Simon Bell – författare

What makes a visually appealing landscape? How can the design and use of a landscape be harmonized? In this significantly revised and updated third edition of Simon Bell's seminal text, he further explores the answers to these questions by interrogating a range of design principles, applications and ideas.Written for students, instructors and professionals, the book unveils a visual design vocabulary for anyone involved with landscape aesthetics including landscape architects, architects, planners, urban designers, landscape managers, foresters, geographers and ecologists. Structured around key design terms, which are explained and illustrated using an extensive range of examples from around the world, including North America, Europe and Asia, this book enables you to describe, debate and design the visual landscape. It starts with basic elements, before moving onto variable design components, and then the ways these elements are organized into compositions, in order to demonstrate how landscapes are created and how meanings and patterns are perceived within them.This new full colour edition contains over 240 images; an updated introduction; examples from China, Vietnam and central Asia; a chapter on how to read and understand visual design elements in the landscape; a teaching model for instructors; and expanded appendix materials including a glossary, references and further reading.

What makes a visually appealing landscape? How can the design and use of a landscape be harmonized? In this significantly revised and updated third edition of Simon Bell's seminal text, he further explores the answers to these questions by interrogating a range of design principles, applications and ideas.Written for students, instructors and professionals, the book unveils a visual design vocabulary for anyone involved with landscape aesthetics including landscape architects, architects, planners, urban designers, landscape managers, foresters, geographers and ecologists. Structured around key design terms, which are explained and illustrated using an extensive range of examples from around the world, including North America, Europe and Asia, this book enables you to describe, debate and design the visual landscape. It starts with basic elements, before moving onto variable design components, and then the ways these elements are organized into compositions, in order to demonstrate how landscapes are created and how meanings and patterns are perceived within them.This new full colour edition contains over 240 images; an updated introduction; examples from China, Vietnam and central Asia; a chapter on how to read and understand visual design elements in the landscape; a teaching model for instructors; and expanded appendix materials including a glossary, references and further reading.

Place, Pedagogy and Play connects landscape architecture with education, psychology, public health and planning. Over the course of thirteen chapters it examines how design and research of places can be approached through multiple lenses – of pedagogy and play and how children, as competent social agents, are engaged in the process of designing their own spaces – and brings a global perspective to the debate around child-friendly environments.Despite growing evidence of the benefits of nature for health, wellbeing, play and learning, children are increasingly spending more time indoors. Indeed, new policy ideas and public campaigns suggest how children can become better connected with nature, yet linking outdoor space to pedagogy is largely overlooked in research. By focusing on three themes within these debates, place and play; place and pedagogy; and place and participation, this book explores a variety of angles to show that best practice requires dialogue between research disciplines, designers, educationists and psychologists, and a move beyond seeing the spaces children inhabit as the domain only of childhood professionals.Through illustrated case studies this book presents a wider picture of the state of childhood today, and offers practical solutions and further research avenues that promote a more holistic and internationally focused perspective on place, pedagogy and play for built-environment professionals.Chapter 12 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Place, Pedagogy and Play connects landscape architecture with education, psychology, public health and planning. Over the course of thirteen chapters it examines how design and research of places can be approached through multiple lenses – of pedagogy and play and how children, as competent social agents, are engaged in the process of designing their own spaces – and brings a global perspective to the debate around child-friendly environments.Despite growing evidence of the benefits of nature for health, wellbeing, play and learning, children are increasingly spending more time indoors. Indeed, new policy ideas and public campaigns suggest how children can become better connected with nature, yet linking outdoor space to pedagogy is largely overlooked in research. By focusing on three themes within these debates, place and play; place and pedagogy; and place and participation, this book explores a variety of angles to show that best practice requires dialogue between research disciplines, designers, educationists and psychologists, and a move beyond seeing the spaces children inhabit as the domain only of childhood professionals.Through illustrated case studies this book presents a wider picture of the state of childhood today, and offers practical solutions and further research avenues that promote a more holistic and internationally focused perspective on place, pedagogy and play for built-environment professionals.Chapter 12 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

