Environmental sociology comprises a diverse set of interests, with the built‐environment/natural‐environment cleavage being especially significant. Yet, by virtue of their interest in societal‐environmental relations,allenvironmental sociologists depart significantly from the disciplinary tradition of ignoring the physical environment. We offer an ecological perspective as a fruitful way of viewing the relations between societal and environmental phenomena, and as a means of integrating work on both built and natural environ