ime a nd showing the results

to three population groups-upper, middle, and lower socioeconom ic

levels-it be ca m e possible t o discover their prefere nces , but also how

easily they judged th e social mea ning of areas , their status, the context

an d si tuation, and how th ese interacted in complex ways. It w as quite

clear that a large n um be r of noticeable differences in th e environm ent

act as cu es an d allow pe op le to m ak e social inferences easily and to

predict their likely actions a n d beha viors o n th e basis of th ose . N ote

that th e thre e gro ups differed in th e consistency

of

their inferences, the

upp er gro up being the most consis tent a nd the lower group being the

least. It wa s als o fairly easy to discov er th e n at ur e of specific cues-the

presen ce of p eople an d animals , types of pe op le and animals pre sen t,

planting, topo grap hy, a nd litter. garba ge, m aterials, architectural d e-

ta ils , an d s o on . Context w as important o nc e again . For exam ple, a

hors e in a sub ur ba n setting ha d very negative me aning; in an exu rban

setting, th e m ea nin g was very positive, indicating high sta tus throu gh




57

inferred recreational patte rns, implied density, an d spatial cues, a n d ,

hence, type s of peo ple. No te that suburban or exurban , th at is ,

these contexts, were themselves inferred from cues present in a

single photo gra ph

A m on g th e variables that c ha ng ed th e m eaning of par ticular set-

tings were: vege tation, which re du ced th e pe rcenta ge identifying public

housing (which has neg ative meaning) as such; a n d black children,

which led to th e identification of public ho usin g s such ( the p resence

of white children h ad n o impact) . A pp eara nc e w as imp ortant an d

exterior maintenance influenced judgments greatly. Fences influ-

en ce d quality a n d friendliness, but con text ( app ropriate ness ) was

impo rtant. Materials such a s asphalt shingles an d alum inum screen

doo rs reduc ed th e at t ractiveness for

the kp pe r a nd m iddle groups , but

no t for t h e lower; all groups, how eve r, identified th em a s indicating

lower-class peop le. Lower density was important to the upp er group ,

but n ot t o the lower.

T h e form of planting also h ad mea ning, but different mea nings for

different groups. Th us the m iddle gro up ev aluated highly m anicured

planting positively an d wild, natu ral la nd sca pe negatively. T h e high

group , on the co n t ra y , s aw the na tu ra l l andscape as hav ing m uch

m or e positive m eanin g. Th is fits in well with th e different lan dqcapes

fou nd in W estchester (Duncan , 1 9 7 3 ) a n d o ther high-s tatus enclaves ,

suc h as River Hills , Wisconsin (R apo po rt, 1 9 8 1 ) .

t

suggests that th e

distinction betwe en n eat an d u nk em pt land sca pes is interpreted in

two ways in the United States and that specific subcultural group

characteristics need to be considered; that is, meaning, like design

need s a n d environmental quali ty , is cu ltu re specific. It also reinforces

the m ajor poin t tha t, generally, notio ns of env ironm ental quality h av e

to d o with th e m eanings they have.

For exa m ple, th e rural ima ge, which we hav e already discussed, is

wh at gives extremely different mea nings, an d he nc e environm ental

quality ratings, to a village a n d

housing estate. th e form er being posi-

tive, the latter negative. In Britain, a vlllage environment implies a

variety of archite ctu re an d a deg re e of incohe rence : different styles,

ma terials, roof pitches, buildings a t different angles, interesting and

intimate grou ping s (in them selves inferential judg m ents), natu ral

vegetation suc h a s gorse a n d h eath grasses, mixed a ge an d inc om e of

peop le, a n d lack of uniformity generally (ArchitectsJ ou rn a l, 1 9 7 9 ) . n

othe r words, we find a series of cu es that m ea n village s ince they are

co ngru en t with th e im ag e of village-positive in this ca se , unlike, for



58

THE ME NING

OF


exam ple, in a Third World context, w here such c ues may be se en a s

negative. In th e ca se being discussed, a sales brochu re m ak es clear

th at it is th e village image th at is being sold; it us es a n affective evo ca-

tive qu ot e from Cra bb e (without defining village ): Thy walks ar e

eve r ple asan t; everything is rich in bea uty , lively o r se re ne (Architects

J ou rna l, 1 97 9) .

No te how frequently planting a nd vegetation en ter into the reading

of m ean ing . In th e United State s generally, an d th e Anglo-Am erican

culture a re a m or e broadly, lush vegetatio n ha s a very different m ean -

ing t o that traditionally fo un d in Latin Am erica, generally being iden-

tified with high status (Rap op ort, 1 9 7 7 ). Th us a s tud ent was able to

show in a term p ape r that wh en trees are removed, for example du e to

Dutch elm disease, in the Midwest and in this case in Milwaukee,

proper ty va lues tend t o go down comp ared to com parable a reas with

n o tree loss; pop ulation decline is also greater in th e former th an in th e

lat te r (Schroeder , 19 7 6 ) . At the sam e time, as we have seen , sub-

cultural differences ar e foun d relating to th e a m ou nt of veg etation and

its naturaln ess. However, ev en he re th e differences ar e smaller tha n in

t h e cas e of oth er elem ents. Generally, in th e United S tate s it is fo un d

that the re is m or e agreem ent abo ut environm ental quality of natural

landscapes an d na ture than abo ut hu m an-m ade landscapes (Craik

and Zube, 19 7 6 : 53)-a lthough the evidence he re being presented

suggests that even in th e hu m an -m ade environment the re is much

agre em ent. This suggests that n ature forms a dom ain sepa rate from

th e hu m an-m ade an d is eva lua ted separa te ly (Rapop or t , 19 7 7 ) .T hus

nature/culture as a distinction seems almost universal and is often

expressed throug h the contrast natural /hum an-m ade or controlled;

th e positive o r negative m ean ing o f these , however, ca n c han ge. Its

ch an ge s can be stu die d historically-and have be en . O n e exam ple is

th e major ch an ge in th e m eanin g given wild mo untain scenery with th e

Rom antic Movement (Nicolson, 1 9 5 9 ).Similarly, in th e Un ited S tat es

over the past

200

years, a co m plete reversal ha s occurred between the

meaning s of city an d wilderness. T h e form er, o n ce s ee n a s positive,

has be co m e negative, an d vice versa-their mean ings as sacred a n d

profane ha ve reversed (T ua n, 1 9 7 4 ) . It is also possible to find

adjoining cultural grou ps giving contrary m eanings to environm ents.

Th us, the M'Buti pygmies regard th e forest as go od , th e plantations

an d fields as bad, wh ereas th e adjacent B antu farm ers se e th e la tter a s

good and the fo rmer a s bad (Turnbull, 19 6 1 : 53-54 .T h e pygmies

also g o through rites of pass age as they m ov e from o n e of th ese worlds




to th e other-for th em t h e village is profa ne; for th e Fang , it is th e

bush, o r wilderness , that is profan e an d the village h um anized an d

habitable (Fernan dez, 19 77 )-a contrast s imilar to th e two per iods in

the United States discussed above .

In term s of o u r earlier discussion, th en , we find the use of a c om m on

set of variables setting up contrasts (in this case, natural/human-

m ade) but with different m eanin gs at tache d to them . But even here

o n e f inds so m e regularity . T hu s i o n e considers high-income groups,

wh o have maxim um choice, o n e do es find differing choices made ;

upper-class are as can hav e different environm ent quality variables, a s

was th e case between W ah roo ng a an d Vaucluse, in Sydney, Australia

( Rapopor t, 1 97 7 :

88-89 .

Yet, generally, in t h e Anglo-Am erican cul-

i.ure, such choices tend t o be closer to th e W ahroo nga , or rural image,

m ode l a n d it is su ch a re as that w e m ost easily a n d typically identify a s

g o o d a reas in ne ighborhoods in s t range cities (Rapopor t, 1 9 7 7 :3 2 ) .

T hus in D etroit, historically, high-income are as can be identified throu gh

privacy, large lot size, accessibility t o de sired use s (recre ation, parks,

an d th e l ike) a n d dis tance from undesirable uses ( th e nature of th es e

an d th e proximities can a lso be s tudied; Peterson an d W orall, 19 6 9 ) ,

ch ar ac te r of h ou se s, exclusion of undesirable pe op le , exclusive golf

and county clubs, many recreational facili t ies generally, natural

ameni ties, vegeta t ion , an d s o o n (Backler, 19 7 4 ) .

Underlying m uch of o u r discussion her e, an d m any of t h e specific

cue s indicating environm ental quality, is th e ge ner al notion of m ain -

tenance, which influences ap pea ranc e . O n e could a rgu e that in m any,

although not all, of th e ca ses unde r con sideration, th e m ean ing of th e

are a is related t o m aintena nce in i ts broadest sense. Th us, a t th e urban

scale, changes indicating negative qualit ies include reduced main-

tenan ce an d h en ce deterioration of h ouses, increased noise, increased

traffic congestion, industrial and commercial development, s treet

cleanliness, outmigration of good pe op le a n d inmigration of bad

pe op le ( for example, peop le manifes ting del inquency o r hippiness),

s igns indicating cr ime, violence, a n d del inquency ( bo ard ed -up shop s,

grilles o n sh op s, graffiti, a n d s o on ), loss of services, an d , ab ov e all,

r educed g reen op en space . Th ese a re all s een a s u rban th rea ts a nd

ha ve neg ative me aning; they lead to a fear tha t crowding will de velo p

( Cars on , 19 72 ) .Note th at man y of th ese quali ties are based on main-

ten an ce . Also, a s w e shall see , high perceived density is base d o n

inferences m a d e by match ing perceived characteristics, many of which

ar e related to m aintenance, against certain contexts, images, sch em ata ,



Urban Examples of pplications 161

N W t ~ e e

L ~ T Y

i i ~ ~ ~ ~ r i i r

ILUAU c p k g d d ~ ~ w )

u CAM[L

Q w

Figure 7 Continued



62

THE ME NING

OF

THE BUILT

NVIRONM NT

and norms. Similarly, the sensory cues indicating positive environ-

m ental quality often include ap pe ar an ce o f new ness (tha t is, low per-

ceived ag e and n o obsolescence), ap pe ara nc e of expensiveness, high

levels of m ain ten an ce with no d eterioration or disorder, an d ha rm ony

with n ature, su ch as greenery, op en spac e, naturalness, and privacy

(Pe te r son , 1 9 6 7 a , 19 67 b) . Greene ry seem s to be rathe r le ss impor -

tant in th e case of o the r countries, for exam ple, the N etherland s (s ee

Ja an u s and Nieuwenhuijse , 1 9 7 8 ) . In this case, while green spac es

ha d little influence on posit ive meaning, th e ab sen ce of sh op s and

restaurants, road and site layouts that communicate a feeling of

spaciousness and privacy, an absence of monotony, and newness

w ere imp ortant. Th e last was sufficiently imp ortant t o lead t o

a

higher

ran kin g being given t o high-rise de ve lo pm en t vis-a-vis old, traditional

enviro nm ents that de signers would rank m uc h m ore positively.

uburban im ge

In th e United S tates , the basic positive mean ing of residential environ-

m ents is still su m m ed u p by th e subu rban image. T h e variables that

com m unicate that image a re clearly revealed by ne w center-city ho us -

ing in Milwaukee, W isconsin; this ima ge also

expl ins

th e form of th at

development. The context is of two-story, nineteenth- and early-

twentieth-century frame h ous es on narrow lots (se e Beckley, 1 9 7 7 ) ;

th e street pattern is a grid. T h e new hou sing is clearly m ea nt to be

"suburban," contrast ing with th e negative co nno tat ions of th e a bov e

urban environment.

This subur ban image, contrast ing with the urban, includes the n am e

"Parkview" (f or dow ntown housing ; see Rapop ort , 1 9 7 7 : ch.

2);

curved streets a s op po sed to th e grid; "superblocks" with culs-de-sac

a s op po sed to "pa ss-t hro ug h streets; low perceived density a s oppose d

t o high p erceived density; a m ixture

of

on e- and two-story houses as

op po se d to all two-story; mixed forms of housing as op po sed t o a

single typ e, but of th e "universal" su bu rb an ranch-style variety rath er

than th e midwest fram e; ow degree of enclosure versus high deg ree of

enclosure; absenc e of corn er sho ps, churches, a n d th e like versus their

presen ce; su bd ue d colors as op p os ed to bright colors; low complexity

versu s high complexity: lawns, sh rubs , an d variety of trees freely

arran ged versus large elms in l ines along the streets (now gon e d u e to

Dutch elm disease). Note two things: th e na tur e of th e c ue s as well a s

th e high level of r ed un da nc y; th e use of m an y cues. This unmistakable

m ess ag e is reinforced in the actual expe rience of the se environm ents,




63

th e transit ions, an d contrasts as on e moves through them This helps

us fur ther to un ders tand the in tended meaning an d how

it

is com-

m unicated se e Figure

27).

No te th at in th e ab ov e cas e, f ixed-feature elemen ts play an impor-

tant role in establishing meaning, although semifixed-feature ele-

ments-particularly vegetation -are im po rtan t. M oreover, it is inter-

esting to n o te tha t m any of th e cu es ag re e well with a list of cu es

pro po sed a s indicating low perceived density T h e notion of tha t con-

cep t is th a t a variety of physical, associational, an d sociocu ltural cu es

ar e used to m ake inferences ab ou t th e density of a reas. It is thes e

inferences, no t actual density

in

peo ple per unit a rea , tha t a re m atched

against norm s an d ideals to ma ke judgm ents of acceptability a n d desir-

ability Rapoport, 1 9 7 5 ~ . partial list of these hypothesized cues

follows from Rapo port , 1 9 7 5 c:

138-

140; eference cites dele ted); h e

suggestion is that not al l need be present for environments to be

judged as o n e or th e o ther . Clearly th e list of cues , th e nu m be r ne ed ed

to infer densit ies an d h en ce th e mean ing of areas , and how thes e cues

reinforce o r cancel eac h oth er ar e subjects for research. At the s am e

time, o u r discussion

so

far an d t he M ilwaukee exam ple supp or t this

notion se e also McLaughlin,

1976

which car] b e inte rpre ted partly in

these terms)

D e ns e

tight spaces

Not Den se

Perceptual

ope n s pac e s

intr icate spa ces simple spa ces

T he se term s are, of cou rse, difficult to define at the m om ent.

Th ey can be discussed in terms of com plexity. They also see m

intuitively clear to mo st people-admitting that they ar e a m atter

of d eg ree a nd affecte d by culture, ada ptat io n levels, an d s o

forth.

large building height to sp ac e

low height to sp ac e ratio i .e. ,

i .e a large am ou n t of su b-

little s ub te n d ed building in

te n de d building in th e field

th e field of v ision)

of vision)

m any signs few signs

m an y lights a n d high artificial

few lights an d low artificial

light leve ls light levels



64

TH MEANING OF TH BUILT ENVIRONMENT

D e n s e

Not De nse

many pe op le ( or their traces)

few p eo ple (ox their traces)

visible visible

mostly h um an -m ad e (little

mostly natural (m uch gre en ey )

greenery)

high noise levels

low noise levels

many hum an-m ade sme lls

few hum an-m ade smells

m any cars-high traffic den sity

few cars-low traffic de nsi ty

an d m uch parking

a n d little parking

Gen erally t h e n um be r of physical, senso ry stimuli that indicate

th e prese nce of peo ple .

tall buildings, apa rtm en ts, or

low buildings may indicate low

offices m ay indicate high

densities even

if

other cues

dens ity even w hen spac es an d indicate the oppo si te

oth er perceptual cues indicate

low density

in residential ar ea s th e

in residential are as the pre sen ce

ab se nc e of pr ivate ga rden s

of gard ens and ent ran ces

an d en t rances

T h e rela tive im pact an d importance of perceptual a nd associa-

t ional /symbolic cu es ar e impo rtant quest ions.

Tempora l

fast tem po s a n d rhythm s of

slow tem po s a n d rhythms of

activity activity

activities ex ten din g ove r

activities re du cin g o r ceasing

4

hours per day

at

certain t im es

th e ab sen ce of defenses

th e pre sen ce of defenses

allowing th e con trol of

allowing th e co ntro l of

interaction interaction

General ly , then, the sa m e num ber of p eop le in a n environmen-

tal configurat ion that expo ses th em to others , o r isolates the m ,

would be read v e y differently (e.g. , the presence of fences, court-

y a rd s, c o m p o u n d s , a n d t h e

like).



Urban Examples o Applications

65

Dense

Not De nse

high levels o

attractive

low levels of attrac tive

stimuli stimuli

th e abse nc e of othe r adjacent

th e presence of o ther adjacent

places for use-streets,

plac es for use-streets,

mee ting p laces, a nd s o on

meeting p laces , and so o n

T h u s th e availability of m any nond welling places-pubs, sh op s,

streets , parks, an d the like-that can be used by pe op le an d

whether they are actually used (i .e ., th e hous e-se t t lement

system) will affect the perception of density. Where they are

pres ent a n d u sed extensively, a n a rea would b e perceived a s less

de ns e beca us e m or e effective ar ea is available for us e a n d activi-

t ies and group s may be se pa ra ted in s pac e an d t ime.

th e presen ce of nonresidential

the a bs en ce of nonresidential

land uses in a residential area

land uses in a residential ar ea

an d mixed land uses generally an d abs en ce of mixed land

uses generally

This is in apparent conflict with the previous characteristics. In

this case the presence of nonresidential uses leads to higher

rates of information from t h e environ m ent itself,

m o r e

people

visible, m or e traffic , an d s o forth. T h er e a re th us tw o con tradic-

tory effects with com ple x results.

Sociocultural

high levels o f social interaction

low levels of social interaction

leading to social overlo ad an d a bs en ce of social overload

This d ep en d s o n culturally ( an d individually) defined desired

levels as well a s th e form an d effectiveness of defens es.

feeling

o

lack of control,

feeling of p re se nc e of con trol,

choice, o r f reedom, l ea d ~ n go

choice, and f reedom, l ea d ~ n g

judgments of less effective

to jud gm ents of m o re effective

spa ce being avai lable an d spac e being available an d

hence of higher densities;

hence o lower densities; c o n -

control by envi ronment

trol of environment



66

TH

ME NING OF TH BUILT ENVIRONMENT

The alternative hypothesis, that lack of control means lack of

pressure to m ake decisions and he nc e th e perception of less

density , is unlikely in view of ev id en ce that lack of con tro l is

associated with increased stress an d with th e gen eral argum ent

th at dens ity is related t o interaction an d that privacy is the ability

to control unw anted interaction.

T h es e feelings m ay differ for various groups-by culture, age ,

sex , and s o on .

De nse Not Dense

social heteroge neity along

so m e subjectively defined

dimensions-hence increased

unpredictability, reduced re-

du nd anc y, and higher effective

density in terms of information-

processing ne ed s, the inability

to read symbols an d cues, not

sharing rules, and hen ce acting

inappropriately

social hom ogeneity along som e

subjectively defined dimen-

sions-hence increased pre-

dictability a n d red un dan cy

a n d lower effective density

in term s o information-

processing ne ed s, ability to

read cue s an d symbols, sharing

of rules, a n d he nc e acting

appropriately

O n e exam ple m ight be agre em ent ab out rules regarding private/

public and front/back dom ains, nonverbal behavior, an d s o on.

This sugg ests that density a n d crowd ing ar e related via privacy,

defined a s th e control of unw anted interaction an d alsov ia social

norms defining behavior appropriate to various density situations.

ab se nc e of culturally sh ar ed

presence of culturally shared

an d accep ted nonphysical

an d accep ted nonphysical

defense s an d control

defenses a n d control

me chanism s for regulating

mechanisms

o

regulating

social interaction social interaction

previous exp erien ce, sociali-

previous exp erien ce, sociali-

zation, a nd s o forth a t low

zation, a nd s o forth at high

densities (i.e., ad ap tat ion level

densities (i.e , ,adaptation level

a t low densities)

a t high densities)



Urban Examples o

Applications 67

T h e impact of po or m ain ten an ce , litter, graffiti, reduction of greenery ,

high pollution levels and noise, untidiness, poor road surfaces, in-

dustrial invasion, a n d s o on also fit into this framew ork. Their m ea nin g

is d u e to th e fact th at they ar e sur rog ate s for people-or for particular

types of pe op le. M oreov er, m ost of th e studies dealing with environ -

m ental quality in Anglo-Am erican culture a re remarkably consistent,

as we hav e se en , in at taching posit ive m ean ing to tho se c ue s that indi-

cate low perceived densi ty. This bec om es even clearer w hen w e con -

s ider sugges t ions for making townhouses and condominia more

acceptable, that is, hav e them com m unic ate m or e posit ive m eanings.

'These a re all related t o indicating th e lowest possible perceived de n-

sity ( an d th e associated higher s tatus): th e p resen ce of recreat ional

facilities (recall, how ever, t ha t it is th e la tent as pec t, th e im age a n d

m ean ing of recreat ion, rather than use, or manifest aspects , that are

important); go od m ainten anc e of land scap e, dwellings, yards, a nd

streets ; ho us es not crow ded an d to o close together, or spaciousness;

goo d privacy; hom ogeneity with g o o d peo ple; low child density (a n

important variable in m any studies, associated b oth with m ainten anc e

an d perceived density); low noise levels; a s m uch o pe n s p ac e as pos-

sible, m any trees, shrubs, lawns, a n d natural features; ab se nc e of no n-

residential uses; ab se nc e of nuis anc es; plea san t views; sh or t dwelling

rows an d individuality of dwellings, hen ce variety rath er tha n m on oto ny

in des ign , an d s o on (see Norcross , 1 9 7 3 ; Errnuth, 1 9 7 4 ; Burby et al .,

1976 .

