532 Book reviews / Journal of Environmental Psychology 29 (2009) 529–537
illustrates, and is engaged in, the construction of knowledge, but
explicit treatment of knowledge construction as a psycho-social
process is not addressed.
In tandem with the technical approach, are issues of objectivity-
subjectivity. Breakwell tends to situate hazards and associated risks
as either external forces that impact on people, organisations and
society, or as internal subjective meanings that are influenced
through social processes. The author claims that the social–psycho-
logical framework overcomes the objective-subjective divide, yet
these issues are a matter of philosophical perspective, and at the
moment the basis of risk theory and the writers approach are Carte-
sian/dualistic. It may be worthwhile to view risk as a relationship
between the values, intentions and capabilities of the agent
(person/group/organization), what the decision-making or action
environment offers; and the trade-off between possible costs and
benefits in order to potentially achieve desired outcomes.
Clear, reasoned arguments advocating for new approaches to
risk are sorely needed to help transcend the paucity of research
and the theoretical divide between cognitive and cultural
approaches to risk. The proposed framework does not seem to
achieve this because the author tries to accomplish too much.
While recognizing the importance of a comprehensive multilevel
approach to risk, the framework is not strongly conceptualized
and is open to criticism. For example, coming from an urban plan-
ning background, I immediately noticed that the material concern-
ing institutional and interpersonal relationships are not directly
linked with the physical environment, and considerations of
political influences were largely absent. I was surprised and disap-
pointed that Breakwell did not focus more on the value of social–
psychological approaches to risk theory, or her application of social
representations theory and identity processes to extend current
knowledge of risk. Regardless, this book opens discussion for future
endeavors and provides an extensive account of current research.
References
Jaeger, C. C., Renn, O., Rosa, E. A., & Webler, T. (2001). Risk, uncertainty, and rational
action. London: Earthscan Publications Ltd.
Kasperson, R. E., Renn, O., Slovic, P., Brown, H., Emel, J., Goble, R., et al. (1988). The
social amplification of risk: a conceptual framework. Risk Analysis, 8, 177–187.
Julie Rudner1
Architecture Building and Planning, The University of Melbourne,
Parkville VIC 3010, Australia
E-mail address: jrudner@unimelb.edu.au
doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2009.10.006
Open Space: People Space, Catherine Ward Thompson,
Penny Travlou (Eds.). Taylor & Francis, Abingdon, Oxfordshire
(2007). 224 pp. $62.959, ISBN: 13: 978-0-415-41534-7
Catherine Ward Thompson is the Director of OPENspace Research
Centre and a Research Professor of Landscape Architecture at the
Edinburgh College of Art. Her research focuses upon the accessibility
of outdoor areas for all, in particular older and younger generations.
Penny Travlou is a Research Fellow at the OPENspace Research
Centre and a Lecturer in Cultural Geography and Visual Culture at
the Edinburgh College of Art. Her research has involved social inclu-
sion, in particular for teenagers, and the use of urban public space.
1
Julie Rudner is a PhD candidate in the Melbourne School of Design. Her thesis is
about conceptions of risk in relation to children’s independent mobility.
Open Space: People Space aims to debate theories and practices in
the planning, design and management of outdoor environments that
encourage social inclusion. In particular, the focus is on the value of,
and the benefits gained from, visiting environments with natural
elements; and its emphasis is the need to make such places inclusive
for everyone. Design issues relating to the accessibility and use of
a number of outdoor environments are examined, ranging from
public urban spaces through to childcare centres, healing gardens
and national country parks. The book is a collection of papers contrib-
uted by researchers, with the papers grouped into four sections:
policy issues, nature of exclusion, design issues and research issues.
