The specialization in the social basis of design has two components. It is an academic discipline devoted to the description and analysis of the relation between social organization and built form, and it is professionally oriented towards the task of aiding designers in the building process, focusing on programming and evaluation research. In both its theoretical and applied aspects research focuses on all scales (object, room, building, outdoor spaces) and employs theories and techniques from a wide range of disciplines.

The social researchers in Berkeley's Architecture Department emphasize the processes by which the meaning of the environment is constructed. Thus our methodological strength is participant-observation, content analysis, and semantic ethnography. Examples of present work include studies of vulnerable population (such as the elderly, children, the urban poor, and disabled) and the analysis of institutions such as health care delivery, schools, housing and urban parks.