This book presents an evidence-based approach to landscape planning and design for urban blue spaces that maximises the benefits to human health and well-being while minimising the risks. Based on applied research and evidence from primary and secondary data sources stemming from the EU-funded BlueHealth project, the book presents nature-based solutions to promote sustainable and resilient cities.Numerous cities around the world are located alongside bodies of water in the form of coastlines, lakes, rivers and canals, but the relationship between city inhabitants and these water sources has often been ambivalent. In many cities, water has been polluted, engineered or ignored completely. But, due to an increasing awareness of the strong connections between city, people, nature and water and health, this paradigm is shifting.The international editorial team, consisting of researchers and professionals across several disciplines, leads the reader through theoretical aspects, evidence, illustrated case studies, risk assessment and a series of validated tools to aid planning and design before finishing with overarching planning and design principles for a range of blue-space types. Over 200 full-colour illustrations accompany the case-study examples from geographic locations all over the world, including Portugal, the United Kingdom, China, Canada, the US, South Korea, Singapore, Norway and Estonia. With green and blue infrastructure now at the forefront of current policies and trends to promote healthy, sustainable cities, Urban Blue Spaces is a must-have for professionals and students in landscape planning, urban design and environmental design.Open Access for the book was funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 666773The Open Access version of this book, available atwww.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-edit/10.4324/9780429056161, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license

This book presents an evidence-based approach to landscape planning and design for urban blue spaces that maximises the benefits to human health and well-being while minimising the risks. Based on applied research and evidence from primary and secondary data sources stemming from the EU-funded BlueHealth project, the book presents nature-based solutions to promote sustainable and resilient cities.Numerous cities around the world are located alongside bodies of water in the form of coastlines, lakes, rivers and canals, but the relationship between city inhabitants and these water sources has often been ambivalent. In many cities, water has been polluted, engineered or ignored completely. But, due to an increasing awareness of the strong connections between city, people, nature and water and health, this paradigm is shifting.The international editorial team, consisting of researchers and professionals across several disciplines, leads the reader through theoretical aspects, evidence, illustrated case studies, risk assessment and a series of validated tools to aid planning and design before finishing with overarching planning and design principles for a range of blue-space types. Over 200 full-colour illustrations accompany the case-study examples from geographic locations all over the world, including Portugal, the United Kingdom, China, Canada, the US, South Korea, Singapore, Norway and Estonia. With green and blue infrastructure now at the forefront of current policies and trends to promote healthy, sustainable cities, Urban Blue Spaces is a must-have for professionals and students in landscape planning, urban design and environmental design.Open Access for the book was funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 666773The Open Access version of this book, available atwww.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-edit/10.4324/9780429056161, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license

Modernist Reinventions of the Rural Landscape explores rural topographies produced by large-scale agricultural development and colonisation schemes planned and carried out in the 20th Century.

This handbook provides researchers and students with an overview of the field of sustainability indicators (SIs) as applied in the interdisciplinary field of sustainable development. The editors have sought to include views from the center ground of SI development but also divergent ideas which represent some of the diverse, challenging and even edgy observations which are prominent in the wider field of SI thinking. The contributions in this handbook:• clearly set out the theoretical background and history of SIs, their origins, roots and initial goals• expand on the disciplines and modalities employed to develop SIs of various kinds• assess the various ways in which SI data are gathered and the availability (over space and time) and quality issues that surround them • explore the multiplex world of SIs as expressed in agencies around the world, via examples of SI practice and the lessons that have emerged from them• critically review the progress that SIs have made over the last 30 years• express the divergence of views which are held about the value of SIs, including differing theories on their efficacy, efficiency and ethics • explore the frontier of contemporary SI thinking, reviewing ante/post and systemic alternativesThis multidisciplinary and international handbook will be of great interest to researchers, students and practitioners working in sustainability research and practice.

Design for Outdoor Recreation takes a detailed look at all aspects of design of facilities needed by visitors to outdoor recreation destinations. The book is a comprehensive manual for planners, designers and managers of recreation taking them through the processes of design and enabling them to find the most appropriate balance between visitor needs and the capacity of the landscape. A range of different aspects are covered including car parking, information signing, hiking, waterside activities, wildlife watching and camping. This second edition incorporates new examples from overseas, including Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Eastern Europe as well as focusing on more current issues such as accessibility and the changing demands for recreational use.