T ha t this inte rpre tation is tr u e is confirmed by th e finding in

Britain, a m o n g others, tha t th e b est predictor of satisfaction in re siden-

tial ar ea s is low perceived density-for exa m ple, exp resse d in ter m s o f

average number

o

stories of dwellings a n d th e nu m be r of dwellings

visible within

150

m ete rs (Metcalf,

1977 .

W hat the M ilwaukee housing an d t he o the r examp les try t o do,

then , is to co m m unic ate as many a s possible of th e posit ive mea ning s

associated with residential ar ea s a n d a s few a s possible of t h e neg ative

ones: me ning a n d im ge a re being m anipulated in a particular way

(al though other ways a re possible) .

C on side r a study in Atlanta in which well-being in residential ar ea s

wa s correlated with various e nvironm ental characteristics (Ja m e s et

a l., 19 74 ) .Th es e characteris tics can be intkrpreted as cues, the m ean -

ing of which d ep en d s on a contrast between those se en a s positive an d

those s ee n a s negative.



68 THE ME NING OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Positive

egat ive

much op en space

residential pocket away from

the bustle of urban activity

sep ar a te d from traffic, rail-

road s, a n d public facilities

distant fr o m arterial streets

an d hen ce public t ranspor t

ab se nc e of outsiders

m uch grass, well-maintained

lawns, uniform lands caping

o p e n sp ac e with natural vistas

views of attractive human-

m ad e fea tures

few paved are as

well-maintained landscaping

many t rees

congested

proximity t o libraries, public

health centers , schools, sports

fields, freew ays

high pedestrian densities and

m an y visitors

bare dirt; n o lawns between

buildings an d s treets

heavy littering

pres enc e of wee ds

fro nt area s with vegetables,

etc., rather than lawns an d

sh rub s (i.e. , diverse landscaping)

little effort a t land sc ap ing

unkem pt, vacant lots

few trees, bush es, o r flowers

off-street parking

many parked cars (n o off-street

parking)

mainly private dwellings

pre sen ce of comm ercial,

qui et industrial, fringe com me rcial,

narrow streets

few traffic lights

parking, a n d oth er nonresiden-

tial uses

new ness , indicated

y

con- noisy

tempo rary street patterns, one-wa y streets

i,e., curv ed Streets. culs-de-sac,

deterioration a n d poo r state o

etc.

repair of sidewalks

many for sale a n d for rent

signs

I

se em s clear that these elements c orres pon d to notions of high

environ m ental quality already discussed rep eatedly in this boo k (s ee




89

a lso Rapopor t , 1 9 7 7 : ch . 2) . It is also clear that th e m ea nin g of th es e

e le m e n ts h a s t o d o with th e inferences m ad e abo ut th e k inds

of

people

living th er e a n d t h e pote ntial in teraction s (since well-being is clearly

correla ted with social relations a n d in teraction ).W e thus begin to s ee a

potential relation b etwee n environm ental m ean ing a nd social inter-

action o r com mu nication-a topic to be discussed in C h ap te r 7 At this

point, it may be sufficient to su ggest that th e inferences m a d e about

pe op le by reading physical environm ents influence an d help organize

social relations an d interaction. hav e arg ue d in a nu m be r o f places

th at interaction best occ urs in w hat call

neutr l p l ces

a m o n g

hom ogen eous , owned a reas (Rapopor t , 1 9 7 7 ) . But two ques tions

ca m e u p First, w hat cu es indic ate neutrality-location, use, territory

a n d s o on7 This clearly requ ires cultural kn ow ledg e, slnce it may be a

grocery, a tea ho use ,

a

me n's hou se , or whatever . Sec on d, what cue s

indicate "owned" areas , o r defensib le spa ce (New ma n, 1 9 7 1 ; Sut tles,

1 9 6 8 , 19 72 )? In this connec t ion , much

is

made of "symbol~c"

boundaries , which, however , need to be not iced, unders tood, and

"obeyed."

Actual physical boundaries are also important, particularly since

movement and mobility, particularly their latent aspects, also have

m eaning. hav e pointed ou t elsewh ere that m any traditional cit ies

restrict mobility while t h e

U.S.

city s tre ss es it an d facilitates it

in prim

ciple

( Rapopor t, 1 97 7 :2 1 ) . How ever , o n e f inds that parks ar e se en a:;

desirable not only because they can be u sed a nd , even m ore, beca use

they a re the re a s cu es of positive env ironm enta l quality, neig hbo rhoo d

stability, low pe rceive d density, an d , generally, desirable are as . Th ey

are se en as des i rable a lso because they can bec om e a "no-man' ;

land," kee ping stran gers ou t of neig hbo rhoo ds. Recall th at o n e se t of

cue s of en vironm ental quality had t o d o with the a bs en ce

of

strangers.

A striking ex am ple of t h e relation of this to mobility a n d its mea ni ng

is provided by a rece nt rep ort that a federal appe als court refused a six.

ye ar long attem pt by white residents of th e Hein Park neighb orhood in

Mem phis, T en ne ss ee , to block a s treet called West Drive at i ts north

en d, w here a large black a rea begins (Milwaukee Journ al , 1 9 7 9 ) .

While this would, of co urs e, red uc e

c tu l

mobility an d p en etratio n,

wou ld a rg ue that the ma jor pur po se of this atte m pt was"symbolic"--

it was at th e level of m ean ing. W hat it tried to co m m un ica te was: This



17

THE ME NING OF

THE

BUILT ENVIRONMENT

neighb orho od is ho m og en ou s, closed ; it was, i you will, th e equiva lent

of walled de ve lop m en ts (Ra po po rt, 1 9 7 7 ) . Significantly, th e court's

refusal was also o n su ch gro un ds of m eaning; the closure would, th e

court said, be a bad ge o f slavery. T hu s mobility a n d equ al access to

all parts of th e city, a s well a s their opp osi tes, a re s ee n a t th e level of

meaning, as being ab out hum an comm unicat ion or social relat ions ,

rather t ha n in purely instrumental o r man ifest terms.

This relates to the discussion above of the environment as a

mn emonic. O n e could argue that the blocked s treet is a boundary cue ,

marking perceived differences among two groups and sett ing up

social boundaries, that is , at tempting t o exclude particular groups (s ee

Barth , 1 9 6 9 ;Wellman, 1 9 7 8 ;R a p o po rt, 1 9 7 7 , forthcoming

.

Social

boun daries, o f course, ar e not necessarily spatial or physical but, on ce

again, their perception, which m ust prece de u nderstanding an d be-

havior, is help ed by clear a n d una m bigu ous markers-noticeable dif-

fe re nc es of all kinds. This is, of cours e, related to o u r earlier discussion

ab ou t boun dary markers as objects (fixed feature o r semifixed fea-

ture ) , boun dary-m arking rituals (nonfixed feature in t ime or s pac e),

doorways and thresholds , a n d s o on. All communicate meanings th e

basic fun ctio n o f which is to reinforce basic cultural categories. T h u s

th e w ho le notion of indicating bo un dar ie s by m e an s of noticeable dif-

ferences to delineate social groups, dom ains, an d their spatial equiv-

alents, an d to define entry o r exclusion, be co m es very significant.

Co ntex t, on ce aga in, is im po rtant. Cons ider fences. Clearly, while all

cultures distinguish a m on g dom ains, and mark boun daries, th e use of

fences is much m ore variable. T h e question h as been raised as to why

fences a re s o com m on in M ormon areas. In that case, th e analysis of

fenc es tells m uch ab ou t Morm on culture (a s can th e analysis of o the r

artifacts). As one subtle point: The number of gates indicated the

num ber of wives a m an had (Leone, 1 9 7 3 ) .Also, it is clear that in a

place such as England o r Austral ia , o r so m e areas of the United States ,

where fences are common, they have different meanings than in

places w he re they ar e rare. In th e latter, again d epe nd ing o n con text,

they may indicate appropriation, con cern, an d g oo d upk eep , or high

crim e-rates that m ak e their use n ecessary. Th eir ab se nc e can similarly

have two ana log ou s, contrasting m eanings.

It is important to m ark bou ndaries, how ever this is do ne , an d t o c on-

trast wh at the se boundaries define or

contain.

By marking them , and

the corresponding domains, noticeable and recognizable effective

reminders an d warnings are created. Th ese ten d to red uce o r eliminate

conflict , w he ther ab ou t app rop riate behavior o r appropriation.




Much is m a d e of ow nership an d app ropriation of sp ac e in co nn ec-

tion with crime control through defensible sp ac e (s ee Newman , 19 71 ) .

While m any of the c ues having to d o with m aintena nce a n d the like

communicate this , there is a question about how appropriation is

indicated Regarding m aintena nce, for example, we have se en how

particular forms of landscaping can be misinterpreted as neglect (Sherif

an d Sherif, 19 6 3 ) . As an oth er exam ple, it is of ten suggested th at

appropriation is indicated by p erso na l~z ation , he p rese nce of p er-

sonal objects and the l ike. Yet these cues can be ambiguous: The

pr es en ce of a set of objec ts su ch a s junk an d s tr ipped cars , motor-

cycles, refr igerators, or washing m achines o n p orches, a n d t h e like can

indicate ei ther appropriation o r th e exis tence o f a s lum ; o n e

perso n's lived-in ar ea is an o th e r person 's slum . Given o u r discussion

in this ch ap ter , th e latter interpretation is m or e likely since am big uo us

cues are m atche d against a sh are d sche m a of appropriat ion or

slum, a n d th e cu es just described generally indicate slu m T hu s

the mean ing o f cu es is related to culture a n d context-they ares ub jec-

tively def ined and in terpre ted Th us meaning depe nd s on so m e

knowledge o f the context an d th e cul ture, its rules an d sche m ata. T h e

cu es will elicit app rop ria te res po ns es i unders tood.

In this con ne ctio n w e ca n retu rn t o graffiti.

W e

have se en th at f re-

quently they a re se en a s signs of highly negative env ironm enta l quality,

of cr ime, vandal ism, a nd s o on . The y can also be se en a s an a r t form,

an at tem pt to ov ercom e ano m ie, o r as s igns of appropriation, that is,

territorial markers (s ee Ley an d Cybriwsky, 1 9 7 4 ) . n this latter ca se

they can be read: their quality and location display regularities and

indicate t h e distribution of social attitudes a s well a s predicting su bs e-

qu en t behavior in spa ce. For exam ple, they com m unica te the ow ner-

sh ip of territories an d turfs to tee na ge rs a nd gangs-that is, they ar e

markers of grou p boundaries , of defen ded neighborhoods, an d he nc e

lead to social behaviors. T o m ost others , however , they d o not com -

municate tho se meanings but others , such a s high crime rates , an d

lead to behavior such a s general avo idanc e of s uch areas

In

s t ~ ~ d y i n grime a n d defensible sp ac e o n th e ne ighb orho od level

(Taylo r et al., 1 9 7 9 ) , t is clear tha t signs of disintegration of th e social

ord er, including physical deterio ration, signs of vandalism, a n d litter,

ar e extremely impo rtant in fear of crime. In o th er words, de terioration

in th e physical en viron m ent an d signs of lack of c aring ab o ut it a re

interpreted a s signs of erosion of th e social or de r a n d h en ce perceived

as crime, with res ultant fear. Perceiv ed crime a n d its fear ha s low cor-

respo nde nce to actual crime. Th us all the s igns we hav e be en dis-



72

THE MEANING O

THE

BUILT ENVIRONMENT

cussing th at s ta nd for slum also imply crime: th e two m eaning s ar e

l inked. This , then, has clear behavioral consequences , such as

avoidance.

T h e m eaning an d role of all such c ue s helps to explain th e increas-

ing stress on the im portance of m an ag em en t in housing (s ee Fran-

cesca to e t a l. , 1 9 7 9 ; Sau er , 1 9 7 7 ; Brower, 1 9 7 7 ; Ahlbrand t and

B ro ph y, 1 9 7 6 ;H o le , 1 9 7 7 ;Beck and T easdale , 1 9 7 7 ) an d, by exten-

sion, of urban m an ag em en t. This ha s to d o with the role of m an ag e-

ment in ensuring good maintenance, low child density, vandalism,

litter, and so o n. It thus influences the cue s present an d hen ce t he

meaning of areas : G oo d man agem ent leads to good m aintenance and

is com m unic ated th ro ug h it. It is interesting tha t in judging a n a re a as a

mess in o n e such s tudy (Sauer , 1 9 77 : 26) th e now familiar cue s ar e

used: garbage a nd t rash s trewn a rou nd , vandalism, an ab an do ne d car

in th e m iddle of th e site, ba d upk ee p, ba re ea rth. As in all o th er cas es, it

is clear tha t thes e cu es com m unicate environ m ental quality not only

directly but also by indicating th e pr es en ce of abs en ce of g o o d or

bad peo p le , tha t is, by inferences regarding the definition of th e

social situation. This is th e significance of t h e a rg um en t ab ov e ab ou t

the differing interpretations of t he l ibertarian su bu rb (Barnett , 1 9 7 7 ) ,

w he re th e particular cue s indicate a particular gro up of p eo ple w ho

are , in turn , evalua ted as good1' an d bad. In oth er words, in Anglo-

Am erican culture, a n d increasingly elsew here , rural ima ge, low per-

ceived density, privacy, g oo d m ain ten an ce an d ap p ea ra nc e, variety

a n d complexity in de sign , social ho m og ene ity, an d high social statu s

indicate goo d peo ple a n d he nc e high en vironmental quality: They are

positive meanings.

T he physical elem ents of suburbia-winding roads, lawns, de tach ed ,

varied h ou ses, types of front do or s an d mailboxes, rom antic rooflines,

garden yrnam ents , coach lanterns , an d man y others-all com mu ni-

cate social status, social aspirations, personal identity, individual

freed om , nostalgia, an d s o on . T h e elements co m e from his tory, rural

life, patriotism, a n d th e estate s o f th e rich (Ventur i and Rauch , 19 76 ) .

This is, of cou rse, th e point stressed through out: env ironm ental quality

variables a re such be ca us e they h ave social mean ing. Th us , disregard-

ing major disag reem ent o n e may h av e abou t th e validity of m eaning s

of su bu rbia discussed by Perin ( 1 9 7 7 ; se e a review by Rapoport ,

1 9 7 9 d ) , h ere is considerable agreemen t about the elements (detached

dwellings, social hom og ene ity, purely residential uses, a nd th e like)




a n d th e fact tha t it is th e m ean ing of th ese th at is m ost imp ortant.

It

is

meanin g th at is th e raison d'&tre for th e particular definition of env iron-

men tal quality. T h e subu rban environm ent is inten ded to m aintain the

dist inctions am o n g groups, which a re judged in term s of t h e environ-

m ents in which they live, a n d th ese g roups, on ce m arked, are included

or ex clude d. All th e c ue s indicate status a n d lifestyle s o that lawns,

landscaping, variety of house styles, special recreational facilities,

ab se n ce of m ixed land uses, c orn er sho ps , ev en religious buildings,

ar e all ways of estab lishing an d maintaining a particular ima ge , that is,

of com mu nicating social m eanings an d identity, th e m ainten anc e of

which is se en as th e role of planning [see Werthm an,

1968

As p eop le m ov e thro ug h ci ties (a s well as landscapes) , they tend to

travel alo ng w ell-defined rou tes

As

a result, the refo re, they frequently

m ak e judgmen ts o n th e basis of w hat is perceived along that route.

Th us o n e frequently judges a reas through shopping streets and arterials

as bad or good, deteriorat ing or upgrading based o n se ts

of

cues

such a s types of shop s, board ed u p or empty shop s, protective metal

grilles, litter, a n d s o forth. O n e also infers th e eth nic cha racter of ar ea s

behind thes e ar ter ial streets. For example, in O m ah a, Nebraska, at th e

lurn of th e century, it w as fou nd that althou gh the prop ortion of an

ethnic group living in particular areas was significant in judging its

ethnic character, even m or e imp ortant was th e location of th at group's

businesses an d social a n d religious institutions-the chu rches, clubs,

bakeries, groceries, butcher sho ps, restaurants. Their pre sen ce along

particular stretches of ro ad s led to th e identification of th e sur rou nd -

ing neigh borhoo d as b elon ging to Boh emians, I talians, o r Jews-even

if they co ns titut ed

a

minority of tha t are a: T h e

visibility

of th e cue s

along th e ar terial routes was s ignificant (Chu dacoff, 1 9 7 2 , 1 9 7 3 ) .

In th e case of an a rea in Matapp an, M assachusetts , changing from

being a Jewish ar ea to becom ing a black area, it was fou nd that t he

peo ple remaining bec am e aw are of the ch ang e wh en certain stores

an d insti tutions disappeared f rom th e shopping areas . Th ese se tt ings

did m o re tha n fulfill th e ne ed s of pe op le; they sto od for th e na ture of

th e area-they com m un icated its m eaning, as did th e natu re of th e

new s hop s, how late they s tayed o pe n, which d ays they c losed, an d s o

o n (Ginsberg, 1 9 7 5 ). Similarly, business str ips often define are as a s

skid rows a n d a s deter iorating, or a s high class-or eve n a s back

areas , which m ay exist at the neighbo rhood scale (for exam ple, lanes) ,



74 THE ME NING

O


at the urban scale, regional scale, an d so o n . They have major functions

in communicating tneanings and they can also define the ethnic,

income o r racial character o f areas. Thus business tho roug hfares not

only con trast with residential areas , but with eac h oth er, an d ca n be

interpreted as expressions o f culture since their material features ha ve

cultural m ean ings . In th e cas e of a black business stre et in Chic ago

Pred,

1963 ,

it proved possible to identify those cues that char-

acterize low-income shopping streets generally as o pp os ed to thos e

that characterize black shopping streets as opposed to those of

othe r groups.

This could b e d o n e impressionistically, that is, throu gh observation,

in th e way have been describing. C ue s observ ed included:

so un ds generally, noise levels, musical sou nd s

types of peo ple e.g. . color), their clothing style, colors, etc.),

vocal an d oth er nonverbal behaviors

th e variety of varied uses which could be coun ted )

types of shops

facade s of shop s, such as shop fronts

types of cars

smells

th e visible presenc e of many activities as op po sed t o the ab sen ce of

visible activities in comparable white areas)

As in oth er case s that we have already discussed e.g. Anderson an d

Moore, 1972 , it was then possible to move easily to a more

systematic, quantitative comparison of the distribution of different

uses, service establishment, and shops; to compare specif ic com-

binations of uses; an d to identify w hat was sold in g roceries or served

in restaurants. O n e could co m pa re main tenan ce levels of sho ps,

number of vacant shops, empty lots, storefront churches, how bar

facad es are treated op en versus closed), an d many other specif ic

variables. One could clearly discriminate between various types of

shopping st reets and make judgments and inferences abou t them an d

the pe ople in them.

Note, once again, the redundancy of cues in a range of sensory

mo dalities. would sugg est that we customarily use th em in very

similar ways to judge all kinds o f en viro nm en ts in ou r daily lives. As

o n e example, we u se suc h cues to judge the takeover of areas by

ethnic groups. Thu s in Sou thall, an ar ea of Lo nd on , signs advertising

particular kinds of fo ods he types of p eop le encountered, their behavior,



Urba n Examples of Applications 75

and how they a re d ressed all quickly suggest a n Asian takeover. Atypical

English pub , with a heavy woode n b ar , pitted plastic tile floor, jukebox,

a n d rigid divisions am o ng public, saloon, a n d private bars be-

com es a different place b ecau se all the p eo ple a re Asians, there a re n o

w om en , t h e music o n th e jukebox is Indian. At a larger scale, in a walk

through

Southall (o r o th er com parable areas) , w e pass the Kenya

Butchery, th e oriental store , th e Pu njabi grocers, Indian driving sch ools

and insurance offices, the Bank of Baroda branch office, posters

advertising Indian enterta inm ent. O n e s ee s hardly any white faces,

new spa pers on th e back seats of pa rked cars are in Punjabi, Hindi, o r

IJrdu; new spaper sh op s a re full of Asian papers an d magazines, cinem as

sh ow Indian films. Sm ells are of curry, spices, a n d Indian fo od ; cloth-

ing in s ho ps is different; the re ar e temples; sup erm ark ets carry a wide

variety of Asian foods. T ho se d oors that are o pe n reveal, behind th e

fac ad es of typical English su bu rb an arch itectu re, a totally different cul-

ture (Sydney Morning Herald 1 9 7 2 ;person al observation in So uthall,

Be thnal G reen , and so on ) .

