In the first two volumes of the series we elected to cover a broad
spectrum of topics in the environment and behavior field, ranging from
theoretical to applied, and including disciplinary, interdiscipli- nary,
and professionally related topics. Chapters in these earlier vol- umes
dealt with leisure and recreation, the elderly, personal space,
aesthetics, energy, behavioral approaches to environmental problems,
methodological issues, social indicators, industrial settings, and the
like. Chapters were written by psychologists, sociologists, geogra-
phers, and other social scientists, and by authors from professional
design fields such as urban planning, operations research, landscape
architecture, and so on. Our goal in these first two volumes was to
present a sampling of areas in the emerging environment and behavior
field and to give readers some insight into the diversity of research
and theoretical perspectives that characterize the field. Beginning with
the present volume, our efforts will be directed at a series of thematic
volumes. The present collection of chapters is focused on children and
the environment, and, as much as possible, we invited contributions that
reflect a variety of theoretical and em- pirical perspectives on this
topic. The next volume in the series, now in preparation, will address
the area of "culture and the environment. " Suggestions for possible
future topics are welcome. Irwin Altman Joachim F.