*Please note the 2015 paperback is a reprint of the original 2008 hardback*In an increasingly urbanized world more and more people are turning to our forests and woodland for recreation and tourism. Planning and providing for this growing demand poses challenges that need to be addressed by managers and designers alike.Based on a study of forest recreation from across Europe, the editors bring together the expertise of more than eighty leading professionals and academics to provide a clear and concise guide to best practice. Case studies and careful research give a detailed insight into the issues that forest recreation raises, from strategic planning to integration into the existing rural economy.Essential reading for tourism planners, landscape designers and countryside managers delivering forest recreation and tourism.

Our modern lifestyles often cause us to spend more time sitting behind a desk than being active outdoors. At the same time, our general health is deteriorating. The alarming rise in obesity, sedentary lifestyles and mental ill-health across the developed world has resulted in an urgent desire to understand how the environment, in particular the outdoor environment, influences health. This book addresses the growing interest in salutogenic environments - landscapes that support healthy lifestyles and promote well-being – and the need for innovative methods to research them. Drawing on multidisciplinary approaches from environmental psychology, health sciences, urban design, landscape architecture and horticulture, it questions how future research can be better targeted to inform policy and practice in health promotion.The contributing authors are international experts in researching landscape, health and the environment, drawn together by OPENspace directors who have a unique reputation in this area. This pioneering book is a valuable resource for postgraduate researchers and practitioners in both environmental and health studies.

Landscapes develop and evolve through an interacting series of processes – climatic, geological, ecological and cultural – over varying periods of time. These processes shape the structure and character of the landscapes which we experience. Over time, distinctive patterns emerge – ranging in scale from the distribution of small plants to the sculptured sides of a huge canyon. Our perception of these patterns goes beyond just their visual appreciation – beautiful though they may be – into a richer understanding of how we experience our environment.By understanding this complex pattern–process interaction we can obtain a deeper awareness of landscape and our place in it – as inhabitants and as shapers. The book explores the nature of patterns and ways of classifying them before studying the nature of perception (primarily visual but including other senses), then proceeds to relate this perception to aesthetics and from there to the design process. From this point the main driving processes in landscape are introduced alongside the resulting patterns, these being climatic, landform, ecosystem and cultural aspects.It is this integrative approach of looking at landscape as a kind of self-organising system, overlaid by conscious human planning activities and the unity of pattern and process, which makes this book unique. Landscape draws from a wide range of neighbouring disciplines, of which the landscape planner or designer needs to be aware, but which are often taught as distinct elements. Bell binds these fundamentals together, which enables the landscape to be ‘read’, and this reading to be used as the basis for planning and design.This second edition updates and refreshes the original material with added sections and new photos, particularly making use of the developments in satellite photography. Featuring full colour throughout, this textbook is ideal for anyone studying landscape architecture or any of the disciplines which intersect with the landscape, and which affect it.

Landscapes develop and evolve through an interacting series of processes – climatic, geological, ecological and cultural – over varying periods of time. These processes shape the structure and character of the landscapes which we experience. Over time, distinctive patterns emerge – ranging in scale from the distribution of small plants to the sculptured sides of a huge canyon. Our perception of these patterns goes beyond just their visual appreciation – beautiful though they may be – into a richer understanding of how we experience our environment.By understanding this complex pattern–process interaction we can obtain a deeper awareness of landscape and our place in it – as inhabitants and as shapers. The book explores the nature of patterns and ways of classifying them before studying the nature of perception (primarily visual but including other senses), then proceeds to relate this perception to aesthetics and from there to the design process. From this point the main driving processes in landscape are introduced alongside the resulting patterns, these being climatic, landform, ecosystem and cultural aspects.It is this integrative approach of looking at landscape as a kind of self-organising system, overlaid by conscious human planning activities and the unity of pattern and process, which makes this book unique. Landscape draws from a wide range of neighbouring disciplines, of which the landscape planner or designer needs to be aware, but which are often taught as distinct elements. Bell binds these fundamentals together, which enables the landscape to be ‘read’, and this reading to be used as the basis for planning and design.This second edition updates and refreshes the original material with added sections and new photos, particularly making use of the developments in satellite photography. Featuring full colour throughout, this textbook is ideal for anyone studying landscape architecture or any of the disciplines which intersect with the landscape, and which affect it.

