Outdoor Environments for People: Considering Human Factors in Landscape Design

Winner of the International Environmental Design and Research Association's 2025 Great Place Book Award

Outdoor Environments for People addresses the everyday human behavior in outdoor built environments and explains how designers can learn about and incorporate their knowledge into places they help to create. Bridging research and practice, and drawing from disciplines such as environmental psychology, cultural geography, and sociology, the book provides an overview of theories, such as personal space, territoriality, privacy, and place attachment, that are explored in the context of outdoor environments and, in particular, the landscape architecture profession. Authors share the impact that place design can have on individuals and communities with regard to health, safety, and belonging.

Beautifully designed and highly illustrated in full color, this book presents analysis, community engagement, and design processes for understanding and incorporating the social and psychological influences of an environment and discusses examples of outdoor place design that skillfully respond to human factors. As a textbook for landscape architecture students and a reference for practitioners, it includes chapters addressing different realms of people–place relationships, examples of theoretical applications, case studies, and exercises that can be incorporated into any number of design courses. Contemporary design examples, organized by place type and illustrating key human factor principles, provide valuable guidance and suggestions. Outdoor Environments for People is a must-have resource for students, instructors, and professionals within landscape architecture and the surrounding disciplines.

Patsy Eubanks Owens is a Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of California, Davis. Her research focuses on the relationships between people and the outdoor environment and methods for youth and adult engagement in design and policy decisions.

Jayoung Koo is an Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Kentucky. Her research focuses on sustainability, resilience, engagement, and placemaking to enhance outdoor environments and their relationships for sound communities.

Yiwei Huang is an Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture at Purdue University. Her research focuses on cultural competency and design, visual-driven participatory methods, and the relationships between outdoor environments and everyday geographies of traditionally marginalized urban communities.