There appears to be a growing dissatisfaction with the visual environment of the past few decades, in contrast to the positive feelings
evoked by its historical predecessors.Further, places in the environment have been iden tified where those messages are often "read." Such places are described
in scenarios where sequences of activities take place, and related messages and concepts are studied. These are entrances, buildings, inside
buildings, and pathways. Some of the places that stand out visually in the environment are
familiar to us, either because they have been part of our everyday
experiences, or because they are similar to places we have experienced
in the past. Through learning, these are the places that "tell" us about
people and their activities, and evoke either good or bad feelings reftecting our present sensations and associations we make with our past.The rationale for a new professional outlook is not necessarily
unique to the design field, but to the ubiquitous gulf between academics and professionals, between theoreticians and practitioners, or between researchers and designers, in all fields.We lose the ability to orient ourselves and spend
more time determining where we are in relation to where we want to
go. More significantly, we cease to identify with places and things that
surround us because their formerly unique characteristics have been
homogenized for the sake of practicality and economics. Research, however, indicates that professionals
differ from the public in their environmental preferences (Canter,
1969; Groat, 1982; Hershberger and Cass, 1974).In short, continuous and indiscriminate changes contribute to the 
creation of environments at least lacking the character of their local
makers and users, and often introduce inappropriate and destructive
forces.Becoming aware of perceived environmental effects is a necessary first
step in striking the delicate balance between familiarity and monotony
and boredom, and between variety and confusion and disorientation.At the extreme, large-scale urban projects are so interjected into existing cultural and physical situations that marked and distressing forms of
antisocial behavior result.As evidence of contemporary dissatisfaction with urban environments in particular increases, the need for understanding and
knowledgeably modulating the interaction of people and place becomes more critical.Recognition
and deliberate repetition of meaningful elements provide a culture
with a powerful mechanism for self-proclamation and stability.The tradition of criticism in
the design fields, too, has contributed to superficial reactions of highly
subjective judgments about the quality of the environment.When buildings are demolished and neighborhoods modified,
familiar environments become unfamiliar, altering our feelings of
comfort and safety.This inability to effectively embrace issues of visual quality can be traced to many factors, least of
which is the planning and design process.Consequently, criticism has very little value for design professionals because
it fails to explain the reasons for those subjective judgments.Integrating design research and practice can be viewed as a new
strategy for achieving a productive dialogue about the visual environment.