What have cultural anthropologists, historical geographers, landscape ecologists and environmental artists got in common? Along with eight other disciplines, from domains as diverse as planning and design, the arts and humanities as well as the social and natural sciences, they are all fields of importance to the theory and practice of landscape architecture.In the context of the EU funded LE:NOTRE Project, carried out under the auspices of ECLAS, the European Council of Landscape Architecture Schools, international experts from a wide range of related fields were asked to reflect, each from their own perspective, on the interface between their discipline and landscape architecture. The resulting insights presented in this book represent an important contribution to the development the discipline of landscape architecture, as well as suggesting new ways in which future collaboration can help to create a greater interdisciplinary richness at a time when the awareness of the importance of the landscape is growing across a wide range of disciplines.Exploring the Boundaries of Landscape Architecture is the first systematic attempt to explore the territory at the boundaries of landscape architecture. It addresses academics, professionals and students, not just from landscape architecture but also from its neighbouring discipline, all of whom will benefit from a better understanding their areas of shared interest and the chance to develop a common language with which to converse.

What have cultural anthropologists, historical geographers, landscape ecologists and environmental artists got in common? Along with eight other disciplines, from domains as diverse as planning and design, the arts and humanities as well as the social and natural sciences, they are all fields of importance to the theory and practice of landscape architecture.In the context of the EU funded LE:NOTRE Project, carried out under the auspices of ECLAS, the European Council of Landscape Architecture Schools, international experts from a wide range of related fields were asked to reflect, each from their own perspective, on the interface between their discipline and landscape architecture. The resulting insights presented in this book represent an important contribution to the development the discipline of landscape architecture, as well as suggesting new ways in which future collaboration can help to create a greater interdisciplinary richness at a time when the awareness of the importance of the landscape is growing across a wide range of disciplines.Exploring the Boundaries of Landscape Architecture is the first systematic attempt to explore the territory at the boundaries of landscape architecture. It addresses academics, professionals and students, not just from landscape architecture but also from its neighbouring discipline, all of whom will benefit from a better understanding their areas of shared interest and the chance to develop a common language with which to converse.

Designing Sustainable Forest Landscapes is a definitive guide to the design and management of forest landscapes, covering the theory and principles of forest design as well as providing practical guidance on methods and tools. Including a variety of international case studies the book focuses on ecosystem regeneration, the management of natural forests and the management of plantation forests. Using visualisation techniques, design processes and evaluation techniques it looks at promoting landscapes which are designed to optimise the balance between human intervention and natural evolution.A comprehensive, practical and accessible book, Designing Sustainable Forest Landscapes is essential reading for all those involved in forestry and landscape professions.

Defining a research question, describing why it needs to be answered and explaining how methods are selected and applied are challenging tasks for anyone embarking on academic research within the field of landscape architecture. Whether you are an early career researcher or a senior academic, it is essential to draw meaningful conclusions and robust answers to research questions.Research in Landscape Architecture provides guidance on the rationales needed for selecting methods and offers direction to help to frame and design academic research within the discipline. Over the last couple of decades the traditional orientation in landscape architecture as a field of professional practice has gradually been complemented by a growing focus on research. This book will help you to develop the connections between research, teaching and practice, to help you to build a common framework of theory and research methods.Bringing together contributions from landscape architects across the world, this book covers a broad range of research methodologies and examples to help you conduct research successfully. Also included is a study in which the editors discuss the most important priorities for the research within the discipline over the coming years. This book will provide a definitive path to developing research within landscape architecture.

Defining a research question, describing why it needs to be answered and explaining how methods are selected and applied are challenging tasks for anyone embarking on academic research within the field of landscape architecture. Whether you are an early career researcher or a senior academic, it is essential to draw meaningful conclusions and robust answers to research questions.Research in Landscape Architecture provides guidance on the rationales needed for selecting methods and offers direction to help to frame and design academic research within the discipline. Over the last couple of decades the traditional orientation in landscape architecture as a field of professional practice has gradually been complemented by a growing focus on research. This book will help you to develop the connections between research, teaching and practice, to help you to build a common framework of theory and research methods.Bringing together contributions from landscape architects across the world, this book covers a broad range of research methodologies and examples to help you conduct research successfully. Also included is a study in which the editors discuss the most important priorities for the research within the discipline over the coming years. This book will provide a definitive path to developing research within landscape architecture.