The foreword and first section (three chapters) provide a broad
overview of the use of urban public spaces and countryside. These
sections offer valuable insights into historical developments and
changes in policy, as well as considerations of socio-cultural behav-
iours that have altered the use and perceived importance of open
spaces for people’s quality of life and well-being. The chapters
provide informative considerations of the relationship between
humans and their environments, and of the external, higher level,
factors that can influence the general maintenance of open spaces
and people’s access to, desire to use, and values attached to these
places. Different people’s use and preferred features of open spaces
are described, but little is presented in this section about enhancing
the access of open space to all. Instead, the emphasis is on the
importance of open spaces for people’s health and well-being,
thereby revealing the reasons why inclusive design is so important.
The second section (three chapters) provides case studies on
variation of the use and access to urban and rural environments
for different groups of people (based on ethnicity, age or socio-
economics). For each case study, the discussion of historical and
policy factors is continued, alongside the introduction of concepts
such as identity, belonging and appropriation. The third section
(four chapters) complements and extends the prior chapters by
examining design issues for places intended for specific groups of
people (young children, people with Alzheimer’s, families). There-
fore, the concept of inclusive design is broadly referred to by iden-
tifying features incorporated into the design of places for these
specific sub-groups. Methodological processes and tools for
researching the interaction of people with the environment are
introduced. These are detailed enough for readers to understand
and assess the presented research. Together these sections present
factors that managers and design professionals should consider
when facing the challenges of inclusive design, including that of
understanding different people’s perception of the environment.
The final section (three chapters) reverts back to broader discus-
sions of theoretical and methodological issues, including forms of
analysis for researching the value of outdoor spaces. Together all
the chapters subtly show the array of methods that can be used
to understand and assess people’s perception, behaviours and
motivations for using open spaces and the barriers that may
impede their use.
Open Space: People Space flows nicely from beginning to end,
progressing from broad overviews to specific examples, before
reverting back to broader methodological issues relating to the
presented concepts. After reading the book from cover to cover
though, the ending seems abrupt, as there is no conclusion that
reflects upon the complementary issues considered across the
different chapters.
The book does not provide definitive guidelines on how to
create inclusive design and provides very few specific design exam-
ples. This is not a downside to the book though (nor its aim), as it
intends to highlight the need for considering specific groups of
users and local socio-cultural factors that influence the accessibility
and desire to use open spaces. Together the chapters instead
provide discussions on the importance of using different
 Book reviews / Journal of Environmental Psychology 29 (2009) 529–537
methodologies and analyses to produce a comprehensive under-
standing of users and absent users of such places. Communication
with potential users is encouraged throughout the book because
awareness of their varied viewpoints can aid designers and plan-
ners in the creation of inclusive places.
Issues relating to specific populations who can be neglected
when planning everyday open spaces are rightly considered in
the book, but the applicability of these issues for spaces used by
all (inclusive design) is rarely discussed. The chapters encourage
reflection upon how designs might better accommodate these
individuals’ needs and preferences to ensure inclusive open spaces.
Considering the outcomes of the case studies, a goal of universal
design may at times seem improbable though, as successful specific
design attributes in one place may run counter to those in different
circumstances. Moreover, individual chapters recognise the diver-
sity within and across groups of people that can create problems
with planned shared space. More importantly, the book raises
awareness of the diverse range of individuals’ open space needs
and benefits to be gained from access to quality open spaces.
Concepts and methods are introduced clearly and broadly,
making them accessible to a wide range of readers, yet provoca-
tively enough to promote reflection upon their applicability. There-
fore, the intended readers of ‘‘policy makers, researchers, urban
designers, landscape architects, planners, managers and students’’
(book blurb) should all be satisfied by the content of Open Space:
People Space. Similarly, the authors are key people representing
different academic disciplines, practicing architects and landscape
architects, and members/directors of organisations relating to
green spaces, social inclusion and public policy. As half of them
are associated with the OPENspace Research Centre in Edinburgh,
the majority of the research, historical and political context is in
reference to the UK and USA. This limits the book’s worldwide
perspective, although many of the ideas and discussions will surely
still be relevant to other westernised countries.
Overall, the book is well presented with plenty of images and
tables to supplement the text, making it an enjoyable, thought-
provoking read. I find myself referring back to elements of the
book in conversations, thereby underlining its valuable contribu-
tion for the consideration of open spaces, their use and design.