This is clearly merely a m o re e xtrem e version of what we ha ve be en

discussing. Moreover, most of the cues are in the semifixed- and

nonfixed-feature realm: T h e streets and t he buildings have not c han ged

Also, a stroll thr ou gh th at are a by any observer-designer, journalist,

or layperson-allows t h e cu es a n d their meaning s to be rea d easily

M any of th es e notic eable differences in various sen so ry modalitiec;

are cu es that c an be se en a s examples of erosion or accretion trace1;

used in unobtrusive measures ( se e W ebb et al.. 1 9 6 6 ) . T h e s e c o m -

m unic ate a variety of m ean ings . Exterior physical signs in t h e fixed-

a n d sem ifixed-feature dom ains, where peo ple live an d their location

in public s pa ce , that is, wh ere they a re found a nd their temporal d is-

tribution (w ho do es w hat, where, wh en, a nd including o r excluding

w ho m ), heir expressive movem ents, langu age, activities, clothing an d

possessions, an d many others, communicate urban meanings and are

accessible throug h observation. In M iami, Florida, two yearsfollowing

Castro 's take ove r of Cu ba , cues such as bilingual

street signs, th e use

of S pa nis h by half th e p eo pl e in stree ts, signs in sh o p s saying S e

Habla Espanol, 'stores with Sp an ish nam es, Latin Am erican foods on

restaurant m enu s, C ub an fo ods sold in superm arkets. the m anufac-

ture o f C ub an types of cigarettes, Span ish radio broadcasts, Sp anish

new spapers an d S pa n~ sh - la ng ua ge ditor ia ls in English- language

newspapers, Sp anish services held in forty Miami chu rches , an d s o o n

(W ebb et a1 1 9 6 6 : 119 all clearly communicated social change



76

THE MEANING O THE BUILT ENVIRONM ENT

Within that city, certain ar ea s with particularly high co nc en tra tions of

Cu ban s, such a s that called

Habana Chica

(t h e n a m e itself is a cue )

could b e identified by a g reater density of th e a bo ve cue s an d also the

type and volume of music hea rd, the pre sen ce of m en conversing

aro un d coffee stand s an d th e type o f coffee served, the use only of

Span ish, arom as of spices, an d th e general a tmosp here a nd ambience

(Rapopor t ,

1977: 152-153 .

he strength of such cue s would m ak e

them difficult to m iss and would influence hum an behavior a n d com -

munication, encouraging s o m e a n d discouraging othe rs from enter-

ing or penetrating such areas.

W hat is striking in all the se ana lyses a n d desc riptions is how easy it

seems to be, by using one 's senses and thinking about what one

notices, to read the environme nt, derive meanings, and m ake social

inferences. T h e similarity of this t o the pro ces ses of no nv erb al com -

munication as com mo nly un derstood doe s, inde ed, see m striking.



ENVIRONMENT MEANING AND

COMMUNICATION

Sin ce traditional nonve rbal com mu nication studies in th e nonfixed-

feature realm have largely been concerned with the role nonverbal

behavior plays in human interaction and communication (see

Abrahamson , 1966,Sc h e f l e n ,1974; Sieg m an a nd Feldste in , 1978 ,

i i

see m s useful to ask wh ethe r environm ental m eaning, a s a form of

nonverbal communication, can also be considered in such terms-

tha t IS , w he ther ther e is a relationship betw een env ironm ental m ean -

ing and those behaviors re lated t o in teraction an d comm unicat ion

am on g people This quest ion is a lso most re levant g iven o ur s tress o n

contex t and p ragm at~cs .

Toward the end of Chapter 6, and scattered elsewhere in this

volume, there h av e bee n s om e hints that this is, ind eed , th e case It is

also generally the anthropological view that in all cultures, material

objects and ar t~ fa ct s re used to organize soclal relations throu gh

forms a nd nonverbal comm unicat ion, tha t the

in fo rm at~on nc oded in

artifacts is used for social marking a n d for the c on se q u en t orga niza-

tion of com m unication am o n g pe op le thu s now turn to a c o n s ~ d e r a -

tion of t h ~ soptc

A s

usual, how ever, begin with a n apparen tly d~ffe ren t

topic--the na tu re of en viro nm en t

The nature

o

environment

have been discussing meaning in th e environment , but o n e need <;

to as kw ha t is m ea n t by environment ? In dealing with this que stion in

a pa rt ~ cu la r ay, will also ad dre ss th e issue of th e distinction betw een



78

THE ME NING

OF


mea ning an d com mu nication an d, finally, try to relate the se three

terms.

T he re a re different ways of conceptualizing th e environment,

which is to o broad a term t o be used successfully (a s are culturen an d

m any others; s e e R ap op ort, 1 9 7 9 a , 1 9 7 9 b , 1 9 7 6 b , 1 9 8 0 b , 1 9 8 0 ~ ) .

Different conc eptua lizations of th e term environment ha ve been

proposed ( Ittelson , 1 9 6 0 ; Lawton, 19 70 ; Moos, 1 9 7 4 ; Rapoport ,

1 9 7 7 ) , all of which d iscuss possible com po ne nt s of this term .

Before discussing these, it can b e suggested tha t the environm ent

can be se en as a series of relationships betw een things an d things,

things an d people, an d p eople an d p eople. Th ese relationships are

orderly, tha t is, they hav e a pattern a n d a structure-the enviro nm ent

is not rand om assemblage of things an d peo ple any m or e than a cul-

tu re is a r an do m a ssem blage of behav iors or beliefs. Both a re guided

by sch em ata t ha t act as templa tes, as it were, organizing both peop le's

lives and th e settings for their lives. In th e ca se of t he en viro nm ent, the

relationships a re primarily, altho ug h not exclusively, spatial-objects

and peo ple a re related through various deg rees of sepa ration in an d

by space . But when environm ents are being designed,

four

elements

are being organized (Rapopor t , 19 77 ) :

space

t ime

communication

me ning

T he re is so m e de gre e of ambiguity in th e use of the term s com -

munication an d m eaning. Com mu nication refers to verbal or

nonverbal com municat ion among people while m eanin g refers to

nonverbal comm unication from

the

environment to people. However,

these terms still seem the best available to describe what is being

discussed.

While all environm ents constitute complex interrelationships am ong

the se fou r elemen ts, it is useful conceptually to sep ar at e th em an d dis-

cuss them a s though they were sepa rate, s ince this leads to a better

understanding of th e natu re of environm ents an d th e relationships

between m eaning an d com municat ion. Since, for ou r purposes her e,

th e relationship betw een th es e two is the most im portan t, will first

briefly discuss spa ce an d tim e (for a m ore com plete discussion, se e

Rapoport, 1977 1 9 8 0 ~ ) .



Environment Meaning and Communication

179

rganization of space

P l a n n ~ n g n d design o n all scales-from regions to furniture gro up -

ings-can be see n as th e organization of sp ac e for different purp ose s

and according to different rules, which reflect the activities, values,

an d pu rpo se s of t he individuals or groups do ing th e organizing At th e

sam e t ime , space

organjzation also reflects ideal ima ges, represe nting

the congru ence (or , in cases wh ere th e system ceases to w ork, the lack

of co ng ruen ce ) between physical spac e an d social sp ac e. It is of interest

to no te tha t o n e can describe a great variety of types of sp ac e

(Rapoport 1970a) This variety and the fact that different groups,

whether cul tures o r subcultures such a s designers and th e lay public,

see an d evaluate spa ce differently m ak e an y definition of sp ac e dif-

ficult. Intuitively, how ever, s p ac e is the th ree-d im ens ion al extension

of the world around us, the intervals, distances, and relationsh~ps

between people an d peo ple , people an d things, things an d things.

S pa ce organization is, th en , th e way in which th es e sepa ration s (an d

linkages) occu r a n d is central in u nde rstandin g, analyzing, a n d co m -

paring built enviro nm ents.

rganization of time

Pe op le, however, live in time as well as spac e-the env ironm ent is

a lso tempora l, an d can , therefore , a lso be se en as th e organiza tion

of

t i m e

reflecting a n d influencing beha vior in time This may be un de r-

sto od in at least two major ways, T h e first refers t o large-scale, cogni-

tive structu ring of time su ch

as

linear flow (typical of o u r ow n culture )

versus cyclic tim e (m u c h m o re typical of m any traditional c ultu res) ;

future orientation versus past orientation; th e future as an improve-

m en t o ve r the p ast versus th e future as likely to b e w orse. This influ-

ences behavior an d decisions and, through those, environment Th us

in India, th e cyclic view of time (a s op p os ed to ou r linear conce ption)

has helped preserve elem ents (plants an d animals , for example) that

otherwise would have disapp eared, an d ha s a lso helped sh ap e th e

chara cter of cities (S op he r,

1964

In the c as e of th e United S tate s an d

Britain, th e respectw e futu re a nd past orientations hav e also led to

very different cultural land sc ap es (Low enthal. 1968,Lowenthal and

Prince,

1964, 1965 .

Su ch time structuring also influences how l ime ~ s v a lu e d nd , hence ,

how finely it is subd ivid ed Into limits. T h u s we advertise w atch es a s



18

THE ME NING OF

THE BUILT

ENVIRONMENT

being a ccu rate within o n e secon d a year, w hereas in tradit ional Pueblo

culture, a week was th e sm allest relevant t ime unit (Ortiz , 1 9 7 2 ) .Such

cultural differenc es clearly influence t h e sec on d m ajor way in which

cultural differences in the organization of time can be considered-

th e tem po s an d rhy thms of hu m an activities, that is, th e nu m be r of

even ts pe r unit time an d th e distribution of activities in time ( da y a n d

night, w eekday a nd rest day, seasonal , sacred an d profan e t imes, an d

s o on ) , respectively. Tem pos an d rhythms dis tinguish am on g grou ps

an d individuals w ho have different tem po ral signatures a n d they

may a lso be cong ruen t or incongruent wi th eac h o ther . T hu s peo ple

may be sep arate d in t ime a s well as, or instead of, sp ac e an d gr ou ps

with different rhythms occupying the s am e sp ac e may never m eet .

G ro up s with different tem pos may never com mu nicate . G ro up s with

different rhythm s may also be in conflict, a s w he n o n e gro up , in this

cas e the Swiss, regards a part icular t ime a s quiet an d for sleep, a n d

an ot he r grou p (in this case S o ut he rn Italians) regard it as a t ime for

noise an d boisterous activity (R apo po rt , 1 9 7 7 ) .Cu ltural conflicts a nd

problems may often b e m ore sev ere at th e temp oral level than a t the

spatial, although clearly spatial and temporal aspects interact and

influence o n e ano ther: People live in space -t ime .

Note a lso that many behaviors (nonfixed-feature e lements) tha t are

used to es tablish bou ndaries , asser t or de fin e identity , and so on , are ,

in effect, temp oral , a l thou gh while they ar e happ en ing they n ee d a nd

us e settings an d o the r physical elem ents. This applies to pilgrimages

a n d o the r ritual m ove m ents, carnivals, festivals, an d o th er rites (se e

Rapoport ,

1981 .O n e exam ple o f this is provided

by

Scot land, where

periodic, recurrent cerem onial assemblies based on pilgrimages are

used to o rganize th e links betw een urban centers an d hinterlands. At

th e sa m e time, however, these a lso nee d se tt ings . T he highland c lan

gatherings use ancestral castles, highland gam es an aren a ; lowland

Sco ts of t h e southw est use the ch urch , while in the B ord ers ar ea

of

lowland Sco tland the town is th e significant setting (Neville, 1 9 7 9 ) .

T hu s the m eaning of thes e e lemen ts dep en ds on the temporal use

they receive-the period ic gatherin gs.

rganization of communication

T h e organization of sp ace an d t ime are both aspe cts of the ge neral

question on e can ask abo ut h um an activities-who d oe s what, includ-

ing or excluding w hom , wh en, an d where-they ar e th e

w h e n

and

where . T h e who doe s wh at with whom is the

organization

of

com




181

rnunication am on g people . W ho com munica tes with who m , under

what condit ions, how, wh en, wh ere, an d in what co ntext an d si tuation

is an important way in w h ~ c h om m unicat ion a n d the built environ-

m ent ar e re la ted Environm ents both reflect com m unicat ion an d

m od ul at e it, ch an ne l it, co ntro l it, facilitate it, inhibit it B oth e nv iro n-

m ents a n d co m m un ~c atio n r e culturally variable; th e nature, intensity,

ra te , an d direct ion of interact ion v a y a s d o the sett ings appro priate to

it. Privacy, as a system of ~ n t e r a c t ~ o nn d w ithdrawal, is also related to

it-one can study the various individuals a n d gro up s w ho are l inked or

sep arated , the sensory m odalities involved, and th e m ech anism s used:

sep aration in s pa ce ; physical dev ices su ch a s walls, do or s, a n d th e like;

organization of t ime; rules; m an ner s; a n d av oid an ce an d psychologi-

cal withdrawal R ap op or t, 1 9 7 6 b ,

1977 .

W e hav e bee n discussing meaning for so m e t ime, bu t it may be use -

ful to res tate th e principal fe atu res of its orga niz atio n, after reiterating

that meaning is communicat ion from the environment to people ,

wh ereas comm unication, as used here, refers to com munication am on g

peop le, wh ethe r face to face or in o ther ways.

rganization of meaning

S p ac e organization, as have used it abo ve, is a m ore fundam ental

pro perty of t he env ironm ent th an is sh ap e, th e ma terials that give it

physical expression a n d otherc hara cteristics, which can m or e usefully

be see n as an asp ect of th e organlzat lon of m eanin g T h e organization

of meaning can then be separated from the organization of space,

bo th concep tually an d in fact, a s already n ote d

While space organization i tself expresses meaning and has com-

municative propert ies, meaning is often expressed through signs,

materials, colors, forms, sizes, furnishings, landscap ing, m ain tena nc e,

a n d th e like-as we hav e already seen-an d by peo ple them selves

T hu s spatial mea nings can be Indicated by walls o r other sh ar p breaks,

or by gradients or transitions Th ey can be indicated by sanctity th e

presence of religious sym bols) , by p lanting , by various o bjec ts or

furnishings-of buildings o r urb an spa ce s, by tre at m en t of floor or

gro un d surfaces or level ch an ge s, by th e pre sen ce of particular pe op le,

an d so on-that is, by fixed-, sem ifixed-, a n d nonfix ed-f eatur e ele-

m ents see Figure

28) .

T hu s both spat ia l an d oth er system s of cues m ay identify se t t~ ng s,

which then be co m e indicators

of

social position, ways of establishing

gr ou p or social identity, ways of defining situations a n d h en c e indicat-



82

THE MEANING

OF


-f of2~

igure

8

ing expected behavior-but only

if

the cues are comprehensible a nd

can b e de co de d, al though, as hav e tried to show, this decoding is not

usually too difficult.

T he pu rpose o structuring sp ac e an d t ime is to org anize a nd struc-

ture comm unication interact ion, avoidance, dom inance, an d s o on),



Environment. Meaning and Communication 183

a n d this is do n e partly throug h organizing meaning. T h e organization

of com mu nication also influences th e organization of t he oth er thre e

variables-in fact, all four interact in many, interesting, an d com plex

ways.

he

rel tionship between

me ning nd comm unic t ion

T h e relationship of th e last two, m ean ing a n d com mu nication, as

aspec ts of the e nviron me nt is our principal them e. T h e argum ent ha s

bee n that m eaning of ten com mun icates th e context (who should

interact with w hom , w hen , u nd er w hat conditions), tha t is, it com-

mu nicates how. Meaning, as we h ave se en , also provides information

ab ou t status, lifestyle, ethnicity, a n d oth er variables. Th es e a r e a n

impo rtant part of both t h e contex t a n d th e situation that influences

com m unic ation. It do es this in a way we ha ve not yet discussed-the

m ean ing inherent in settings pop ulate d by particular gr ou ps an d of

communicating lifestyle, s tatus, and the l ike has the purpose of

locating people o n e doe s not know in social spa ce an d, throug h t h a t

me chanism , influencing comm unication.

In this latter connection, an interesting and important question

arises : U nd er what conditions would th e environment be m ore lor ess

important regarding the meanings it provides? Let us pose this

qu es tion in term s of wh en it is less imp or tan t. A nu m ber of conditions

immediately co m es to mind. For example:

(a ) Environm ental mea nings a r e less imp ortant in small places

wh ere eve ryon e is kno wn , su ch a s in a village, a small com m unity, a n

aboriginal cam p, or th e like. Even in s uc h cases, however, su ch environ-

m ental m ea nin g ma y b e useful. For exa mp le, in th e mill villages in

North Carolina, th e distance from th e mill an d top ographic elevation

comm unicated perceived distance in status between overseers hou ses

a n d workers houses, which was further reinforced by the form er being

larger, having porches, a n d s o on (Glass,

1978:

147 ;

yet , the com -

munity was small enough for these differences to be

nown

to all.

Similarly, we ha ve s ee n tha t in t h e ev en sm aller M Buti ca m p, physical

cues , such a s changed entra nce d irec tions, houses turned arou nd, and

th e building of spite fences (Turnbull,

1961 ,

re used to indicate shift-

ing communication and interaction patterns. People now which

relationships hav e chan ged, but the se mne mo nics help everyone a nd

certainly help new arrivals or pe op le returning to the ca m p after a n

absen ce to unde rs tand th e current s ituation. However , they ar e cer .



84


tainly less important than in larger-scale, more complex environ-

ments. This se em s clear on intuitive grounds an d has already been

discussed above ( see a lso Rapopor t, 19 79 a , 19 79 b) .T h e significance

of scale in this con ne ction is beg inning to receive recognition in soc ial

sc ience ( see B e rr em a n , 1 9 7 8 ) ,althoug h it has not been much studied

regarding environm ents. It do es se em clear that cultural homo geneity

is

gre ate r in small-scale societies a nd it therefo re follows that the role

of physical elem ents to locate peo ple in social sp ac e cann ot be as

important as it is in larger-scale situations.

(b) Environmental cue s ar e less imp ortant whe re there ar e rigid,

known, and widely accepted social hierarchies. Under those con-

ditions comm unicatio n is highly predictable a nd cu es from settings are

less impo rtant. S o m e ways of com mu nicatingstatus a nd hierarchy are

still ne e d e d , howev er. It th us follows that:

c)

Environmental cues are less important when other cues and

indicators ar e pr es en t a n d work well-accent, clothing, old sch ool

ties, a n d th e like. An ecdotally,

was o nc e told by a grad uate stude nt

who had been a taxi driver in New York City tha t th e na tu re of brief-

case s a n d atta ch e cases provided a set of c ue s tha t helped taxi drivers

locate p eople in social spa ce an d thus decide whether to pick them u p

o r not.

Given these conditions, one might then conclude that such cues

would be more important in the United States and similar places:

Accents tend to b e m inly (althoug h not entirely) regional an d d o not

locate pe op le in social sp ac e; clothing is mass p rod uc ed an d its use is

rather com plex an d nonsystematic; the society is large and complex;

cars are available o n credit or can be leased-many peo ple hav e

expe nse accounts . Und er those condi tions, o n e would expect that

environm ental indicators would bec om e m or e important th an else-

where . It is difficult to o btain a h o u se of a certain ty pe w ithou t a se t of

particular educational, occupational, economic, and social charac-

teristics, and even m ore difficult to fake location-the ne ighborhood

o r a r e a

of

th e city in which o n e lives. This m ay be a n e nv iron m en tal

equivalent of the differential difficulty of hiding emotions through

nonverbal expression in th e nonfixed-feature realm.

T he se hypotheses, or guesses, are partly sup porte d by an ecd otal

an d personal evidence that in the U nited Sta tes o n e is often ask ed

up on meeting people, W hat d o you do? (which defines edu catio n,

occu pationa l status, lifestyle, an d possible income) an d W here d o

you live? which help s def ine th e rest. This receives passing su pp or t in



Environment Meaning

and

Communication

85

s o m e of th e literature dealin g with social ar ea s In cities (se e Timm s,

1 9 7 1 , J oh n st on , 1 9 7 1 a , 1 9 7 1 b ; Peach , 1 9 7 5 ). In other w ords, loca-

tion in physical sp ac e be co m es an indicator of location in social sp ac e

At smaller scales, the presence of people in particular shopping,

recreational, dining, and other settings also locates them in social

space. Recall, also, that these settings In turn communicate th ir

character via environmental cues.

O nc e th e c ue b ecom es known, and the part icular regulari ties in

given cultures und ers tood, this becom es easier. Th ere are a lso so m e

cross-cultural regularities regarding en viro nm en tal quality of residen-

tial areas-a ltitude, views i f

not of industry), w ate r-ed ge location

i f

nonindustrial ,

location in c en ter or periphery, th e known status of a

na m ed a rea (which may be associational rather th an perceptual; see

Rapopor t , 1 9 7 7 31-3 2) At the pe rcep tua l l evel, we have seen re-

pea tedly t h e role of lawns, m ain te na nc e, litter, kinds of ho use s, an d

m any o th er variables. T h e arg um en t implicit in all this is tha t ~ people

can be located in social spa ce , an d he nc e in a likely contex t a n d situa -

tion, that is, if they can be categorized, this ma kes things m ore pre-

dictable ( o r less unpred ictable) a n d o n e is m ore likely to interact with

such people than ~ they cannot be located in social space and

remain strangers.