Design for Outdoor Recreation takes a detailed look at all aspects of design of facilities needed by visitors to outdoor recreation destinations. The book is a comprehensive manual for planners, designers and managers of recreation taking them through the processes of design and enabling them to find the most appropriate balance between visitor needs and the capacity of the landscape. A range of different aspects are covered including car parking, information signing, hiking, waterside activities, wildlife watching and camping. This second edition incorporates new examples from overseas, including Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Eastern Europe as well as focusing on more current issues such as accessibility and the changing demands for recreational use.

The groundbreaking first edition of Sustainability Indicators reviewed the development and value of sustainability indicators and discussed the advantage of taking a holistic and qualitative approach rather than focusing on strictly quantitative measures. In the new edition the authors bring the literature up to date and show that the basic requirement for a systemic approach is now well grounded in the evidence. They examine the origins and development of Systemic Sustainability Analysis (SSA) as a theoretical approach to sustainability which has been developed in practice in a number of countries on an array of projects since the first edition. They look at how SSA has evolved into the practical approaches of Systemic Prospective Sustainability Analysis (SPSA) and IMAGINE, and, in particular how a wide range of participatory methodologies have been adopted over the years. They also provide an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of projects that undertake work in the general field of sustainable development.

Although urban allotment gardening dates back to the nineteenth century, it has recently undergone a renaissance of interest and popularity. This is the result of greater concern over urban greenspace, food security and quality of life. This book presents a comprehensive, research-based overview of the various features, benefits and values associated with urban allotment gardening in Europe. The book is based on a European COST Action project, which brings together researchers and practitioners from all over Europe for the first detailed exploration of the subject on a continent-wide scale. It assesses the policy, planning and design aspects, as well as the social and ecological benefits of urban allotment gardening. Through an examination of the wide range of different traditions and practices across Europe, it brings together the most recent research to discuss the latest evolutions of urban allotment gardening and to help raise awareness and fill knowledge gaps. The book provides a multidisciplinary perspective, including insights from horticulture and soil science, ecology, sociology, urban geography, landscape, planning and design. The themes are underpinned by case studies from a number of European countries which supply a wide range of examples to illustrate different key issues.

This handbook provides researchers and students with an overview of the field of sustainability indicators (SIs) as applied in the interdisciplinary field of sustainable development. The editors have sought to include views from the center ground of SI development but also divergent ideas which represent some of the diverse, challenging and even edgy observations which are prominent in the wider field of SI thinking. The contributions in this handbook:• clearly set out the theoretical background and history of SIs, their origins, roots and initial goals• expand on the disciplines and modalities employed to develop SIs of various kinds• assess the various ways in which SI data are gathered and the availability (over space and time) and quality issues that surround them • explore the multiplex world of SIs as expressed in agencies around the world, via examples of SI practice and the lessons that have emerged from them• critically review the progress that SIs have made over the last 30 years• express the divergence of views which are held about the value of SIs, including differing theories on their efficacy, efficiency and ethics • explore the frontier of contemporary SI thinking, reviewing ante/post and systemic alternativesThis multidisciplinary and international handbook will be of great interest to researchers, students and practitioners working in sustainability research and practice.

Our modern lifestyles often cause us to spend more time sitting behind a desk than being active outdoors. At the same time, our general health is deteriorating. The alarming rise in obesity, sedentary lifestyles and mental ill-health across the developed world has resulted in an urgent desire to understand how the environment, in particular the outdoor environment, influences health. This book addresses the growing interest in salutogenic environments - landscapes that support healthy lifestyles and promote well-being – and the need for innovative methods to research them. Drawing on multidisciplinary approaches from environmental psychology, health sciences, urban design, landscape architecture and horticulture, it questions how future research can be better targeted to inform policy and practice in health promotion.The contributing authors are international experts in researching landscape, health and the environment, drawn together by OPENspace directors who have a unique reputation in this area. This pioneering book is a valuable resource for postgraduate researchers and practitioners in both environmental and health studies.

