The focus of the 16 essays in this book is the physical environment of learning, specifically the man-made or built environment. The authors contend that educators have tended to overlook the influence of built environments on the learning process--a process not confined to schools, but involving play areas, tree houses, and the city itself. The authors encourage the development of "environmental literacy," which includes not only awareness of and sensitivity to physical space but also action of a problem-solving nature involving users in collaborative planning. Among the topics discussed are children's preferences in playground design, theoretical issues in environmental psychology, creating facilities responsive to the needs of exceptional children, the meaning of the setting in open education, learning environments outside the classroom, individual styles in the use of space, and techniques of determining and responding to user needs. (Author/MLF)