environmentsplaces

Environmentsplaces is a multidisciplinary concept that treats environments and places as mutually constitutive elements of social and ecological systems. It emphasizes how natural and built surroundings shape human activities, identities, and governance, while those human processes in turn modify environments and the character of places.

Origin and usage: The term appears across geography, urban studies, anthropology, and environmental planning as a broad descriptor for studies that integrate environmental conditions with place-based analysis. It is often used in project descriptions, curricula, and research agendas to foreground the connection between where things happen and the conditions that surround them.

Components and methods: The framework typically integrates physical environments (climate, geology, ecosystems), built environments (infrastructure, landscapes, urban form), and social environments (cultural practices, institutions, equity). Methods include GIS, spatial analysis, field observation, interviews, participatory mapping, and comparative case studies.

Applications: Environmentsplaces informs urban resilience, conservation planning, land-use policy, and community development. It supports place-based approaches that consider vulnerability, heritage, and identity, and it can facilitate interdisciplinary communication among planners, scientists, and local communities.

See also: Place-based policy, Environmental geography, Urban ecology, Place-making, Spatial planning.