*Please note the 2015 paperback is a reprint of the original 2008 hardback*In an increasingly urbanized world more and more people are turning to our forests and woodland for recreation and tourism. Planning and providing for this growing demand poses challenges that need to be addressed by managers and designers alike.Based on a study of forest recreation from across Europe, the editors bring together the expertise of more than eighty leading professionals and academics to provide a clear and concise guide to best practice. Case studies and careful research give a detailed insight into the issues that forest recreation raises, from strategic planning to integration into the existing rural economy.Essential reading for tourism planners, landscape designers and countryside managers delivering forest recreation and tourism.

Rich Pictures focuses on the value of developing visual narratives – Rich Pictures – as an important component and starting point for community participation. A key device for the community to share ideas and perspectives on current and potential future situations, Rich Pictures provide a shared space for members to set out ideas and negotiate.While Rich Pictures are widely and globally used, this is the first book discussing their use, and how and when to use this technique for maximum participatory value. A valuable read for community engagement professionals, planners, politicians, and members of affected communities, Rich Pictures is richly illustrated with examples and authors’ testimonials.

Although urban allotment gardening dates back to the nineteenth century, it has recently undergone a renaissance of interest and popularity. This is the result of greater concern over urban greenspace, food security and quality of life. This book presents a comprehensive, research-based overview of the various features, benefits and values associated with urban allotment gardening in Europe. The book is based on a European COST Action project, which brings together researchers and practitioners from all over Europe for the first detailed exploration of the subject on a continent-wide scale. It assesses the policy, planning and design aspects, as well as the social and ecological benefits of urban allotment gardening. Through an examination of the wide range of different traditions and practices across Europe, it brings together the most recent research to discuss the latest evolutions of urban allotment gardening and to help raise awareness and fill knowledge gaps. The book provides a multidisciplinary perspective, including insights from horticulture and soil science, ecology, sociology, urban geography, landscape, planning and design. The themes are underpinned by case studies from a number of European countries which supply a wide range of examples to illustrate different key issues.

Designing Sustainable Forest Landscapes is a definitive guide to the design and management of forest landscapes, covering the theory and principles of forest design as well as providing practical guidance on methods and tools. Including a variety of international case studies the book focuses on ecosystem regeneration, the management of natural forests and the management of plantation forests. Using visualisation techniques, design processes and evaluation techniques it looks at promoting landscapes which are designed to optimise the balance between human intervention and natural evolution.A comprehensive, practical and accessible book, Designing Sustainable Forest Landscapes is essential reading for all those involved in forestry and landscape professions.

The groundbreaking first edition of Sustainability Indicators reviewed the development and value of sustainability indicators and discussed the advantage of taking a holistic and qualitative approach rather than focusing on strictly quantitative measures. In the new edition the authors bring the literature up to date and show that the basic requirement for a systemic approach is now well grounded in the evidence.They examine the origins and development of Systemic Sustainability Analysis (SSA) as a theoretical approach to sustainability which has been developed in practice in a number of countries on an array of projects since the first edition. They look at how SSA has evolved into the practical approaches of Systemic Prospective Sustainability Analysis (SPSA) and IMAGINE, and, in particular how a wide range of participatory methodologies have been adopted over the years. They also provide an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of projects that undertake work in the general field of sustainable development.

Stakeholder or public participation has become something of a modern mantra employed in all sorts of contexts to give people a voice. There are many variants on this 'participation' but traditionally they all share a desire to maximise involvement and provide desired 'outputs' of a required quality as quickly and as cheaply as possible. Difference tends to be reduced and compromise encouraged as the outputs or even just the appearance of participation are emphasised. This book explores the large and diverse range of participatory methods currently in use, examines the problems and gaps in these methods and sets out an innovative new methodology which overcomes these shortcomings. Uniquely, this method builds from the assumption that it is not just the outputs that matter in participation - it is also the journey. 'Triple Task' is designed to help groups explore their current situation and develop a path by which they can improve their functioning and ultimately make a positive contribution to the lives of others. The book includes in-depth case studies of Triple Task in action across a range of contexts and countries, with particular focus on an EU project concerning indicators in policy-making. This new approach can be used in any context and with any sort of group to help them produce more informative 'outputs' in which a deep reflection of how the group works is allied to an analysis of how problems can be solved.