T h ~ srgum ent, based o n ap rior i groun ds derived from th e evidence

reviewed, receives stron g sup po rt from a stud y by Lofland (1 9 7 3 )

Whereas my argument

ha s

dealt mainly, although not exclusively,

with residential locations, Lofland's deals mainly with public places

T h e quest ion is how o n e can locate pe op le encoun tered in public

places in social sp ace , given that o n e do e s not interact with strang ers,

that is, pe op le whom o n e cann ot s o locate . Lofland argues that in

traditiorlal societies th ere was a w ide ran ge of cu es, both traditional

an d prescribed

by

law (recall o u r discussion of su m pt ua ry laws earlier),

having to d o with clo th ~ ng , airstyles, sho es, body scars, tatoo s a n d

decora t ions , and so on tha t have disappeared. Under those con-

ditions, the re is only o n e mechanism available--public settings be com e

less public an d m or e gr ou p specific Th es e settings provide th e con -

texts; by seein g peo ple frequ ent th ese settings, we can locate th em in

social spac e. H en ce th e proliferation of

group-speciflc settings tha t

traditionally were public.

Lofland's hypothesis was tested, although briefly, by a student of

mine (Plwoni, 1 9 7 6 ) . H e com pared illustra tions an d descript ions

mainly of med ieval public spaces an d ~d entifie dhe rather wide rang e



86


of peo ple w ho were present, accepted , an d involved. H e the n exam ined

a set of co n t em po ra y U.S. public places. It do es see m a s tho ug h the se

places are becoming m ore a nd m ore specialized an d grou p specif ic:

Each o n e provides a set of cue s th at com m unicates m eanings telling

peo ple to s tay o ut o r enter an d, to s om e extent , predicts th e kind of

behaviors to be expected an d appropriate .

Yet the dis tinction may be drawn too acutely and m ad e to o con-

trasting. Although th e cu es m ay b e m ore subtle, or not present physi-

cally, most traditional environm ents d o provide settings tha t a re g rou p

specific and the character of which is given by physical cues that

rem ind pe op le of th e expected behavior, so that they act almost

automatically. O n e exam ple is th e m en's sa cre d building in th e S epik

River area of New Gu inea known a s the Ha us Tam baran , where

height, sha p e, decoratio n, an d o th er strikingly noticeable differences

clearly distinguish it f rom the surrounding dwell ings (Rapoport ,

1 9 6 9 c :

44;

197910). In fact, m en 's ho us es ar e foun d all over New

Guinea (Rapoport, 19 8 1 ) , n Afghanistan, India (Singh an d Cha ndh oke ,

1 9 6 6 , 1 9 6 7 ) ,Africa (F ernandez , 1 9 7 7 ),an d elsewhere, an d ar e usually

clearly distinguished from o th er buildings. A m on g Turkish no m ad s,

also, men's an d wom en's tents can be found (see Cuisenier , 19 7 0 ) ,

thu s helping structure com m unication ev en th ou gh sex identity is easy

to distinguish w ithout th e ten t or ho use .

Note that in all thes e ca ses , while th e difference is noticeable even t o

th e ou tsider, th e com plex of relevant behaviors a n d th e social inter-

actions an d comm unicat ions enco urage d, discouraged, or prevented

ar e culture specific an d c an only oc cur

i

th e cultural c o de is known.

Location, height, size, and decoration d o not indicate, for examp le,

social sta tus but sexua l a n d ritual differences, ea ch with their ap pro -

priate behaviors le arn ed thro ug h enculturation generally an d taug ht

thr ou gh initiation specifically.

In A frica generally, we find settings with se ts of cu es t ha t identify

app rop riate behaviors in terms of th e distinction betwee n m en an d

wom en (se e Levin , 97 ;F e rn a nd e z, 1 9 7 7 ) .That these are not con-

fined only to preliterate culture can be seen from num ber of exam ples

from Anglo-American culture. In many o f the se cases , th e cu es that

indicate the belongingness of ei ther m en o r wo m en may be v e y

subtle-or ev en nonexistent. In this respect, they a r e v e y similarto th e

traditional exam ples given above . At the s a m e time, they te nd to be

primarily-although no t exclusively-in th e semifixed- (o r nonfixed)

feature realms.



Environment Meaning and Communication 187

T hu s we find in certain a re as of Chic ago an d East Lon do n th at the

dwelling is very m uc h th e wom an's do m ain , w her e m en feel

l l

a t ease

(Suttles,

968;

Young an d Wilmott, 19 6 2 ) .This was mainly kn own .

but was also indicated by th e pres en ce of c ue s suc h a s lace curtains

an d doilies, furniture covers, an d m any delicate wh at-nots, which

were se en as being at od ds with th e crude nature of m en . For m en

there we re othe r settings-such as tavern s a nd pub s, as well a s street

settings, which were much more important parts of their house-

sett lement system (see Rapoport , 19 7 7, 198 0a , an d 19 82 ) . In Aus-

tralia, traditionally, in hotels the public bar was for men only, and

w om en, alone or accompanied by m en, drank in lounges. This was

known, bu t was also indicated by t he g eneral decor. Bars fronted the

street, w ere large, cavernous, tiled, with no seating, noisy, und eco rated

except by beer a n d l iquor advertisem ents, s tressing sports . Th ey h av e

b ee n generally desc ribed a s looking like large public urinals. Lou ng es

ten de d to be in th e interior , carpe ted, havingchalrs a nd tables , deco ra-

tions-all pro du cing a softer, m or e feminine, or at least ge nteel,

image. Thus what was known was reinforced by physical cues-by

m nem onics, which were further reinfoiced by th e nonfixed eleme nts.

th e purely masculine crow d, their beh avior, noise levels, a n d clothing

in th e o n e case, the mixed crowd with v e y d if ferent dress code s and

very different behav ior an d noise levels in th e o ther. O n e easily a n d

quickly a dju ste d on e's behavior accordingly. Kno wing th es e things is

important.

f

o n e is hungry, o n e wa nts to be able easily t o identify a

place to ea t , know t h e price range, type of food, how o n e nee ds to be

dressed, an d how m uch it will cost before o n e wants to know w here to

ente r. As already sug ges ted, th e succ ess of chain o pe rat ion s is fre-

quen tly a function of the ir grea t predictability; th e tradition in ce rtain

places of displaying m en us ou tside a n d allowing views into th e estab-

l ishment are devices used t o com m unica te the se desired m eanings .

T h e former m eth od , how ever, is m ore interesting theoretically.

T h e effectiveness of these-as of m an y oth er syste m s of cues-

de pe nd s not on ly on ad eq ua te r edundan cy ( so tha t cues a re no ticed).

Their unde rstand ing de p en d s o n predictability, which, in turn, d ep en d s

no t only o n e ncu lturation, but consiste ncy of use. This is possibly th e

m os t imp ortant characterist ic that m ak es chain op eratio ns successful.

Each t ime a part icular s ign, roof sh ap e, building s ha pe , a n d s o on

(McDonald's, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, Hilton, Heritage

Bank, or whatever) is used to predict fully and successfully the

services, produ cts, behaviors, prices, a n d s o on , the cu es reinforce



88 THE ME NING

O


their predictability a n d h en ce their effectiveness. They be co m e m or e

suc cessful in prod uc ing beh avio ral invariance-that is, in ter m s of th e

argu m ent earlier o n , in restr ic ting th e ra nge o f acceptable an d app ro-

pria te behaviors (s ee a lso Kot tak, 1 9 7 9 ) . In a se nse, when the lay

public com plains tha t churc hes , pos t offices, banks, and s o on

11

longer look like church es, post offices, o r w hatev er, o n e of th e things

they ar e saying is that the e xpected behav iors are not clear, an d also

that the des igne rs hav e neg lected meaning-particularly users'

meaning.

The above discussion relates to the interaction of meaning and

communication. In many traditional societies, the effectiveness of

subtle cues de pe nd s on their consistency. S o m e exam ples hav e already

been given. Co nsider another-am ong th e Bed ouin, th e typical ten t

always has th e s am e divis ions in the sa m e ord er so that o n e knows

where m en , wo m en, and an imals a re loca ted . Ten ts a re a lso arranged

in st an da rd iz ed ways a n d , in Israel, fa ce ea st fro nt) . It is of interest

to note th at wh en m ore perm anen t dwellings are f irst constructed,

they rep eat this order-the s am e sp ac e organization persists.

T h e m en's section (which is also th e gu est roo m ) is further indicated

by other external cues. O n e that have observed is a ch an ge in the

floor surface, with sa nd o r oth er materials al tering theR na tura l tate

of the ground. Note that , parenthetically, frequently one finds the

equ ation s m en culture a n d wo m en na ture in various societ ies.

A n

ex am ple already d iscussed is provid ed in th e ca se of u rba n ho using in

Ugan da. Here the distinctions between semipublic, private, and hidden

rooms are based o n this basic dis tinction (s ee Kam au, n .d .) an d the

nature of these three domains is communicated through physical

cues. Thus semipubl ic spaces, used for enterta ining and men, are

indicated by dec oratio ns, furnishings, an d so on-which also indicate

social status . In fact, inventories of objects an d their ar ra ng em en ts can

be made, and the e lements and arrangements a lso indicate s i t t ing

versus eat ing areas. Private spac es a re m ainly b edro om s a nd , again,

are indicated by furnishings. Different be dro om s (such as the m aster

be dr oo m ) ar e indicated by th e quality of furniture, its a m ou n t, an d its

cleanliness. H idde n spaces-kitchens, show ers, an d lavatories-are

clearly show n by th e eq uip m en t they c onta in. In th e cas e of a Maya

house-a very small sp ac e,

20

fee t by 15 feet-the clea r division into

m en's a n d wom en's d om ain s is indicated both by consistent location

within the sp ace a n d by cue s such a s hearth and m etate for wom en

an d al tar for men (see Rapoport ,

1979a .

Note that in all the se c ase s,



Environment Meaning and Communication 189

communication and interaction are greatly influenced by sex dlf-

ferences.

T h e sec on d addi tiona l cu e for the men ' s /gues t par t of the tent used

am on g Bedouin is a h ea p of a she s ( from the f ire used to m ake th e

inevitable tea an d coffee or , in s o m e cases , th e foo d acco m panying

hospitality). In villages o r tent clusters, w he re on ly o n e m en 's section

serves as a gues t room , th is ash he ap beco m es impor tant O ther cues

used ar e th e rela tive op en ne ss of th e sections, the furnishings, the

people seen , an d s o on . T h e a sh heap , which ind icates guest room,

intercepts visitors, th at is, stran ger s, a n d in this way contro ls com -

mun icat ion (see Figure 2 9 )

In this case, as in that of an A borig inator N avah o cam p, th er e is also

an invisible , but k now n, bo un dary a t whlch o n e ne ed s to wait in o rd er

to b e adm it ted to th e ca m p or se t t lem ent in the f irst place; com mu nica-

tion is controlled at various places. All of th es e d ep en d o n consistency

of u se a n d of location within t h e tent an d e nc am pm en t. as well as a

know ledge of th e rules regarding be h a v ~ o r ef ined by the situation

a n d a willingness to follow th es e rules. W ithout all th es e co nd ition s,

the system would not work in org anizing cornmun icatlon.

In th e c ase of a n Anglo-Am erican ho us e, there is a who le set of

cues-fence, porch, front doo r, living roo m do or, an d s o on-that

indica tes how far o n e pene tra tes depe nding o n w ho o n e is; corn-

m unication is controlled (se e, for exam ple , my inte rpre tatio n of

Ha rr ing ton , 1 9 6 5 ; in Ra popor t , 1 9 7 7 : 20 0 ) . O the r e xam ples c a n be

given, including comparison of fence locations (Rapoport, 1 9 6 9 ~ ;

And erson and Moore ,

1 9 7 2 )

an d m any o the r cues For examp le , the

traditional Russian h o u se is com m on ly divided into a clean half,

w here guests ar e recetved, an d a dirty half , w here cooking an d other

similar work takes place. The division is indicated by location-the

form er being off th e stree t, th e latter off th e yard-reinforced by

sepa ra te en t rances , with the f ron t en t rance b e ~ n gurth er stres sed by a

small por ch ; th e clean half is al so ind icated by displays of t h e famlly's

bes t goods (Du nn an d D unn , 1 9 6 3 ) . Such sys tems of cu es clearly

guide and inf luence communicat ion pat terns . These kinds of cues

generally m ay b e very sub tle yet co ntro l privacy gradients a n d h e n c e

com m unica tion very effect~ vely, articularly in case s w here th er e ar e

c lea r and unambiguous ru le s , homogeneous populations clear

hierarchies, and consis tent use of the se devices (R apo po rt , 1 9 7 9 a ) .

At a la rg er sca le , meanings can be comrnunica ted th roug h mater ia ls

in very culture-specific ways, whlch, o n ce kno w n, en ab le a n u nd er-



19

THE ME NING

OF


I W O U ~ ~

hh 9 OUT

p ~ N T JEC~~ JCe y h n l l Z * q d

~~?oPo~T

Figure

29

standing of larger-scale com mu nication patterns. For example, am ong

the B edouin, s ton e or oth er perm anen t materials ar e only used in the

dwell ings replacing tents w hen thes e a re built o n land belonging to th e

tribe o r su bg ro up of which t he individual in q uestion is a m em be r. In

oth er cases, less du rab le materials ar e used. This then indicates the

relation of individuals to t h e gro up. A m on g Be dou in also, tom bs of

sheikhs or saints ar e often used to establish ow nership of land as is

fou nd , for exam ple , in Wadi Firan in th e Sinai). This role of tom bs is,




9

o n c e again , culturally specific a n d ne ither intuitively clear no r leg-

ible unless o n e knows th e co de . Their impo rtance is, howev er, stressed

thro ug h location, form, an d color (whitewash) as well a s the pres en ce

of offerings, occupational debris , an d s o o n Also, on ce th e c od e is

know n, th e mean ings can be u nd ersto od easily. O n e the n quickly dis-

covers that such tombs , am on g the Bedouin g roups in th e southern

Sinai, act a s mee ting places (show n by having co oking a n d dining

facilities ad jacen t, coo king utensils, a n d s o on ) that reinforce tribal

identity an d foster interaction an d com mun ication am o ng dispersed

an d no m adic groups. Th ese meetings reaffirm the se groups ' mem -

bersh ip in th e tribe a n d their right to use its resou rces; they ar e also

occ asion s for m eeting friends, relatives, a n d visitors from o th er tribes:

T he holy to m b is a

very pre cise im age of territorial claims o n th e land

and of the Bedouin's conception of territory as embodied in t h e

group (Marx , 1 9 7 6 :25 .

As

su ch it clearly stru ctures com m unic ation.

T he se two func tions of to m b s o r shrine s of saints-of marking ow ner-

ship an d structuring interaction and com mu nication-were also found

among the Nubians along the Nile before their relocation in New

Nubia (Fe rnea e t al., 1 9 7 3 ) .

Note that m any of thes e cues co mm unicate meanings

in

culture-

specific ways in ord er to structure a n d co ntrol interaction an d co m -

mun ication. Note also tha t th e rules a re social, but t h e cues ar e fre-

que ntly physical. W hat they d o, in effect, is to loc ate pe op le in par-

ticular sett ings that a re equivalen t to portions of social sp ac e an d th us

define a context a n d a situation a s w e sa w earlier in t h e c ase of offices.

In s o doin g, they categ orize peo ple. By categorizing pe o p e in this way,

interaction and communication are clearly l imited in some way-

so m e forms of interaction a n d comm unicat ion beco m e inappropriate .

S o m e groups may even be excluded-that is, if the particular form o f

categorization is stigmatization, ther e is n o interaction. B ut th e argu-

m en t is that i f th er e is o categorization,

interaction

is likely to b ec o m e

even less since o n e do es not interact with strangers (Lofland, 1 9 7 3 ).

have previously discussed conditions under which physical cues

f ro m the environment may becom e mo re or less impor tant . T he re is

o n e other such condit ion not yet discussed. hav e argue d elsewhere

that u nd er con ditions of high criticality, physical en vir on m en ts ge n-

erally becom e impor tan t (Rapopor t , 1 9 7 7 ,1 9 7 9 c , 19 80 c , fo rthcom-

in g ). This also applies t o th e role of m eanin g in controlling interaction

and communication. A particular form of heightened criticality is

environmental s tress, and a particular response is what has been



92

THE ME NING

OF

THE BUILT ENVIRONMEN T

called

defensive s tructuring

(Siegel,

1970 .

O n e of th e characteristics

of this particular respo ns e is th e gr ea terr elia nc e on particular environ-

men tal cue s that indicate identity a n d thus h elp chann el comm unica-

tion processes.

Consider two examples am on g the many available ( for others , and

m ore details, se e Rapoport , 1981 . m on g the Maori in New Ze aland,

m any traditional cultural elemen ts have bec om e co nde nsed or con-

cen trated in a

space , the

Marae ,

the importance of which has been

little noticed by whites precisely because it is a space rather than a

building o r object. It is a spatia l-sym bolic realm , a spa tial expression of

a n imp ortant set of cognitive dom ains, categories, an d ele m ents of th e

culture, a rem nan t microcosm

of

traditional culture (Austin, 1 9 7 6 ) .

It also provides th e app ropr iate setting fo r a rang e of critically impor-

tant behaviors, am on g the m rituals , r itual meals, and meetings a m on g

various groups. The M a r a e a re se en as symbols of M aoritanga

(Maoriness), of being a Maori, s o that to be a Maori m ea ns to have

a h o m e

Marae

(Austin, 1 9 7 6 : 2 38 -2 3 9 ). Increasingly, Maori ar e

calling for the provision of

Marae ,

with their acco m pany ing gateways,

meeting houses, and dining halls, in urban areas where they can

bec om e indicators of Maori identity an d focal points. O n e could ev en

predict that in time, if no impediments are placed in their way by

go ve rnm en t policy, Maori would ten d increasingly t o co nc en trat e in

specific urban neigh borh oods, lea ding t o th e dev elopm ent of specific

institutions an d othe r forms. While the se an d many othe r semifixed-

a n d n onfixe d-feature elemen ts will all help to express an d maintain

ethnic identity, th e Marae see m s to b e th e s ingle most important, core

elem en t. It sho uld be stre ssed th at it plays a role in structuring inter-

action a n d com mu nication in two domains-among Maori an d be-

tween M aori a n d now Maori .

Am ong th e M ayo Indians of So no ra, Mexico, a num ber of elements

are also used to define the ethnic identity of th e group: the settlem ent

pattern, churches, cemeteries, and others. T h e key elem ents, however,

ar e the ho us e crosse s tha t identify Mayo dwellings ( a s well a s oth er

crosses tha t m ark boundaries an d important sites or sett ings). T he se

crosses a n d th e sac red p aths linking the m , which are used for periodic

ritual m ovem ent, ar e th e strongest indicators an d definers of ethnic

identity am on g that grou p (Crumrine,

1964,

1 9 7 7 ) . In effect, they

locate people in social space and, in this way, clearly influence the

ex tent an d form s of co m m un icatio n a t th e highest level of generality of

grou p m em bers versus n on-g roup mem bers, that is, us versus them. It



Environment. Meaning and Communication 193

has been argued, in fact, that this is a primary function of culture

ge ne rally T hr ou gh this distinction, culture bo th prevents or limits)

an d encourages communication -the former am on g groups, the secon d

wit in

groups.

It

will be n ote d tha t after discussing th e role of public sp ac es which

ar e stressed by Lofland,

1973),

retu rne d to exam ples of residential

sett ings al though as part of the hou se-se tt lem ent system). This is

be ca us e it se em s tha t in cities, th e m ost im por tant way of locating

pe op le in social sp ace is thr ou gh w here th ey live: their neig hb orh oo d,

address, associational an d percep tual characteristics of the a rea , street,

house, garden, an d other elem ents all comm unicate and locate people

in social space.

will thus c onc lude this a rgu m ent with a n exam ple from C an ad a dis-

cussed in so m e detail. In this study, interaction tha t is, co m m un ica-

t ion) was compared in detached houses and apartment bui ldings

Reed, 1974).

T h e finding w as th at, counterintuitively, interaction wa s

h ~ g h e rn ho use s. At this poin t, d o not wish t o discuss th e validity of

this finding or th e sup po rt it might receive from o th er studies. W ha t

wish t o d o is to accept the f inding, an d c om par e th e reaso ns given to

th e argum ent of th is mo nograp h.

Five sets of re aso ns a re given fo r th e h igher levels of interaction a n d

com mu nication in d eta ch ed dwellings, which can b e described in

so m ew ha t modified form) a s follows:

I ) the physlcal structure or layout of the residential type

2)

the symbolic better, commun~cative) spects of the residential units

3) the relative homogeneity or heterogeneity of the respective populations

4) the nature of the information control provided by the respective units

5) the mobility of the respective populations and the~rength of res~dence

will now in terp ret these findings in terms of s o m e of o u r discussion.

O n e can a rg ue that , with th e ex ception of point 1 all of th em rela te

to my argum ent . O n e can further arg ue that a) even th e first point

lea ds to higher probabilities of ch an ce e nc ou nte rs, that is, we a re de al-

ing with a direct effect of th e sp ac e organiza tion o n organ ization of

comm unicat ion, an d b) several of th e others dep en d o n th e part icular

form of hous ing a n d its spatial organ ization. T h e oth er points all repre-

sen t mo re lndirect effects an d can be u nde rstoo d in term s of t h e dis-

tinction be twee n wan ted an d unw anted interaction, that

is,

in term s

of

pnvacy defined as the control of unw anted interaction se e Rapoport ,



94

THE

M E AN IN G O F THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

1 9 7 6 b , 1 9 7 7 ) . Let us exam ine the remaining four reasons in som e-

wha t m or e detail.

