The main purpose of the present study is to describe a planning methodology to improve the quality of the built environment based on the rational control of solar radiation and the view of the sky vault. The main criterion used to control the access and obstruction of solar radiation was the concept of desirability and undesirability of solar radiation. A case study for implementing the proposed methodology is developed. Although needing further developments to find its way into regulations and practical applications, the methodology has shown a strong potential to deal with an aspect that otherwise would be almost impossible. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.