The Purposive Evaluation of Places

Abstract

A multivariate, purposive model of the experience of places is offered as a theoretical basis for place evaluation. This model suggests a structure to the evaluation of places that may be generalizable across most settings. The structure derives from the definition of place evaluation as the degree to which a person sees a place as helping to achieve that person's goals at various levels of interaction with that place. In order to test empirically this framework, use is made of the facet approach to theory specification and hypothesis testing. Smallest Space analyses of two large scale questionnaire surveys, one of housing satisfaction and the other of hospital ward design, provide strong support for the purposive model. Implications of this multivariate model for future evaluations are discussed, together with the value of harnessing the facet approach to aid the development of evaluation theory.