2)

If

in o rd er to interact with p eople, o n e nee ds to locate th em in

social space , then it follows that o n e nee ds information a bo ut people.

Location an d t h e natu re o f the residential s tructure, th e quality of

streets , a n d oth er associational an d perceptual cue s already discussed

allow some general inferences to be made. In addition, however,

ho us es also allow persona lization, th at is, th e m anipulation of a large

number of cues in the semifixed realm that communicate specific

information ab ou t people-their prefe rence s, status, lifestyles, a n d s o

o n. In ap art m en ts, which a re identical an d h av e little or n o possibility

of p erson alizatio n, this information is lacking. This could b e o ve rco m e

partially if th e popu lation we re highly ho m og ene ou s, but this is wh ere

th e next point co m es in .

3) It is found that apar tments tend t o ho use m or e heterogeneous

populat ions tha n d o groups of houses . This makes peop le in the m not

only less identifiable by ph ysic alcues, but a lso less predictable socially.

T h es e two also interact-one way of judging the hom oge neity of a

population is precisely through semifixed-feature elements-main-

tainance, lawns, personalization, planting, colors, and so on-par-

titularly

if they add up to a recognizable character, that is , are not

random.

4) In ap ar tm ents , d u e t o the form of the s pa ce organization (point

1)a n d particularly th e lack of co m m on o p e n sp ac e, it is m o re difficult

to obse rve the com ings a n d goings of p eo pl e to specific dwellings-of

visitors, deliveries, time s pe nt o n m ainte na nce an d gardening, t ime

sp en t o n recreation-and th e forms of recreation. T he re is th us dif-

ficulty in judging lifestyles a n d h en ce the location of p eo ple in social

spa ce again bec om es m ore difficult-a problem co m po un de d

by

the

greater heterogeneity, or diversity of lifestyles. This lack of visual

information ab ou t how to place people in social space is com po un de d

by the reverse p he no m en on in othe r sensory modalities: In apartm ents

it is m o re difficult to co ntro l unw an ted inform ation th ro ug h olfactory

an d aural channels. As a result , unwanted information m ay be com -

municated that might be embarrassing. This further inhibits inter-

action . T h u s it is th e

control

over th e cues th at see m s signif icant: O ne

might almost say tha t while ho use s allow front meanings, apartm en ts

reveal back meanings.

Since the com municat ion of m eanin g through en vironmental an d

oth er cu es is a n asp ect of th e ma na ge m en t of th e flow of inform ation,



Environment Meaning

and

Communication 195

we are generally discussing fron t rath er th an back behavior. Many of

th e exam ples of th e negative identity stigma) attributed to pe op le via

enviro nm ental c ue s for ex am ple , th e definition of slums) is frequently

related to frontlback reversals, s o that me anings culturally defined as

inappropriate by th e receiving grou p ar e pres ent.

5) T h e high rate of mobility in apa rtm en ts m ea ns no t only greater

uncertainty ab ou t w ho pe op le are, a n d th us grea ter unpredictabil ity; it

also

m ea ns th at th er e 1s less opp ortunity both to establish informal

normative structure and to maintain it by the socialization

of

new-

com ers through sanct ions.

Gen erally, the n, four of th ese f ive points a nd man y a re related to

the first) ar e d u e t o m eanings being com mu nicated, mainly by semifixed

and nonfixed elements, which then influence interaction, that is,

comm unication-which is, of cours e, w he re we ca m e in.



ON LUSION

W hat se em s significant abo ut this last exam ple, th e m any othe rs

given, an d still othe rs that could hav e b een used, but w ere not, is that

suddenly a considerable numb er

of

things fit into place .

A

large frame-

work begins to em erg e, linking ma ny apparently diverse a n d unrelated

con cep ts, theo ries, disciplines, a n d findings, which w as, in fact, o n e of

th e objectives describ ed in th e preface. In fact, this fram ew ork begins

to pred ict things tha t existing empirical s tudies confirm. Clearly, studies

specifically set u p t o test predictions, a n d t o stud y this wh ole a pp ro ac h,

would prov e eve n m ore useful.

O n e different way of con ceptua lizing s o m e of th e a rgu m en ts in this

m on og rap h is as follows:

P ercep tua l

ssociationat

noticeabIe differences

reinforced

th e decod lng of the m eaning of

by red un da nc y tha t In them selves elem ents, their associations with

have s om e sign if icance a n d m ean -

use a n d behavior, derlved partly

ing by draw ing attention to them -

from consisten t use, partly f rom

se lves th rough contrast a n d

th e cultural rules asso ciated with

thr ou gh th e selection of which sett ings, tha t is, th e contex t an d

cues a r e m ad e no t iceab le. th e s itua tion

de f~n i t ion

of

th e se tt ing , th e m nem onic

functions

of which activate subroutines for

culturally ap pro pri ate , m or e or less routin-

] zed behav ior , i nc l ud ~n gh e locati on of

people In soc ia l spa ce an d henc e com mu nl-

ca t~ on , ence the import ance of t he built

environment

a n d ~ t sarly app ea ra nc e in

t h e d e v e lo p m e n t

of

t h e human spec ies

97



98

THE ME NING OF THE UILT ENVIRONMENT

Clearly , the goal has b een to set ou t th is a pproach an d f ramework a s

clearly a n d succinctly a s possible. As a result, ha ve left o u t m uch , and

simplified considerably. Yet h o p e th e utility of th e ap pr oa ch h as be en

dem onst ra te d . Its utility, in my view, is twofold. First, it is

specific

This

h as t o d o with th e relative simplicity of using t he non verba l com -

munication model. In fact, the very criticism occasionally leveled

against no nv erb al com m un icatio n research-that it lacks theory, is

overly simple, an d so on-is, in so m e ways, a n advantage. It ap pro ach es

suc h behavior

in

th e f irst instance th roug h observation, recording, an d

the n analysis. It is th us relatively sim ple a n d straightforw ard t o use . It is

also relatively easy to transfer th e a pp ro ac h fro m purely nonfixed-

fea tur e elements to semifixed- and f ixed-feature elements. At the

sa m e time, the re is sufficient theory , both in n onv erbal com m unica-

tion an d m an-env ironm ent s tudies , to enable conceptual s t ructures to

develop. It is also a n ap pr oa ch that lends i tself to com parative an d

cross-cultural approaches and that makes i t easier to broaden the

sa m ple by using historical, archaeological, and e thnographic material.

For ex am ple, o n c e a gr ou p an d its profile in ter m s of lifestyle a n d

environmental quali ty preferences have been established, one can

freque ntly define the group s activity system s an d th e system s of set-

tings, dom ains, an d s o on tha t accom m odate them. Throug h observa-

tion an d analysis of thes e settings an d th e behaviors occurring in th em

(wh o do es what , where, when, a nd including o r excluding whom ), the

relevant c ue s c an q ~ c k l y e discovered and understood. They can

then be provided or it can b e m ad e easy for the grou p to provide the se

fo r themselves. O n e could study th e pe rcentage of sett ings with grea t

predictability in eith er satisfactorily o r unsatisfactorily com m un ica ting

both t he ex pec ted behavior a nd its permitted rang e or lat itude.

Se con d, the utility of his app roac h isgene ral . This ha s to d o with the

fac t tha t it fits into th e way o f thinking d escribed in t he preface. This

ap pr oa ch , which is basically h um anistic, ha s to d o with all pro du cts of

hu m an culture. Its me tho d is interpretive, being base d o n the work of

m any o thers. O n e thus uses m any small pieces of information from

diverse so urc es to show how they interrelate, o r how different fields

a n d disciplines interrelate, revealing u nsuspected connections. Th us

o n e can build f ramew orks and conceptual m odels that seem valid

cross-culturally and historically and thus help relate primitive,

vernacular , and high-style environments, tradit ional and modern

examples.



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PILOGU

This b oo k w as originally published at t he e n d of 1982 though it

was com pleted in 1980. In connection with its reissue it se em ed se n-

sible briefly to review the de ve lop m en ts in th e literature in o the r rele-

van t fields a n d in my thinking since tha t time. It also see m ed sensible

to d o so by m eans of an epilogue s o that the book could b e brought u p

to d at e without rewriting it. This offered n ot only practical bu t also con -

ceptual ad van tag es: If it proved possible to a d d a n epilogue without

rewriting th e book that would sugge st tha t th e basic argu m ent has

stood up an d it has in fact prove d possible to d o so.

S p a ce limitations me an t that had to be selective. This epilogue is

therefore limited to three principal the m es. First sum m arize a n d

further dev elo p a n arg um ent published in a cha pte r in 1988 which

qualifies an d partly modifies s om e of th e arg um en t in C ha pt er

2

Se c -

ond refer to som e m ore recent work o n m eaning that seem s gener-

ally to support com plemen t exp and an d even strengthen the overall

arg um ent of t h e boo k. This also serves to up da te th e bibliography with

a list of new references fou nd at th e e n d of th e Epilogue. Third ela b-

ora te albeit in a very preliminary a n d brief form two suggestions tha t

m ad e almost offhandedly in the original book an d that did not pursue

a t the time. Thes e con cern possible general mechanism s propo sed

in othe r fields which m ake m ore plausible th e sugge sted processes

wh ereby cu es in settings guide beha vior a nd wh ereby global affective

responses to environments a re primary.

ch an ge in the argument in Cha pter

Th e change in C hapter 2 is be st se en in th e wider context of t he

possib le ap proa ch es discussed in that chapter. In it refer only briefly



22


to method -driven studies of meaning (e .g ., the u se of sem antic differ-

entials, personal constructs, a n d the l ike), which have no strong con-

ceptual or theoretical bases (pp.

35-36 .

Because they are eclectic

an d fairly straightforward in ap pro ac h, these ca n be claimed by the

nonv erbal communication (NVC ) appro ach, e ven though they never

use o r even refer to it (e.g. , Lee, 19 82 ; Hucek, 198 3; Nasar, 1 98 8,

1 9 8 9 ). Using the distinction (p .

38

between syntactics, semantics,

a n d pragmatics, o n e can argue that the eclectic app roac h an d NVC

essentially add ress pragmatics (a n d possibly so m e sem antic s), that

symbolic approaches essentially deal with semantics, and that semi-

otics largely dea ls only with syntactics. Of co urse, bo th NVC a nd sym-

bolic ap pr oa ch es add ress structure. Co ntex t is critical, an d as arg ue

through out this boo k, the m eaning of elem ents de pe nd s o n contexts

(both cultural and of other elements) and contrasts and noticeable

differences am on g elements. M oreover, the Hym es (1 96 4 ) model of

communication (p . 5 2 abov e) can be reduced to a

minimal s et tha t

all

sou nd ap pro ac he s to m eaning, how ever identified, share: sen de r, re-

ceiver, chan nel, an d context.

Following th e brief mention of method-driven approach es, identify

a n d discuss the three appro aches m entioned above :

semiotic/linguis-

tic, symbolic, and nonverbal communication. Further consideration

of th e latter two, stimulated by so m e questions raised by a stud ent, led

m e to a rather significant revision (Rap oport, 1 9 8 8 ) .Two things are

involved. T he first propo ses that the term me aning is to o global; o n e

nee ds t o distinguish am o n g types or levels of m ean ing. It follows tha t

built env iron m ents , an d material culture generally, m ay com mu nicate

several distinct types of meaning. Given that, the second change re-

considers the evaluation of symbolic appro ache s presen ted o n page s

43-48

of this book.

T he description an d criticism of semiotics, an d the linguistic approach

from which it derive s,' still se em valid a s written. F irst, semiotics is even

more dom inant , an d it has beco m e almost synonym ous with the study

of meaning in the built environment. Almost everyone uses it-or

claims to-pays lip service t o it, an d pu ts ev en nonsemio tic work in a

semiotic fram ew ork or deco rates the work with referenc es to semi-

otics. In the text I refer to examples (e.g., Bonta, 19 75 , 19 79; Krampen,

1 9 7 9 ) an d suggest that in them references to semiotics can be elimi-

nated, a n d that this not only do es no t w eaken the argument o r findings

but in fact strengthens them. This also applies, for example, to one

study am on g others that 1 discuss below (Du ncan , Lindsey, a n d

Buchan , 1985) ,which was originally pre sen ted a t a sem iotics confer-



ence and which contains quite unnecessary references to semiotics

(see also Lang, 1 9 8 2 ). In my copy have, in fact, crossed ou t every

men tion of semiotics and refer to an d use th e pap er frequently.

Se con d, still d o not know of a n y go od empirical or othe r study that

really uses semiotics t o study built environm ents ( bu t see G ottdien er

and Lagopoulos , 1 98 6) .This is be cau se, third, as argued in the bo ok ,

it see m s essentially un usab le a nd is almo st impossible t o un derstan d.

argued (on p .

37

tha t the re had be en n o advance be tween 19 69 an d

19 80 , a n d this still se em s to b e the case (althou gh work is certainly

being d o n e a n d published). At best this app ro ac h is stagnating; in fact,

it seem s to be a n exe m plar of w hat Lakatos (19 71 : 100)calls a de ge n-

erating research prog ram .

2

In retrospect, ho w ever, the criticism of th e symbolic ap pr oa ch

pp.

43-48)

ma y n ee d to be qualif ied in o n e sense, althoug h it

is

indeed not

useful for und erstan ding users ' m ean ings in everyd ay environ m ents,

the domain of this book. Such meanings are most usefully studied

using NVC app roa che s (particularly because the m ore ge neral prob-

lems with the study of symbo ls also see m valid). Sym bolism, howe ver,

may represent a different type

of

m eaning that s o m e built environ-

m ents may com m unicate, a n d it m ay b e m ost relevant regarding tho se

othe r type s of m ean ing in certain env ironm ents. T h e term symbolic

refers, th en, not s o much to a n app roa ch a s to a distinct type o r level

of meaning.

In fact, it seem s tha t o n e is typically dealing with several distinct levels

of mea ning , s o that m ean ing is too global a term regarding built en -

vironments a n d m aterial culture generally. These se em t o comm uni-

ca te m ean ing at th ree distinct levels, which ne ed to b e clearly distin-

guished, although they are ideal types structuring a continuum (for

analogous cases , see Rapoport , 197 7: 37 ,

Fig.

1.1 3; an d Rapoport , in

press b: Figs. 2 3) . They a re :

1) High-level meanings related to , for example, cosmologies, cultural

schemata, worldviews, philosophical systems, and the sacred.

2)

Middle-level meanings, those communicating identity, status, wealth,

power, and so on-that is, the latent rather than the instrumental

aspects of activities, behavior, and settings.

3) Low-level everyday and instrumental meanings: mnemonic cues for

identifying uses for which settings are intended and hence the social

situations, expected behavior, and the like; privacy, accessibility; pen-

etration gradients; seating arrangem ents; movement and way-finding;

and

o t h e r

information which enables users

to

behave and act appro-

priately and predictably, making co-action p ~ s s i b l e . ~




This boo k is con cern ed primarily with ( 2 )a n d

3 ) ,

lthoug h unfortu-

nately it do es not explicitly distinguish b etw een them . N onverbal m od-

els are m ost useful for th e stud y of these m eanings. W hat

I

call sym -

bolic approaches may, however, refer to high-level meanings, what

they a re an d how they a re comm unicated; they may need other ap -

proac hes, although as will argue later, these still ne ed to b e relatively

straightforward, a nd t he gen eral approac h adv ocated in this book may

still be qu ite relevan t.

Th ere s ee m to b e suggestive links between these levels of m eanin g

an d Gib son's (1 96 8) hierarchy ranging from the conc rete object

through the use object, value objec t, an d symbolic object (p .

15

above

an d Rapoport , 197 7, esp. pp .

19-20 .

T he re is also a suggestive an d

interesting link to Binford's discussion in a n um ber of publications, th e

first in 196 2 , of thr ee levels of function: technom ic (instrum ental or

technical u se ), socio-technic (u se in a social rather than a technical

se ns e) , a n d ideo-technic (ideology, symbolism, etc.). How ever, h e

restricts m eanin g to the ideo-technic, wh ereas pro po se thre e levels

of m eaning.4

This point can be elaborated, an d m any an d varied exam ples can b e

given of how th e sa m e buildings o r other settings may com m un icate

all, two , or-even just o n e of these m ean ings, a nd how useful this dis-

tinction a m ong levels is likely to be ; read ers a re referred to th e chapte r

in question, which also provides relevant references (R apop ort, 1 9 8 8 ).

Tw o conclusions shou ld, however, be discussed.

T h e first is tha t typically in an y given case only a few pe op le know

the high-level meanings even in traditional contexts. All, however,

need to unde rstand low-level meanings in ord er to be ha ve app ropri-

ately an d to co-act. (T o m ake the point, use a num be r of exa m ples of

religious buildings, in which high-level meanings can be expected to

b e a t their m axim um .) It follows that n o m atter w hat high-level, sym -

bolic m eanings may be present, an d how important they may b e, an d

n o matter how imp ortant ( or unim portant) middle-level meaning may

be , low-level m eanin gs m ust

e present i f the enviro nm ent is to work

for users, visitors, an d the majority no t in the know ; all nee d to know

how to b eh av e o r act. Th e reverse is not the case: high-level meanings

d o not ne ed to b e known for settings to work. It follows th at low-level

meanings ar e always present-they are th e o n e constant, while the

other tw o levels ten d to be much m ore variable.

T he se co nd point conc erns th e relationships am on g levels of m ean-

ings. In som e cases-many small-scale, prelitera te groups, for exam -

ple-middle-level meanings may b e relatively un im po rtant, a s this



pilogue 3

bo ok suggests; only low-level a n d high-level mean ings m ay b e pres-

ent. In others, only low-level meanings may be present. Also, one

might hypothesize m or e generally that a s other symbolic systems be-

co m e m ore widely available-writing, for exa m ple (G oo dy , 1 9 7 7 ),or

wh at ha s be en called World Th ree (Po pp er, 1972)-high-level me an-

ings in th e built enviro nm ent may beco m e less important .

This question of the possibly greatly reduced importance of high-

level syrnbolic meanings in present-day environments is briefly dis-

cussed below . More generally, th e significant point is th at it be co m es

relatively easy to begin to think of which meanings are likely to be

important in which cases, as are the likely courses of change (i.e.,

prediction).

For example, middle-level meanings often tend to increase

in

im-

portance in presen t-day environm ents du e to the scale, complexity,

and heterogeneity of the system. Since people are not known, and

social hierarchies ar e m ore fluid, com mu nicating sta tus, identity, an d

the l ike through environmental cues m ay bec om e m ore important.

Low-level m ean ings m ay also gain in im porta nce be ca us e beh avio r is

less routinized an d b ec au se cu es in co m plex systems with m or e heter-

og ene ou s populations require higher redunda ncy in ord er to remind

people how to beh ave (see pp. 149-152 abo ve; cf. Rapoport , 19 77 ) .

Low - an d middle-level meanings also gain relative prominence

i

high-

level mean ings bec om e less important.

In studying an y built env ironm ent (in the br oa d s en se used in this

book , i .e. , including semifixed an d nonfixed elem ents) o n e ne eds to

ass um e that all three levels

m a y

b e present. In an y given case

it

may

ev en b e possible, a s already sugg ested, to predict their relative im-

portance; which are present an d how imp ortant these are becom e

empirical qu estio ns. Also to reiterate,

low-level ev ery da y instrumental

mea nings are always present in an y built en vir on me nt although the

cues m ay be very subt le (see, e .g. , pp.

183 193

above) .

in order clearly to understand the relation between built environ-

m ents an d hu m an behav ior over the full ran ge o f environments, cross-

culturally an d historically, all th re e levels of m eanin g n eed to b e con -

s idered, s tudied, an d unders tood; they are co mplem entary rather than

conflicting o r com peting. In starting ou t to stu dy an e xa m ple of that

co m po ne nt of m aterial culture that is the built env ironm ent, o n e must

no t prejudge which of the three levels of m ean ing will be pre sen t, even

if hy po the ses ar e ma de. In most traditional environm ents-those

studied by historians, archaeologists, a n d anthropologists-high-level

meanings can be expected to be important or significant. In most



4

THE MEANING

OF


present-day environments, I would suggest, high-level meanings are

likely to b e a bs en t, or at least relatively unim portant. Th us the th ree

levels of m eaning can vary independently of o n e ano the r (o r partly

SO).Their presen ce or ab se nc e a n d their relative impo rtance could b e

profiled. For ex am ple , hypothesize that in th e co ntem po rary United

S ta te s, high-level meanings a re generally a bsen t, middle-level m ean-

ings tend to be extremely important and prominent, and low-level

meanings are no rm al, although expressed with very high levels of

redundancy.