Sarah Payne1
School of Information Studies,
McGill University, Montreal, Canada
E-mail address: sarah.payne@mail.mcgill.ca
doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2009.10.007
Climate change 2007: Mitigation of climate change, Bert Metz,
Ogunlade Davidson, Peter Bosch, Rutu Dave, Leo Meyer (Eds.).
Cambridge University Press, New York (2007). 851 pp., $85.00
(paperback), ISBN: 978-0-521-70598-1
Bert Metz received his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Delft
University. He is a senior researcher at the Netherlands Environ-
mental Assessment Agency and led the Netherlands delegation to
the negotiations on the Kyoto Protocol to the Climate Convention.
He was elected co-chairman of the Working Group on Climate
1
Sarah Payne is a Post-Doctoral researcher at McGill University studying the
restorative value of soundscapes within urban parks. Her research interests are in
urban public spaces, affordances, restoration, soundscapes, fear of crime and
wayfinding.
533
Change Mitigation of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change of the UN for the third and fourth Assessment Report.
Ogunlade R. Davidson is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering
and served as Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Fourah Bay
College, University of Sierra Leone. He is currently Dean of Post-
Graduate Studies at the University of Sierra Leone at that institu-
tion. He was a Senior Fulbright Scholar at the University of Califor-
nia, Berkeley in 1987, and MacArthur Scholar at Princeton
University and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory in the USA in 1990–
1992. He has published extensively on African energy systems
and policies, power sector reform, renewable energy policy, mitiga-
tion of climate change and on national climate change strategy.
Rutu Dave received her Bachelors degree in Environmental
Sciences from the University of East Anglia (UK) in 2000. She was
awarded her Masters degree by Wageningen University
(Netherlands) in 2002. Furthermore she was a special student at
Yale University, School of Forestry & Environmental Studies in
2001–2002, where she conducted research on Public Private Part-
nerships in the Renewable Energy Sector.
Leo Meyer is Head of the Technical Support Unit of the IPCC and
is a climate and energy specialist with the Netherlands Environ-
mental Assessment Agency.
Climate change 2007: Mitigation of climate change is not light
reading for a summer afternoon. With 851 large format pages, it’s
not light anything and that sense is only magnified when you get
to the content. This is a serious report organized by four scientists
with contributions from hundreds of others (it takes 12 pages just
to list all the contributors!) Climate Change 2007 is not something
you sit down and read – it is a reference book, and a valuable one
for anyone who is serious about understanding the present and
future of climate policy.
This volume, actually, is only one of a set that make up the Fourth
Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC), the others being a description of the scientific basis
for the analysis, and an analysis of the consequences of climate
change for natural and human systems. The IPCC has good breeding,
established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) ‘‘to provide the
world with a clear scientific view on the current state of climate
change and its potential environmental and socio-economic conse-
quences.’’ (http://www.ipcc.ch/organization/organization.htm) For
good measure, it also shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore
two years ago for this effort. However, winning a Nobel Prize does
not necessarily assure an easy path. As reported recently in the
New York Times (Revkin, 2009), the IPCC has had some difficulty
straddling the boundaries of science and international politics
given the rather strict limitations on its mandate to present the
evidence but not make specific policy recommendations. The
interface between science and policy has many twists and turns
that can be very awkward to navigate.
While much the nitty-gritty of what this report covers will be
most comfortably read and best understood by physical scientists,
this book is designed largely to serve policy makers because that
is where the action is. It is policy makers in governments
throughout the globe who can do what is necessary to move us
from the most pessimistic to more optimistic scenarios these scien-
tists have created. The volumes address five questions:
- How can Global Climate Change be reduced or avoided?
- What are the costs of action versus inaction?
- What is the critical timeline available for action?
- What are the policy options available to ‘‘overcome the barriers
to implementation’’ (p. ix)?
- How do these policies options align with other sustainable
development policies?