A mathematical model emphasizing the development of spatial heterogeneity and the autonomous behaviour of constituent species is described. This model, which is called the Spatial Lattice Habitat Preference Model (SLHP model), addresses the relationship between microscopic interactions among individuals within patches and macroscopic spatial patterns produced. Numerical calculations are used to show the various ways that spatial pattern formation occurs when environmental differences exist. Without environmental differences, populations become homogeneous in space and the macroscopic SLHP model becomes a Volterra system, as a special case. With environmental heterogeneity, however, population oscillations, when they occur, tend to be of relatively small magnitude. In as much as these behaviours accord with present experimental and field evidence, the SLHP model may be a promising tool for modelling the dynamics of spatially heterogeneous ecological systems.