A contrary view ha s bee n put forward, arguing that cosmological

structures are still presen t in con tem pora ry en viron m ents (Do xtater

1981 .

n my view, however, the e xam ples h e gives are in fact exe m -

plars of middle-level meanings, such a s identity, status, an d th e natu re

of social units a n d their values (Doxtater, 19 8 1 : 3 8 ) . T hr ee stude nts in

a session of the doc toral prosem inar at which talked ab o u t this topic

recently pro po sed a n alternative hypothesis-that rather than high-

level meanings disappearing or becoming unimportant in contem po-

rary situations-in the United S ta te s, for example-as sugges t, it is

their con ten t that cha ng es. For exam ple , the types of high-level me an-

ings described earlier-cosmologies, cultural sche m ata , worldviews,

philosophical systems, the s acred, an d s o on , are replaced by the

im po rtan ce of t he individual, equality, health, comfort, mas tery ove r

natu re (o r partnership with it), a n d the like. In fact, und er that h ypoth-

esis one could argue that status, individual or group identity (see

Rap oport , in press d ) ,wealth, p ow er, an d the like ar e som e of the new

high-level meanings rather than what call middle-level meaning s.

This is an intriguing suggestion that, in time, one might pursue,

althou gh there is a n imm edia te problem with such a flexible defini-

tion a n d use of a conce pt.

f a co ncep t can acquire ever new a n d differ-

en t con ten t, it beco m es difficult, i f not impossible, to use it. It may th us

b e preferab le to k ee p my original definition of high-level meanings, al-

thou gh its constituent elem ents certainly n ee d to b e br oa de ne d. Also,

in a ny case , on e will not be dealing with a mo nothetic se t bu t rather

with a polythetic set-only so m e of th e multiple attributes n eed be

represented in a ny given case (Clarke, 19 78 : 36 ; Rapopo rt , in press b) .

O n e would a l s m x p e c t cross-cultural variability.

M oreo ver, at th e mo m en t still believe tha t th e dec line of high-level

meanings in the United States (a n d m ore generally with mod erniza-

tion ) is real. This is how interpret two recent studies. Jac kson ( 1 9 8 4 )

com pare s two U.S. ideal landscapes-those of the 19 th an d 20th

cen turies. It se em s clear from his analysis that the cha ng e is essentially



pilogue

5

o n e of progressive loss of symbolic con tent , w he the r sac red (for parks,

road s, crossings, a n d s o forth) o r political (for public sp ac e or country

courth ou ses ). This symbolic co nt en t is replaced by w ha t would call

low-level meanings, of which the highest is a n ag ree ab le environ -

mental experience (Jackso n, 19 84 :

20 .

T h e who le analysis, involv-

ing m an y o the r type s of settings in the U.S. cultural land sca pe , can also

be interpreted a s a reduction in high-level m ean ings an d conco mitant

greater e m pha sis on , as well a s an actual increase in, low-level m ea n-

ings and, as in suburbia and in office environments, middle-level

meanings ( see Rapoport , 19 85 a , 19 85 b) .

similar interpretation also seem s to apply to a m or e detailed study

of political m eaning involving an analysis of

75

U . S

city council ch am -

bers. Over time there has been a clear loss of symbolic, high-level

mea nings in favor of low-level m ean ings (G oodsell, 1 9 8 8 ). This can

adm ittedly be interpreted in terms of the alternative hypothesis, a s a

new set of high-level meanings-dem ocracy a n d egalitarianism, for

example.

also interpret a s the loss of high-level meanings a recent s tu dy of

housing in Singapore in relation to the religious practices of three

groups: C hinese, Malays, an d H indu Indians (C hu a, 1 9 8 8 ) . Though

the study clearly shows that meaning is, indeed, a most important

function of housing, these s ee m to b e low-level meanings, such a s cu es

ab ou t how to b eh av e, rathe r tha n high-level philosophical or cosm o-

logical me anings, which a re clearly a b s e n t 5

It would clearly be worthwhile to test these tw o alternative hypoth -

eses. W hichever is correct, generally or in an y given case, h ow eve r,

the idea

of

levels

o

meanings remains

It is, believe, important a n d

useful, not least in generating hypotheses to be tested. It is also the

major ch an ge in this book .

have no t yet discussed the third app roa ch , nonv erbal comm unica-

tion, with which this book is con cern ed. Sinc e, how eve r, this ap pro ac h

is not modified in any way but rather supported and confirmed by

m ore recen t work, it will b e discussed in th e nex t section.

Review of som e more recent wo rk

T h e first an d m ost imp ortant point is that further work se em s not

simply to sup po rt bu t to stren gth en the centrality of m ean ing in envi-

ronment-behavior relations as a most important mechanism linking

people a nd environments. It see m s clearer than eve r that, as sug-

geste d, m ean ing is no t som ethin g additional to function but is pos-



6


sibly the most important function. All the material reviewed in this

section n ee ds t o be se en in this light. Another of m y main points that

receives su pp ort is th e centrality of culture, the fact tha t meaning must

b e studied within its appro pria te cultural context an d that, within ge n-

eral patte rns , it is culture specific.

O n e point tha t is only implicit in th e text n ee ds to b e m ad e explicit.

Although meaning, like all environment-behavior relations, includes

subjective exp er ien ce , it is only usefully stud ied or considered

if

it can

b e adequa tely generalized to grou ps. Purely individual or idiosyncratic

associations or meanings a re of interest only to the individuals con-

cerne d a n d are n ot part of th e dom ain of

EBS

an d research o n it.

T h e new work, an d earlier work which

I

only discovered since th e

comple tion of this book , from which this limited review draw s follows

semiotic, symbolic, a n d non verbal a pp roa ch es to the study of m eaning

a n d also includes me thod -drive n, eclectic studies. T h e review is neither

exhaustive no r systematic; for o n e thing, it generally d oe s not de al with

work in semiotics. briefly consider so m e stud ies of symbolism, so m e

of w hich use NVC a ppr oa ch es a n d so m e, while they d o no t explicitly fit

th e latter, study m ean ing in term s of p ragm atics an d in straightforward

ways. They can therefore be incorporated into my approach even

wh en they formally claim allegiance to oth er app ro ac he s, ev en sem i-

otics; this ha s bee n discussed a bov e. Recall also tha t in the text use a

variety of findings from so m e studies claiming allegiance to semiotics

a n d from quite a few com ing from th e symbolic tradition. This is also

the cas e in this section e.g., Lang, 1 9 8 2 ; Dunca n, Lindsey, an d

Buchan, 19 85 ; Broda, Carrasco, a nd Matos, 19 87 ; Cherulnik an d

Wilderman, 1 9 86 ; Despres,

19 87 a; Nasar, 19 88 ) . In that sen se my

ap proa ch in this bo ok , a s in my work generally, is eclectic; use what-

ev er works an d ma kes sense . only draw the line at work find wrong,

incomprehensible, or unusable. In both the positive and negative

senses, the label m ean s less than the c ontent.

This certainly app lies to work o n symbolism, which continues-and

con tinues to b e useful in th e sen se that it can b e u sed in conjunction

with both eclectic work a n d work b ase d o n NVC. This is not surprising,

given the discussion in th e first sec tion of this epilogue . Nor is it surpris-

ing that most

of

it do es not seem to be applied to contem porary every-

day settings6 bu t to traditional societies, either in the past e .g .,studies

in arch aeology; s ee Ra po po rt, in p ress a ) or tho se still in existence .

Su ch studies e.g., Pieper, 1 9 8 0 ; Vinnicombe, 1 9 7 6 ; Lewis-Williams,

1 9 8 1 , 983;Hockings, 19 84 , 19 87 ; Marcus, 19 76 ; Brod a, Carrasco,

an d M atos, 1 98 7 ; Isbell, 1 9 7 8 ) can all be incorporated into the co rpus



Epilogue

7

of work on meaning with which this book is concerned. This even

applies to studies based o n app roach es even m ore remote --e.g.,

textual analysis, in this case of the urban landscape of Kandy (Sri

L.anka; se e D uncan , 1 9 8 4 ) , or a structuralist analysis of Maori art

(Hanson, 19 83 ) .

In m ost cas es the appro ach is very straightforward a n d direct, wh at-

ever the theoretical rationale, and it is even possible, post facto, to

distinguish a m o n g the levels

of m ean ing discussed earlier. Moreover,

also a s already men tioned both in th e book a n d the epilogue, the term

symb ol can often easily be replaced by oth er terms, such a s cues,

indicators, expressions of a n d th e like-and then understood in

a n NVC framew ork. This is th e cas e, for exam ple, with symbolic

aesthetics (Lang, 1 9 8 2 )a n d also with discussions of t he social mean-

ing of dwellings (a n d w ha t would argu e is th e n ee d to consider the

larger system of settings) in Lon gan a, V anua tu, in th e So ut h Pacific

(Rodm an, 1 98 5 a, 19 85 b). These s tudies a lso reemphasize the impor-

tan ce of th e cultural contex t in understanding th e various cues tha t

are used. This becomes clear from a special issue on home interiors

in Europe in Environment

nd

Behavior (1 98 7) , in which o n e finds

differences betw een the United States a n d Western Europ e generally

a n d betw een France an d Italy. On e also finds differences in the per-

ceived residential quality of neig hb orho ods betw een th e United S tate s

an d Sa ud i Arabia (Z ub e et a],, 1 9 8 5 ); that stu dy also again illustrates

th e difference between insiders a n d outsiders (e.g. , Rap oport, 1 9 7 7 ),

which h as now b een studied empirically (e.g ., Brow er, 19 8 9 ).

In a study of th e Gre at Temp le of Tenochtitl6n (B rod a, Carrasco ,

an d Matos, 1 9 8 7 ) the temple is considered as ritual space embodying

cosmic vision ( a typical high-level sym bolic mea nin g). Th at cosm ic

vision is then analyzed and shown to be central to the Aztec world

generally. Su ch con tinuity also em erg es from a similar analysis of th e

Maya (Marcus, 1 9 7 6 ) which show s how single sch em a seem s to

underlie , and can be used to understand, environments on many

scales, from the state or realm to the building. Similarly, Nem eth 1 9 8 7

analyzes a cultural landscap e th at reflects neo-C onfucian ideology a n d

celestial prototypes no t only o n Cheju Island, Korea ( th e locale of th e

study), but also in the past throug hout m edieval Ch ina a n d K orea.

T he sa m e neo-Confucian m odel, prototype, or schema was applied

to t h e region, city, town, village, farmstead , a n d tom b, again reinforc-

ing points ma de in this book (see also W ood, 19 69 ; an d Ingham ,

1 9 7 1 ). Nem eth's study also confirms that th e settings incorporating

this sch em a acte d a s a mnemonic-a central point of this book. Th e



8


metaphysical, philosophical, and religious meanings involved are

exa m ples of high-level meanings an d reinforce th e question

raised

abo ut ho w m any users knew this esoter ic material (Rapop ort , 19 88 );

I susp ect very few did. N one o f these studies discuss low-level m ean -

ings. Neither does a study of prehistoric ceremonial centers in the

A nd es (Isbell, 19781 , w her e th e c on cern is with cosmology (a typical

high-level m ean ing ), a n d the point is also ma de that symb ols (m ean -

ings) ar e con text specific, Isbell s stud y emphasizes the gre at continuity

of these cosmological sche m ata , no t in sp ace (a s in th e previous

studies) but o ver time. It begins with m ore recent cases (e .g. , 16th -cen-

tury Cuzco, with its pattern of the Puma on the urban scale and a

20th-century ethno graph ic exam ple). Having identified the schem a,

Isbell finds it in two prehistoric ceremonial cen ters 25 0 0 an d 3 0 0 0

years b efo re Cuzco an d the ethno graph ic exam ple, respectively. Al-

though the approach is structuralist, Isbell identifies the symbols in

straightforward and direct ways (cf. Flannery and Marcus,

1983 ;

Rap opo rt, in press a).

In the case of nonverbal communication, two doctoral students

hav e d o ne literature reviews as part of in de pe nd en t studies (Despre s,

198 7b; Devlin, 19 88 ) . Despres (1 98 7b ) concludes that

NVC

was a

prolific area of research in the decade 19 77 to 198 6. S h e further

con clud es tha t no n e of t he studies deals specifically with env iron m ents

an d objects (semifixed elemen ts), which ar e generally neglected o r

ignored. While sh e is able to identify 1 9 books and

36

doctoral disser-

tations which h av e som e potential relevance for th e study of e nviron-

mental mean ing, s h e also f inds that a m on g the 3 6 dissertations, expli-

cit references t o en viro nm en ts a nd physical settings comp rise only 7

percent, and object displays only

4

percent, of the subject matter.

While the work includes literature reviews, syntheses, empirical and

methodo logical work, a n d ev en textbooks (e.g. , Poy atos, 1 9 8 3; Wie-

mann and Harr ison, 19 83 ; Kendon, 19 81 ; Wolfgang, 19 84 ; Katz an d

Katz, 1 9 8 3 ), it ignores th e m utual relationship betw een peo ple an d

settings a s a for m of

NVC.

In my term s this work is still largely restricted

to non-fixed elements-communication am o ng peop le. This body of

research is very active indeed and is growing. For example, Ekman

an d his group (wh om discuss o n pp . 97ff . an d 10 lff . ) have published

a great deal since 1 9 8 1 , mainly o n facial expressions (s ee Bull a nd

Rumsey, 1 9 8 8 ). It is also significant that this work h as now reac he d

daily newspapers (e .g. , Goleman, 1 98 9b ) .

Devlin (1 9 8 8 ) identifies 3 new books an d pape rs (e .g. , Ridgeway

et al . , 19 85 ; Blanck e t al ., 1 9 8 6 ), including a textbook aimed a t high



pilogue 9

schoo l teachers (Vargus, 19 86 )-a m ost significant deve lopm ent. S h e

also reanalyzes so m e of D espres' entries (e.g . , Sc he rer an d Ekm an,

1 9 8 2 ) . Again, with very few excep tions ( e. g .,Ames, 1 98 0 ; cf. Ames,

1 9 7 8 ) ,material culture is either igno red or explicitly rejected. S h e also

identifies 1 2 doctoral dissertat ions o n NVC during 1 9 8 6 an d 19 87 .

Given that thes e two reviews ar e highly selective, it se em s clear that

there is mu ch research in m an y area s of NVC b ut little o r nothing on

th e built environment (se e Poyatos, 19 8 8 , in which my chapter is the

only o n e dealing with material c ulture ). T he built env ironm ent is still

being neglected, as it was w he n this boo k w as written (e.g . , p p 48ff.,

esp. p. 50 .

S o m e studies ha ve be en influenced, directly or indirectly, by my

work (e.g., Farbstein a n d Kantrowitz, 19 86 ; Goodsell, 1 9 8 8 ). Most

studies, however, d o no t explicitly use NV C bu t confirm m any of the

points made in this book: that settings communicate, that cultural

contexts are critical, and that semifixed elements and their arrange-

m en ts are dom inant (i .e. , tha t the relationships ar e at least as impor-

tan t a s the elem en ts). T o give just o n e exam ple, this is clear from

special issue of Env ironm ent an d Beha vior in 1 9 8 7 o n h om e interiors

in Europe which implicitly also makes another important point: Al-

though the preface a n d th e six pap ers take different app roach es to the

topic, they can be read together-and their findings can fit into a n

NVC framework.

Th ere is also work o n semifixed elem ents of all kinds (e. g., Ames,

1 9 7 8 , 1 9 8 0 ). S o m e of this work uses the term symbols but , like

some described in the text, fits perfectly into my model and can be

rewo rded in the way sugg ested (e.g ., Csikszentmihalyi an d Rochberg-

Halton, 19 81 ; Hucek, 19 83 ) .A stud y of clothing (Wobst, 1 9 7 7 ,which

is discussed o n pp . 63 -64 of th e text) not only puts it into a bro ad

anthropological co ntex t a n d relates it to a large new b ody of work bu t

also confirms its im po rtan ce a nd th at of oth er semifixed element:;.

Moreover, it supports my m ore gen eral theoretical arg um en t for th e

importance of redund ancy (see Robinson e t a l ., 19 8 4 ) .

O n e stud y of dw ellings in Vancouver, which explicitly tak es a semi-

otic approach (Dun can, Lindsey, and Buchan, 19 85 ) , makes a num-

be r of useful points, and serves to su pp ort two of my major points. T h e

first is that semifixed elemen ts d o indeed see m to be the m ost impor-

tan t in com mun icating m eaning both inside the dwelling (e.g., furnish-

ings and decorations) and outside ( landscaping an d o utdo or objects) .

T h e sec on d is that peo ple a re indeed able very easily to understand

m eaning s com m unicated by dwellings, landscaping, furnishings, an d



23

THE

ME NING OF

THE

UILT ENVIRONMENT

the like. T he levels of agreem ent found betw een 5 9 an d 8 percent ,

depe nding on cues a n d location) are extremely high-much higher

than would have expected, an d a t the levels of satisfaction with

physical com fort aim ed for in th e design of heating , ventilation, and

air conditioning.

Very high levels of agre em ent between 4 8 an d 5 6 percent) were

also foun d in a study of how dwellings com munica te identity Sadalla

et a l ., 19 87 ; cf. Rapoport , 1 981; Duncan, 19 81 ) . Given th e very high

levels

of

agr eem ent, thes e two studies implicitly see m to contradict the

argument see Bonta, 19 7 5 ) hat environments d o not communicate

meanings bu t rather that people project m eanings on to them. O n the

other ha nd , they see m to sup po rt the arg um ent in this book that envi-

ronmen ts an d sett ings d o communicate m eanings and, moreover, that

if they do so successfully, they greatly constrain possible meanings

see Wollheim, 197 2: 1 2 3, an d Perinbanayagam , 19 74 , in my discus-

sion on pp. 59-63).

Th e two studies Dunc an, Lindsey, an d Bu chan, 1 98 5; Sadalla et

al . , 1 9 8 7 ) disagree a bo ut wh ether exteriors or interiors sho w greater

agreem ent, that is, com mu nicate mo re effectively. T he former finds

that exteriors elicit more agreement because it is more important to

com mu nicate m eanings to outsiders tha n to those invited inside, w ho

alrea dy kn ow o n e . Th e latter finds tha t interiors elicit more agre em en t

becau se o n e has more control there. T he rea sons for this difference

are unclear but may include the type of area studied or the culture

o ne study is from C an ad a, the other from the United S tates). They

m ay also be artifacts of th e m etho ds used. Further research to clarify

this disagreem ent would b e useful.

Both studies ag ree tha t attributes of dwellings, furnishings, an d land-

scaping communicate identity and other meanings. They also agree

about the greater importance of semifixed elements vis-2-vis fixed

features. This is also the case with a s tud y of Lincoln Park in Ch icago

Suchar and Rotenberg , 1 98 8) .Be cause this is a gentrifying neigh bor-

hood, three distinct groups were identified for whom dwellings had

different overall meanings, and hence distinctiveness was achieved

through objects, that is, semifixed elements. T hes e distinguish am on g

dwellings a s stage s for social performan ce, a s settings for expressing

uniq ue individuality, a n d a s providing a n a tm osp here of private family

life a n d domesticity. Th ese becom e styles an d seem to correspond to

w ha t Jopling 19 74 ; cited in th e tex t), in the ca se of P ue rto Ricans in

Boston, calls a n ae sthetic comp lex.

In spite of the em phasis o n semifixed elements, these studies an d



pilogue 23

others begin to consider fixed-feature elemen ts (see Ostrowetsky an d

Bordreuil, 1980, which discusses the meaning of particular regional

ho us e styles in France [cf. Rap op ort, in press

e l ) . This is also the case

with a s tudy that confirms my arg um ent o n p ag e 7 6 on th e meaning

of th e ne o-Qu ebecois style in Q ue be c (Desp res, 1 9 8 7 a ). Parentheti-

cally, while this is discussed in term s of sym bolic rep rese ntat ion, it

illustrates my a rgu m en t, which is co uc he d in terms of NVC an d cues;

moreover, the study cites this book. The emphasis on fixed-feature

elements is also found in othe r studies (see Groat , 19 82 ; Cherulnik

and Wilderman, 19 86 ; Nasar, 1 9 8 8 , 1 9 8 9 ) .

In all these studies o n e finds an extension from sem ifixed elem en ts

t o fixed-feature elem ents in term s of th e m ean ing s of various dwelling

styles. In othe r wo rds, the likely temp oral se qu en ce that discuss in

the b oo k s eem s to be starting, a n d th e seq uen ce of the application of

NVC approaches seems to be the one predicted: from nonfixed to

semifixed and eventually to fixed-feature elements. There is also

an oth er extension of t he do m ain t o be discussed later: from

domestic:

settings to other building types.

Th e study by C herulnik and W ilderman (1 9 8 6 ) emphasizes what

would now identify a s middle-level mean ings a n d finds that th e origi

nal fixed-feature elem en ts still elicit judg ments con sistent with the or ig-

inal owners' socioeco nom ic status; tha t is, th e original m ean ing of th e

various cu es persists, am o ng them size, orna teness , a nd materials (s ee

Barnett , 19 75 ). This study an d those by Nasar 1988, 1 9 8 9 ) all refer

to symbols wh ere refer to cues , be ca us e they discuss wh at would

regard a s middle-level meanings, not only the wealth a n d status but

also, in th e N asar stu dies , th e desirability, perceived friendliness, an d

leadership qualities of th e pres um ed residents, which a re interpreted

differently accordin g to the different styles of dwellings. T h e different

styles a re als o ran ked differently in term s of pre fere nce, an d while

there see m s to b e n o difference between Los Angeles an d Colum bus,

Ohio, judgments vary am on g groups, and a s argued, architects ' judg-

m en ts a re very different from nonarch itects'.

All studies of this type (se e Nasar, 1 9 8 3 ) no t only se em to b e very

consistent a b ou t th e positive a n d negative qualities of cues , a t least in

the United Sta tes an d in A nglo-American culture m or e generally, they

also strongly suggest tha t wha t is often called the aesthetic quality

of en viro nm en ts is in fact mu ch m or e an asp ect of

meaning.

Its com -

ponents (Rapoport , 19 85 a, 1989) ndicate either liked or disliked e n -

vironm ents o n th e basis of status, well-being, perceived safety, a n d

so

on . Th e at tributes of the environm ent are, then, the cu es that com -



3


municate such meanings to users. This is, of course, a n as pect of my

distinction between perceptual and associational aspects: this distinc-

tion has b een used by oth ers, an d similar points ma de , although using

the conc ep t of symbols ( symbolic aesthetics ) a n d a semiotic ap -

proach (Lang, 19 82 ) .Here again the central substantive point an d th e

content can be expressed easily in an NVC fram ew ork w ithou t diffi-

culty o r loss; it can also, of cours e, b e ex tend ed from architecture

to semifixed eleme nts an d material culture generally a nd he nc e to the

cultural landscape.

This is clearly the case in a study of the residential aspects of the

normalization of mentally retarded people (Robinson et

al . , 1984) .

Th e various architectural elem ents an d w heth er they are liked o r work

a re to b e un de rstood in terms of their meanings. Attributes with neg a-

tive m eaning s ar e associated with t he negative imag e of institutional-

ity; attribu tes with positive mean ings a re as soc iated with positive im-

ag es of domesticity ( hom elike ). This is much a s sugges ted in this

book (o n the basis of Davis an d Roizen's 1 9 7 0 study). Robinson et

al. , 19 8 4 , also emp hasize the importance of redu nda ncy for settings

to com m unicate appropriate meanings.

The centrality of the meaning of architectural and other environ-

mental elements usually considered in aesthetic rather than associa-

t ional terms, a n d the co nse qu en t differences betwee n designers an d

users, be co m e very clear in a study of Maiden L an e, a problem ho us -

ing estate in Lo ndo n (H u n t Th om pso n A ssociates, 1 9 8 8 ). In this case

o n e finds a com plete reversal in the interp retation of t he look of t he

project. T h e features praised by architects a n d the architectural press

are described by

7

percent of the residents in extremely negative

terms-and these are associational, that is, they have to d o with m ea n-

ing. Am ong them are prison, concentration cam p, battery farm,

and menta l institution. T he feel of th e project also elicits negative

emotional terms from

5

percent

of

th e residents: depres sing,

closed in , claustrophobic. Many of the m ore specific co m m ents

ar e clearly congru en t with my discussion an d illustrations in the bo ok

(e .g ., pp . 14-18) . Among the changes recom me nded, many seem

clearly m ea nt to c ha ng e those qualities of the project that com mu ni-

ca te nega tive meanings (including the institutional charac ter discussed

above; see Robinson et al. , 1 98 4) .

More generally, it is significant that rec om m en ded chan ges in hou s-

ing projects often se em to involve changing those elements tha t have

negative mea nings to e lem ents that h av e positive m eanings. This is

much the case with Lucien Kroll's work at Perseigne d'Alenqon in



pilogue 33

France Revue

de

/ habitat social, 1 9 8 1 )a s it is with a project in Boston

(Deitz, 1 9 8 4 ) , o mention just two.

All the studies cited, and others, identify the various attributes or

elements that co mm unicate m eaning. In effect they ar e enga ged in

th e de ve lop m en t of w ha t in this bo ok call lexicons, repertoires, ow

palettes of elements. These include, for example, style, landscaping

a n d plant materials, ornaten ess , furnishings, size, materials, a n d color.

T he latter, which discuss o n pag es 111-114, is clearly a majo r attri

bute that communicates meaning very effectively, being a major

noticeable difference (Rapoport, 1977).

Color has recently received attention. Thus one study of color

(Foo te, 1 9 8 3 ) implicitly discusses red und ancy a n d emphasizes corn

munication. Although it does not adopt an

NVC

approach, i t can

easily fit into th e framew ork of this boo k. It is al so significant in tha t i t

concentrates o n nondo mestic sett ings (banks; savings an d loan associ

ations; hotels an d motels; churche s; restaurants; educ ational, public,

an d governm ent insti tutions; funeral hom es; an d a range of sh op s)

Other studies hav e investigated the m eanings comm unicated by the

style of su bu rba n office buildings (N asar a n d Kang, 1 9 8 9 ) .Thus the

study of me aning is being exte nde d to new types of environm ents

While this b ook d oes discuss offices, res tau ran ts, an d religious build-

ings, the em pha sis is o n dwellings an d u rban areas.

In connection with religious buildings, th e book discusses a n um be r

of elements of the repertoire or palette that can be, or have been,

used ; on e of these is height (s ee pp. 107 -1 11 .A striking rec ent exam

ple of this is the new church at Yam ouss ouk ro, Ivory C oa st (Bro oke,

1 9 8 8 ), n which size, scale, an d a bo ve all, height are em phasized; th e

important point se em s to be that th e church is the world s largest and

tallest-significantly larger an d taller th an S t. Pe ter s in Rome.

Color h as also be en sho wn to com m unica te ethnic identity (in this

case, that of Mexican Americans) and through longitudinal studies,

ev en to com m unica te levels of acculturation to the United S tate s (Ar-

reola, 1984 . Also, as discussed in the text, fences are part of this

particular repertoire. Thu s fences an d fence varieties ca n a lso b e used

as indicators of the Mexican-American identity of residents (Arreola,

1 9 8 1 ). In fact, eventually it bec om es ap pare nt that a whole s et , or

system, of ele m en ts is involved in com municating Mexican-American

identity--what is called a houses cap e (Arreola, 1 9 8 8 ). This includes

property enclosure, exterior house color, and yard shrines, among

other elem en ts; it is the m ost rece nt evo lution of a historic land scape

that has l inks to pre-Colum bian Mexico a nd to Sp ain. In m y terms,



34


this once again emphasizes the importance of redundancy. In addi-

tion, as sugg est m ore generally, th e m eaning of fences, like oth er

attributes or cu es, is contextual (se e p. 1 3 0 and Fig. 1 9 in text). This

also applies to color, s o that a given color can b e conforming or n on -

conforming, de pe nd ing o n contex t. This recently led to legal action in

Britain, where bright colors on listed buildings (such as the Royal

Crescent in Bath ) have been held by the courts to be developm ent ;

if inappropriate, con sen t ma y be refused (Practice, 19 83 : 3 .

O n e of th e first longitudinal studies of vernacular design (in Greec e;

Pavlides, 1 9 8 5 ) fou nd that m eaning was a m ost impo rtant aspect of

the built env ironmen t a n d that status was the most impo rtant me aning,

especially in m ore rec ent env ironm ents. This, of course, suppo rts my

arg um en t in the first section of this epilogue . M oreover, th e elem ents

com municating status ch an ge ov er time-from type of dwelling, size

of house a n d of sp aces, de coration , kind of wall cavities an d protru-

sions, de gre e of elabo rateness, an d th e like to degree of m oderniza-

tion, that is, the use of m od ern materials such a s cem ent a nd paint,

th e removal of old-fash ioned features, a n d the introduction of furni-

ture a n d ap pliances (i.e., semifixed ele m ents) that ar e abse nt an d

he nc e no t very im portan t in traditional dwellings (se e Rapop ort, in

press d ) , piped water, an d electricity. T he role played by m odern

elem ents in a situation like this an d in develo ping countries generally

is a point m ad e in this book (e.g . , pp. 142-1 44) an d has bee n greatly

deve loped since then in R apoport, 19 83 . Tha t paper also further

develops, in a major way, the notion of the culture core, discussed

briefly o n p ag e

83

of this book . This has pro ved to be of g reat impor-

tance in studying an d unde rstanding m eaning in th e situations of rapid

culture change characteristic of developing countries. All these ele-

ments, however, a re shown (by Pavlides, 1 9 8 5 ) o be im portant indi-

cato rs of status, an d it is clearly bo th possible an d essential to begin

to dev elop lexicons or repertoires of such indicators. Tw o other points

in th at study further streng then my argum ent. First, it becom es clear

tha t, with a single exception, sets of elem ents a re consistent, a n d he nc e

that redundancy is most important and both reinforces and makes

m ore precise the meanings comm unicated. S eco nd , subgro ups knew

th e ho us e featu res in their own category best. G en era l status or rank

could be de termined broadly by everyone; subtle distinctions be cam e

m ore impo rtant within eac h group, w here m inute details were noticed.

This tend s to sup po rt my a rgu m ent abo ut th e im portance of cultural

context and great cultural and group specificity. It also supports a

point m ad e implicitly in this bo ok an d explicitly elsew here (e .g .,Rapo-

port, 1 9 7 7 ) an d already m entioned earlier in this epilogue: that there



Epilogue 35

are differences between insiders a nd outsiders (e.g. , Brower, 1 9 8 9 ).

Sin ce designers a re the quintessential ou tsiders, it follows tha t the re

are differences between designers a n d th e lay public (e .g . , Gro at ,

19 82 ; Lee, 19 82 ; Hunt Thom pson Associates, 1 98 8) .

myself have considerably exp an de d two othe r points m ad e in this

book . Th e first is concep tual; the sec on d con cerns a body of e vidence

a n d exa mples. As part of m y arg um en t for broa den ing t he definition

of the built environment as a subset of material culture, including

semifixed feature elements an d also pe op le, also briefly sugge sted

(p p . 88 -89 ) that it b e ex tende d to include the cultural landscape as

a n ex pression of the system of settings in which sys tem s of activities

take place. This have since greatly elab ora ted, show ing its impor-

tance generally and demonstrat ing how its various components act

together to com mun icate various meanings (e.g . , Ra pop ort , 1983,

19 85 a, 19 86 a, in press c, in press e ) .This is also my reading of a nu m -

be r of t h e studies reviewed in this epilogu e.

As pa rt of my redefinition of the dom ain of EBS, no t only ex tend ed

it to cover t h e system of settings/cultural landscap es b ut also to include

all types of enviro nm ents, all cultures, a n d mo st recently, th e full time

sp an . As part of th e latter ha d be gu n to use archaeological evidence

a n d material in this boo k. further dev elop ed this in th e cha pter deal-

ing with levels of mean ing (R ap op or t, 1 9 8 8 ) , a n d it plays a major role

in a forthcom ing bo ok o n the relation betwe en EBS a n d historical da ta

(R ap op ort, in press a , especially C hap ter 5 .

There are two reasons for using this evidence. The first is that it

greatly exp and s the time de pth of th e evidence o n e can u se, an d this

helps to make the evidence broader a n d more diverse, a n d hen ce any

generalizations m ore valid. T he s eco nd reason concern s th e relation

between the study of m eanin g a n d archaeology.

f

meanings can be

identified in archaeological m aterial, when s o little is left, then o n e can

ha ve g reater confidence in th e approa ch. C onve rsely, if en vironm ent-

behavior studies an d archaeology can be used together, they can help

to interpret archaeological data in term s of m ean ing (their

ideotechnic

function [Binford, 196 21). Ethnoarchaeology is o n e such attemp t,

which unfortunately has had little interaction with EBS (Kent, 1984,

19 87 ; Rapo port , 1 98 8, in press a , in press c) .

ome preliminary ideas on mechanisms

In dealing with th e scientific und erstanding an d explan ation of a ny

phen om eno n, o ne s analysis an d proposals become much more con-

vincing

if

plausible general m echanism s can b e identified o r prop ose d.



36

THE M EANING OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

This is bec ause they can help to explain how any suggested processes

work. Thu s an y findings bearing o n m echan isms hav e major implica-

tions, and the identification of possible mechanisms becomes a most

imp ortant task.

The major process proposed in this book is that

i f

cu es in settings

ar e noticed a n d u nde rstoo d, the social situation appropriate to that

setting is identified, an d appropriate (i.e., exp ected or c ong ruen t) be-

havior is brought to attention and elicited. In effect a repertoire of

ap pro pria te behav iors is retrieved from sto rage; th e setting is seen as

acting as a mnem onic activating all this culturally acq uired know ledge.

While settings d o not determine appropriate behavior, there are major

pressures to conform, and appropriate action is amazingly often the

result, making co-action possible. This is not surprising; after all, a

major function of culture is to routinize behavio r, reserving cognitive

channe l capacity for more important matters ( se e Rap oport, 19 86 b) .

This process is elaborated in the text, an d much eviden ce is ad du ced

to suggest that it is very likely an d, in deed , probable: it se em s to b e

th e bes t exp lanatio n of a grea t variety of findings, otherw ise puzzling

occurrences, an d so on . How ever, n o mech anism was identified that

might mak e this process work.

S o m e suggestions ab ou t a possible mechanism com e from work in

artificial intelligence a n d cognitive science-a large, interdisciplinary,

increasingly sophisticated, a n d rapidly growing field. In it, so m e m ech -

anisms have been proposed in different connections which work

in ways analo gou s to wha t

is pro po sed in this book. T he coincidence

and overlap is, at the very least, intriguing and promising. Should

these suggested mechanisms be confirmed, it would make my pro-

posed process that much more likely and convincing. It also mean s

that a whole new large bod y of work-conceptual, theoretical, a n d

empirical-becom es potentially relevan t; this in itself is most impor-

tant a n d promising.

Clearly this will be a very brief and preliminary discussion, without

the topic being deve lop ed to any significant extent, a s it deserves to

be. T he purpo se of this discussion is merely to point ou t the existence

of this congruence with work in cognitive science and hence of a

possible m ech anism. It is also encouragin g that after dev elop ing this

material my attention was drawn to some work from Germany

(Kaminsky, 1987; Kruse, 1988). While r ther different in detail and

no t drawing th e interpretation d o , it is broadly similar in emphasizing

th e link with B arke r s concep t of b ehavio r settings, a s d o o n p ag e

85

of this book.



Epilogue 37

Th e mechanism that

I

prop ose is bas ed o n the concepts of "frames"

(Minsky, 19 75 ) an d "scripts" (Schan k an d A belson, 19 77 , 1 97 9;

Abelson , 1 976 , 198 1)an d how they ar e related

(e .g . ,Mandler, 19 84 ).

Thro ugh the se it is also related to the conc ept of sc hem ata m or e gen-

erally, of which they ar e a specific type (Bre we r a n d Nak am ura, 1 9 8 4 ).

T he re is a very large literature o n sch em ata in psychology, which go

back a t least to Sir Frederick Bartlett in 1 9 3 2 (Bartlett, 1 9 6 7 ) a n d o n

which Lewin, To lm an, Piaget, Kelly, Bou lding, and o the rs based their

work. M oreover, ha ve long argue d that the co nc ep t of sch em ata , not.

necessarily a s defined in psychology bu t also in their anthropological

meaning, is central in EBS (s ee Ra pop ort, 1 9 7 7 , a n d references in it)

Schemata are very important in cognitive anthropology and in an-

thropology more generally if o n e s ee s culture, the major co ncern of

anthro polog y, as a framew ork within which particulars ta ke o n m ea n-

ing as a way of life, as a blueprint or design for life, and hence as

leading to routinized behavior (se e Rapo port, 1 9 8 6 b ).

T h e pa pe rs by Minsky, Abelson, a n d Sch an k ar e still referred to in

all discussions in th e literature an d hav e b een used extensively for all

kinds of purposes. For example, Thagard (1 98 8: 1 9 8 ) points out that

sc he m a theory, while n ot universally ac ce pte d, is supp ort ed by a great

deal of evide nce that people proce ss information by using som ething

like sche m ata , which help to e nc od e an d retrieve information. Further

m ore, schem ata see m t o b e framelike structures (Minsky, 1 9 7 5 ) an d

have been postulated to play an important role in perception, dis-

course understanding, learning, remem bering (s ee Bartlett , 1 9 6 7 ) ,

an d problem solving, am on g oth er things.

T he concept of scripts (Scha nk an d Abelson, 1 9 7 7 , 197 9; Abelson,

1976 ,

1 9 8 1 ) , which ar e related to frames, introduces behavior anc

involves a typical and organized sequence of events. An individual

expe cts these to occu r on the basis of prior learning and expe rience,

a n d enculturation, a n d they typify w hat in this book call a situation

T he point is m ad e tha t well-learned scripts lead to a "mindless" state--

peo ple re spo nd automatically with behaviors expe cted in th e situa--

tion. Schank and Abelson (1977: 5 use a restaurant visit as their

example: the visit elicits a restaurant script, which has other scripts

em b ed de d in it an d is itself e m be d de d in the ge neral frame o r schem a

for a restaurant.

T he co ngru ence with my postulated process is almost com plete. r l

my case th e fram e is th e situation identified by users o n th e basis of

cu es in th e setting, which acts a s a m nem onic. This then rem inds users

how to act, the script is then the appropriate behavioral repertoire



38


drawn up on to match the situation, an d the automatic o r mindless

res po ns e is culturally routinized behav ior.

T h e ideas of s che m a or frame theory h ave also bee n applied to part

of th e built en vi ronm en t an d material culture-industrial des ign, that

is, various artifacts and machines, equipment, light switches, door

handles , an d the like (No rm an, 19 88 ) .

In

this application thre e pro po -

sit ions are m ade (p p.

115-1

1 6 ) :

1) There is a logic or order to individual structures in the human mind;

these are schemas or frames.

( 2 ) Human memory is associative-each schema points and refers to

many others to which

it

is related and which help define the compo-

nents or network.

3) Much of the human power of deductive thought comes from using the

information in one schema to deduce properties in another.

T he m any exa m ples in Norm an 1 9 8 8 which de al with small-scale

elem en ts of th e built env iron m en t closely resem ble my arg um en ts in

this book, a n d his analysis of industrial design ex ten ds an d com ple-

m en ts mine of land sca pes, settlemen ts, buildings, a n d interiors.

Th us, without further elaboration a n d pend ing further research an d

develop me nt, en ou gh has bee n said at least to mak e a case that the

process by which settings communicate meaning and how this influ-

en ce s behavior, which develop ed in this book quite indepen dently,

fits perfectly into a powerful mechan ism being un covered by research

in cognitive science.

T he re is an oth er aspe ct of meaning that prop ose in this boo k.

begin with the argument that a global affective response, sometimes

base d o n subliminal perception, typically preced es an y m or e detailed

analysis an d ev en sets the to ne or feeling for mo re conscious percep -

tion (se e Russell a n d Sn odg rass, 1 9 8 7 ). It follows that env ironmental

evaluation and preference are more a matter of overall affective re-

sp on se than of detailed analysis; they are m or e a matter

of

latent than

of manifest functions, and they are largely affected by images and

ideals, in the sen se that the success of environmen ts de pe nd s o n

their congruen ce with approp riate images (Rap oport , 19 77 : 5 0 , 6 0 ) . n

this boo k ( p p . 14-1 5) then ar gu e that these global affective respo nses

are based o n the me ning that environmen ts, an d particular aspe cts

of them , ha ve for peo ple. ad d u ce mu ch eviden ce for this position,

which is als o discu ssed in th e prev ious sec tion of this epilogue.

Once again, more recent work in psychology, brain science, and

cognitive science has made available two developments which



pilogue 39

strengthen th e postulated process . T he first is tha t there

s

now much

additional ev iden ce of th e importance of affect generally (for o n e re-

view, s ee Russell an d Snodgrass , 198 7; see also n. 8 ) . Th e second

again concerns possible mechanisms at the level of brain structure,

neuro transm itters, a n d th e like. T he literature on both th es e topics is

voluminous an d can not possibly b e reviewed h ere , although it would

b e bo th interesting a n d u s e f ~ l . ~ll will d o , the refo re, is to refer to a

recent n ew spap er acc oun t that, in pop ular form, sum marizes so m e of

the research (Goleman, 198 9a ) .This research strongly argue s for the

primacy of affect an d its ability ev en t o override tho ug ht a n d to ope ra te

independently of it. It also confirms th e role of sublim inal perception,

understood as affective reactions that occur prior to thoughts being

processed, or even before having registered fully what causes the

emo tional reaction. It also begins to describe, a n d ev en diagram, the

parts of the brain involved (e.g. , the thalamus an d amygd ala) an d the

pathways be tween them , which avoid the neoco rtex a n d which pro-

vide the mechanism for the global affective response. What seems

important is that there is a vast amount of work in brain anatomy,

neurobiology, neurophysiology, neurochernistry, cognitive neurobi-

ology, an d s o on which provides the base s for a m echanism to explain

th e process that postulated, an d much em pirical evidence in its favor.

This on ce again strengthens the likelihood th at the particular processes

prop ose d, or som ething very muc h like the m , ar e in fact thos e op erat-

ing in th e way m eanin g from the built enviro nm en t influences prefer-

en ce a nd behavior.

onclusion

This epilogue is relatively brief, a n d althou gh it up da tes th e discus-

sion throug h th e middle of 1 9 8 9 , the updating is neither systematic

nor com plete. This is partly becaus e work a n d publication co ntinue,

a n d at a n accelerating ra te, in any field that is alive a n d progressing,

a n d partly be cause

to

be thorough would ne ed to review quite a few

different fields. Also, while m any references could b e a d d ed , it do es

no t se em tha t they would ch an ge anything-they would just provide

further su ppo rt, exam ples, a n d elaboration, a n d this se em s unneces-

sary. T he re was a lso a limit se t for th e size of this epilogue; a co mplete

an d systematic review cou ld have dou bled th e size of t h e boo k.

There is also an oth er reason. Over the years ha ve tended to use

my earlier work a s predictions tested to the extent tha t my conclu-

sions, proposals , an d hypo theses have be en suppo rted. It thus see m s



24

THE MEANING

O


quite in order t o leave this ongoing process at the po int it ha s reached

an d to hop e th at this new edition of th e boo k will be used in the sa m e

way , no t just by m e bu t by others.

T he material I hav e reviewed in this epilo qu e suggests tha t althoug h

so m e significant modifications to a part of C ha pt er 2 proved neces-

sary, these d o no t see m to invalidate an y o f the central argum ents of

the book. Th e concept o levels of m ean ing a s briefly described a bo ve

actually helps to clarify the central argument and is also helpful in

identifying the likely meanings in given situations.

It see m s clearer than ever that peop le see m to obtain meanings from

th e en viro nm ent and to u ndersta nd it directly an d easily. In m ost case s

people notice and interpet cues in settings in straightforward, effort-

less, a n d simp le ways an d t o act app ropriately. This process is usually

self-evident and unproblematic, at least in a given cultural context.

This is shown by my use, in earlier work a n d in this bo ok , of material

from television a n d film, new spapers, magazines, novels, advertising,

an d t h e like.

I

have continued to collect and analyze such material,

a n d it con tinues to show this self-evident use of meaning (e .g .,Rapo-

port, 19 85 a, 19 85 b, in press

f .

As just o n e exa m ple , a recent new s-

pap er story desc ribed th e symbolic lowering of the special, higher

dais for prosecutors in Italian courts, which will now be at the same

level as that of the defen se counsel (H offm ann , 19 89 ). This cha ng e

reflects major change s in Italian law a n d clearly illustrates an d rein-

force s the discussion of courtroom s in four othe r societies in this book

(on pages 124 -126 an d in Fig. 1 8 ). It is noteworthy that a gre at ma ny

resources a re being ex pe nd ed to lower the dais a few inches. It is also

of interest that this ch an ge is traced to the im pact of the Perry M ason

television series. More tha n ever it se em s th at attem pts to com plicate

the issue, to m ak e it esoteric, difficult, a n d arc an e, ar e part of a g ene ral

tendency toward obfuscation in both the social sciences and the hu-

manities. But that is a topic for an oth er day .

Given all this, it follows tha t the study of the se processes an d m ea n-

ings should b e equally simple, ea sy, an d straightforward. T his justifies

my em phasis on the m ethodo logical simplicity an d directness of the

NVC ap pr oa ch a s o n e of its m ajor attractions. This is desirable con cep -

tually beca us e it is natural in th e se nse that it is like th e way users

inte rpret env ironm ental cu es in their everyday use of settings. It is also

desirable pragmatically for the r easo ns given in this bo ok . This d oes

not m ean that the full repertoire of m ethod s can no t, a n d shou ld no t,

b e us ed , including cognitive mapping, projective tests, studies of e n-



pilogue

24

vironmental mem ory, observation, experiments , an d s o on . Method-

ological sophistication ca n g o with simplicity of appro ach ev en in the

study of high-level mean ings. T h us non verb al comm unication is the

preferred, although pe rhap s no t the only, app roa ch for the study of

the every day low- an d middle-level meanings that built enviro nm ents

ha ve for users, which is th e subject of this book . In ad ditio n, not only

is NVC clearly a progressive research program but, both inherently

an d see n broadly a n d eclectically a s suggest, it is ab le to accomm o-

da te much work that see m s to use other approach es .

These arguments for a relatively straightforward and direct ap-

proa ch to the study of meanings-as con trasted with, say, the su p-

posedly theory-driven ap pro ach of semiotics-does not m ea n, a s o n e

reviewer of this boo k though t, that was op po sed to theory (Bedford,

31984). Tha t is, of co urse , th e exa ct op po site of m y position. W ithou t

en gagin g in polem ics, will m ake just tw o points. T h e first is tha t th er e

is explanatory theory, which is based o n research an d su ppo rted by

empirical da ta a n d which leads to understanding an d prediction, and

the n the re is theo ry, which

is

really nothing more than opinion,

ideology, a n d the like. was criticizing the latter, what p asses for theo ry

in too many fields. Second, the construction of explanatory theory

cannot begin until there is sufficient empirical data to suggest direc-

tions a n d to constrain such theory construction. This, arg ue in the

text, is th e c as e with linguistics, in which it is often necessary to ha ve

a natural history stage (se e Ra pop ort,

1986b).

Su ch data ar e clearly

best obta ined using th e

NVC

app roach a s have developed it.

T he discovery of possible m ech anism s for the processes pr op ose d,

by research in neuroscience, cognitive science, and related fields, is

also im portant. It a t least begins to suggest possible explanations fo r

how the processes that postulated work an d thus should b e most

helpful in theory deve lop m en t. It will b e worthwhile to look for further

work along these l ines an d t o d o a m or e thorough a n d explicit job in

relating the se different bo die s of w ork. F urth erm ore , this also suggests

that th e stud y of m ean ing is not only straightforward bu t can also be

explicitly scientific and that it benefits from work in other sciences.

Th ere a re clearly oth er views; in fact, they m ay eve n b e d om inant

e.g.,

H odder, 198 6 ) , bu t in m y view, they d o not stan d u p to analysis

(se e Rapoport , in press a) .

It also con tinues to b e th e ca se tha t very little NVC work concerns

the built environment and material culture. This is clear from the re-

views by Despres (1 9 8 7 b ) a n d Devlin 1988),and from the book



4

THE

MEANING

OF


edited by Poyatos (1 9 8 8 ), in which my chap ter is the only o n e to

address those dom ains (Rapoport , 1 9 88 ). thus end with a plea that

those interested in studying m eaning in th e built environ m ent, an d

i t

is cen tral in

a n y

understanding of environment-behavior interaction,

try using nonverbal comm unication app roach es.

otes

1

realize tha t there is disagreem ent with lump ing semiotics an d linguis-

tics togeth er, an d there are, in fact, so m e differences betw een th e two fields.

It see m s to m e, how ever, tha t the starting point of semiotics

is

linguistics a nd

that major linguistic influences pe rm eate the former.

2

My use of this con cep t in this connection d oes no t mea n tha t

I

necessarily

acce pt Lakatos' more general views abo ut scien ce, the history o f science, an d

SO on.

3

T he point has been m ad e to me that the terms high-level, middle-

level, a n d low-level pre sen t a problem by implying so m e hierarchy of

value. While not intend ed, this may be so, but have been un able to com e

up with better term s.

4 Th ere is also a possible link with T uan 's (1 9 78 ) distinction between

signs, affective signs, an d sym bols, although have not pursued this. In any

case, and in the light of this discussion, my suggestion o n pag e 3 5 that the

first two should be com bined now se em s inappropriate. This is, however, a

relatively minor po int an d d oe s not invalidate the rest of my argu ment.

5

Note that ev en in the examples of traditional religious settings tha t

discuss where high-level meanings hav e been shown to be present, my argu-

m en t is that m ost users utilized very similar low-level cues (R apop ort, 19 8 8 ).

Admittedly, these settings accom m oda te users' need s rather better than the

housing in Singapore-as did traditional culture-specific dwellings. But that

is another topic.

6

W hen symbols ar e mentioned or used in studies of contem porary

everyday settings, they seem to be used as a synonym for meaning rather

than in any technical sense.

7.

These were drawn to my attention by a Visiting Fellow in our depart-

m en t, Fridrich Dieckmann.

8 A

recent review of the literature by o ne of my doctoral stud en ts, Paul

Maas ( Aesthetic em otions, comp leted in late Se pte m be r 1 9 8 9 ), contains

4 6 5 references covering both aspects, of which ab out 40 0 a re directly relevant

to the point am making here.



44

TH

MEANING

OF


---

198 7b) Nonverbal Communication as Applied to ~ nv ir on m en ta lMeaning: An

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2:

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A

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pilogue

45

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D

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m

small suburba n



46

THE

ME NING OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

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pilogue

47

---

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3 5 0



IN EX

NOTE- T he following inde x

S

eproduced from the original e d ~ t ~ o n .t covers subjects

only an d includes neither na m es found in the text nor references to the n ew epilogue

Aborigines, Australian, 26 75 86

Britain, 14 16 23 24 130 174-175

91-92 115 147 148

179 180 187

Aesthetics, 21 26 72 79 94

Build~ngs,

15 16 27 30 43 140

Affect,

13 14 87 114 140 154 155

Affordance. 35

Africa,

43 89 90 92 95 115

128-129 145 146 148 158-159

186

Ainu, 43

Amsterdam, 19

Anthropology, 35 36 37 43 . 47 48

60 73 98 118

Archaeology, 82 90 91 141 198

Architect, 16 19 20 25

139

Associational, 14 19 20 24 25 26

27 30 45 75 143 164 185 197

Atoni, 43

Back, 22 56 77 116 118 127 173

195; see also Front

Bali,

43

Bedouin,

88 147 188-189 190-191

Behav io r ,9 , 52 55 58 60 61 62

63 65 75 77 80 82 86 87 90

92 94 95 96 104 105 107 118

124 125 137 147 180 186

Berber, 43

Bicul tural~sm,85-86

Rororo. 43

Cambodia , 27 111 117

Catal H uynk, 9 0

Cathedral , 27

Ch ain operations, 45-46 78 85 187

C h i n a , 2 7 , 111 114 132 133 149

150-151

Church,

40 43 162 173 175

Cities; see U rban

Clothing, 9 , 15 27 47 56 63 64

70-72 94 97-98 117 124 139

174 184

Co de includes coding, encoding,

decoding, etc.), 15 19 43-44 5 1

56 57 59 65 67 74 80 81 82

104 124 126 137 140 142 177

Cognition, 15 43 47 64 67 75 116

118

Color, 27 30 40 84 93 96 99

11 1 116 117 119 127 128 142

162 181 191

Communication, 46 47 48 49 50

52 56 57 64 70 96 137 141

152 170 177-195



25


Complex i ty , 19 26-27 150 163 172

184

Content analys is , 1 1-13 21-22 75

97 134 154

C o n t e x t 4 0 4 1 4 3 4 4 4 9 5 2 5 6

57

69 70-71 73 74 82 99 100

107 111 114 117 118 124 141

156 157 170 171 181 182

Cour t rooms , 124-125

Crime , 26 40 152 170 17 1-172

Cross-cultural , 9 24 26 36 89 102

105 106. 108 112-114. 115 121

124 198

Crowding ,

19 26 72. 159

C u e s , 26 30 40 46 51 56 57

58 59 60 61 64 68 70 77 84

106-107 112 117 119 123 131-

132 138 139 141 144 145 147-

153 156-157 163-168 170 171

172 173 174 182 183-185 187

188 189 191

Cul tura l l andscape , 137-141 145 179

Cultural specifici ty, 81 101 104 106

111 112 115 191

C ul tu ra l un~ ve r s a l s ,10 26 101 102

104 106 111 112

Cul ture , 9 15 30 34 35 39 43 44

47 52 56. 58 59 60 61 62 67

74 75 76 85 95 102 143 145

171 178

Culture core ,

82 88

Decora t ion , 22 23 92 113 117 124

128-129 142 186

Defe ns ive s t ructur ing, 192

Dens i ty , 26 134 155 156 157 163

Den si ty , perceived, 34 107 159 162-

167 169 172

Des igners ,

15 16 19 21-23 38 45

5 1

59 65 92 106 162

Dogon ,

30 43

D o m a i n , 15 19 47 56 63 64 66

77 91 96 118 119 137 147

158 170 192

Dwel ling ; s ee Ho use

Encul tu ra t ion , 15 26 65-70 76

Envi ronment ,

9 11 19 22 23 26

35 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 56

59 61 62 64 67 140 177-183;

direct effects of, 55-56; indirect

effects of, 55-56

Environmenta l des ign, 9 44 62

Env ironm enta l qual ity , 15 26 34 98

129-130 144 152 153 156 157

158 159 162 167-169 172 173

198

Ethology, 36 52 53 101 116

Europe, medieval , 27 1 13

Evolu t ion , 102 115 118

Fang , 63 158

F e nc e s ,

16 86 127 128 130 131

157 170 189

Fixed-fea ture e lements , 87-90 124

136 141 170 181

F ra nc e , 24 32 1 1 1 115

Front , 22 56 77 94 116 118 127

130 131 132 147 188 195; see

also Back

Furnishings, 9, 15 21 23 56 89 90

93 95. 97 117 142 18 1

G a r d e n ,

1 5 ,

22 24 89 107 130

132-133 137 164 193

Generalization 9 32

Geography , 35 132 140

G r e e c e , 40 43 117

G r o u p , 20 22 23 39 60 65 76 79

94 99 107 126 127 129 132

133 139 140 144 145 152 156

157 159 170 173 180 185 192

193 198

Group ident i ty ,

15 71 76 88 94 99

126 132 137 139 140 141 142

181

High style, 9 21 27 29 42 44 45

198

Homogene i ty , 32 137 166 167 170

172 184 189 193

Ho use inc ludes hous ing) , 14 16 22

23 24 25 27 30 32 66 67 76

89 91 92 95 115 119 126 128

132 133-134 137 139 142-143

147 156-157 162 167 172 188-

189 193-195

House-se t t l ement sys tem,

27 187 193



ndex

25

Ideal, 21 28 45 46 133 141 179

Identity,

22 56 63 70 71 97 99

126 139 172 173

Image, 14 29 32 45 46 129 134

139 150. 155 157 158 159 162-

168 172 173 179

India,

27 107 116 142 179 186

Inference,

51 73 77 90 129 139

156 163 169

Information,

8 19 47 49 61 66 74

82 84 139 183 194

Isphahan,

27 76 91 114 117

Italy,

27 40 43 111 114 115 119

121 141

Landscape, 9 28 29 40 43 121

134 137 140 156 157

Landscaping,

24 120 12 1 127-128

153 155 162 171 173 181

Latent , 15 16 23 33 35 72 95 96

132 167 169; see also Manifest

Latin America,

92 144 145

Lawn,

25 63 89 127 129-130 131

132 139 152 162 167 173

Lexicon, 52 69 80 101 105 115

Lifestyle,

34 66 75 82 98 126

134 173 183 184 194 198

Linguistics includ es language),

36 37

38 43 47 49 50 51 52 72 74

102 104 112 115 121

Location,

56 57 68 84 88 91 107

108 111 114-116 119 127 129

144 152 159 184 185 186 188

189 191 194

Man-environment studies, 9 1 1 19

34. 55 123 198

Manifest, 15 16 23 32 35 132; see

also Latent

Maori , 26 192

Marrakesh,

9 1

Materials, 16 27 40 93 117 119

127 129 134 139 142 143 144-

145 156-157 188 189-190

Maya, 43 91 117 131 188

Meals,

66 67 95

Meaning; environmental, 37 55-86

87-121

importance

of,

26-34;

organization of, 178 181-183;

study of, 35-53

Methodology,

11 36 50 52 69 98

100 105 123-124 126-127 155-

156 174 198

Mexico,

28 90 118 141 142 145

192

Middle East ,

140

Milwaukee, 30 126 129 134 153

162-163 167

Mn emonic function of environment,

26 67 77 80-81 145 170 187

197

Model,

9 11 30 36 37 51 53 80

87 102 118 198

Mo slem clty, 89 149

Mosque, 27 76 128-129

Navaho, 30 88 112 114

Neighborhood,

15 99 126 153 169

171 174-175 184 192 193

Neutral place,

169

New Guinea,

26 108 115 186

Nonfixed-feature elem ents, 87 96-

101 123 136 137 139 170 177

181 184

Nonverbal communication, 14 36 47

48-53 72 73 84 86 87 94 96

97 99 110-121 134 137 176

177 198

Nonvisual senses,

27 49 76 107

144 155 163-164 168 174 175

North Wes t Coas t U.S.), 26 115

Noticea ble difference,

106 108 114

116 117 119 121 126 127 129

142 144 150 152 170

Nubia ,

26 92 141-142 191

Open-endedness,

22 23 24 45

Ornament ; see Decorat ion

Overdesign,

21 2 2

Pantheon, 43

Parks, 34 77 169

Pat tern,

11 128 145

Perception includes perceptua l),

19

24. 26. 27 45 49 69 73 75 112.

114 116 138 140 164 170 173

185 197



5


Personalization, 21, 22, 23, 24, 45,

56, 89, 93, 94, 126-127, 194

Peru ,40 ,41 ,66 ,81 , 114, 131, 142

Phenomenology, 35

Place, 26, 35, 39, 40, 121, 185, 186

Plants includes planting), 21, 23, 63,

89, 107, 127, 132, 133, 141, 144-

145, 152, 154, 156-157, 158

Popular design, 9, 45-46

Pragmatics, 39, 43, 50, 52, 69, 75, 99,

177

Preliterate, 9, 26, 27, 28, 29, 150

Private, 23, 56, 77, 91, 118, 147, 188,

193; see also Public

Psychology, 35, 36, 48, 73, 139

Public, 56, 77, 91, 118, 147, 188; see

also Private

Pueblos, 40, 41, 88, 114

Quebec, 76, 148

Recreation, 14, 34, 156, 159, 167,

173, 185, 194

Redundancy, 4 0 ,5 1, 84, 100, 1 17,

138, 141, 145, 147, 149-152, 162,

174, 187

Relationships, 9, 124, 177, 178

Renaissance church, 28, 43

Repertory grid, 36

Rules, 56

62, 65, 67, 78, 119, 147,

171, 191

Rural, 14, 32, 157, 159, 172

Sacred, 27, 28, 29, 30, 39, 40, 43, 75,

92, 95, 116, 118, 119, 158, 181,

186

Schema, 15,25,28,29,41,43,44,

46, 47, 83, 89, 92, 118, 120, 137,

139, 150, 155, 159, 171

Semantic differential, 35

Semantics, 38, 52

Semifixed-feature elements, 87. 89-96,

124, 126, 127, 132, 136, 137, 139,

141, 170, 181

Semiotics, 36-43, 84, 96, 118, 121,

133,145

Setting, 34, 47, 50, 56, 57, 61, 64, 66,

67, 73, 77-79, 85-86, 95, 97, 124,

180, 185, 191, 198

Shops includes shopping), 85, 93, 94,

99, 144, 152, 153, 154, 159, 162,

173, 174, 175, 185

Sign, 35, 37, 46, 133

Signal detection theory, 5 1, 73

Situation, definition and interpretation

of, 56, 57, 59, 62, 63, 65, 80, 181

South Africa, 24

South America, 28, 90, 115, 140

Space organization, 27 ,50, 80,84-85,

88, 92 ,94, 116-117, 124, 129,

134, 136, 140, 142, 144-145, 178-

179, 188, 193

Standards, 26

Status, 22, 48, 56, 57, 68-69, 70, 71,

90, 98, 99, 116, 132, 139, 141,

144, 145, 172, 183, 184, 194

Street, 15, 77, 78, 88, 93-94, 141,

145, 150, 152, 153, 156, 162, 169,

170,173, 174,187, 193

Stress, 19, 26, 191

Structuralism, 35, 37, 96, 118, 121,

133

Suburb includes suburban), 30, 32,

89, 99, 121, 142, 152, 156, 157,

162-168, 172-173

Symbol includes symbolism), 26, 27,

32, 33, 35, 36, 37,43-48, 66, 69,

115, 118, 121, 145, 169, 181

Symbolic interactionism, 59-61, 80

Syntactics, 38, 43, 50, 52, 75

Taxonomy, 15, 56, 67, 118

Temple, 27, 43, 90, 91, 107, 116, 175

Territory, 152, 169, 171, 191

Thailand, 43, 11 1

Theory, 9 32, 36, 37, 61, 197, 198

Time, 65, 80, 105, 164, 178, 179-180

Tombs, 79-80, 128, 141, 190-191

Trees, 14, 29, 39-40, 107, 152, 154,

158, 162,167,168

United States, 9, 14, 16, 28, 30, 32,

40, 89, 94-95, 99, 11 1, 112, 115,

117, 128, 130-131, 134, 141, 144,

149, 151-153, 155, 156, 157, 158,

159, 169, 170, 175-176, 179, 184,

186, 187



Index 53

U rb an 9 2 7 2 8 - 2 9 3 4 4 0 4 3 7 0

8 9 9 0 9 8 9 9 1 3 4 1 4 1 1 3 7 - 1 7 6

User s 15 16 19 20 21 22 34 76

9 2 1 8 8

Val ues 21 40 88 89 141 142 179

Vegetat ion; see Plants

Vernacu lar 9 22 24 27 28 29-30

4 3 4 4 4 5 6 4 7 6 8 0 1 4 1 1 5 0

Vi l l age 27 30 70 117 119

1 3 9

141-142 145 157 158 159 183

1 8 9

W i ld e rn e ss 1 4 4 0 1 1 5 1 1 7 1 1 9

1 2 1 1 5 8 1 5 9

Yoruba 26 117 149

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