diff --git a/src/pip/_internal/commands/download.py b/src/pip/_internal/commands/download.py
index 1ccfd449338..36b05a2ccdd 100644
--- a/src/pip/_internal/commands/download.py
+++ b/src/pip/_internal/commands/download.py
@@ -203,7 +203,7 @@ def run(self, options, args):
                     finder=finder,
                     session=session,
                     wheel_cache=None,
-                    use_user_site=False,
+                    working_scheme="global",
                     upgrade_strategy="to-satisfy-only",
                     force_reinstall=False,
                     ignore_dependencies=options.ignore_dependencies,
diff --git a/src/pip/_internal/commands/install.py b/src/pip/_internal/commands/install.py
index e144e39ed79..6a6942603ba 100644
--- a/src/pip/_internal/commands/install.py
+++ b/src/pip/_internal/commands/install.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 import operator
 import os
 import shutil
+import site
 
 from pip._internal import cmdoptions
 from pip._internal.basecommand import RequirementCommand
@@ -12,13 +13,17 @@
 from pip._internal.exceptions import (
     CommandError, InstallationError, PreviousBuildDirError
 )
-from pip._internal.locations import distutils_scheme, virtualenv_no_global
+from pip._internal.locations import (
+    distutils_scheme, running_under_virtualenv, virtualenv_no_global
+)
 from pip._internal.operations.prepare import RequirementPreparer
 from pip._internal.req import RequirementSet
 from pip._internal.resolve import Resolver
 from pip._internal.status_codes import ERROR
 from pip._internal.utils.filesystem import check_path_owner
-from pip._internal.utils.misc import ensure_dir, get_installed_version
+from pip._internal.utils.misc import (
+    ensure_dir, get_installed_version, guess_correct_working_scheme
+)
 from pip._internal.utils.temp_dir import TempDirectory
 from pip._internal.wheel import WheelBuilder
 
@@ -75,14 +80,37 @@ def __init__(self, *args, **kw):
                  '<dir>. Use --upgrade to replace existing packages in <dir> '
                  'with new versions.'
         )
+
+        cmd_opts.add_option(
+            '--scheme',
+            dest='working_scheme',
+            default=None,
+            help=(
+                "Determines where to install the package. Valid values are "
+                "global, user and venv."
+            )
+        )
+
         cmd_opts.add_option(
             '--user',
             dest='use_user_site',
             action='store_true',
-            help="Install to the Python user install directory for your "
-                 "platform. Typically ~/.local/, or %APPDATA%\\Python on "
-                 "Windows. (See the Python documentation for site.USER_BASE "
-                 "for full details.)")
+            help=(
+                "Shorthand for --scheme user; if --scheme is passed, "
+                "this option is ignored."
+            ),
+        )
+
+        cmd_opts.add_option(
+            '--global',
+            dest='use_global_site',
+            action='store_true',
+            help=(
+                "Shorthand for --scheme global; if --scheme is passed, "
+                "this option is ignored."
+            ),
+        )
+
         cmd_opts.add_option(
             '--root',
             dest='root_path',
@@ -192,17 +220,67 @@ def run(self, options, args):
 
         options.src_dir = os.path.abspath(options.src_dir)
         install_options = options.install_options or []
-        if options.use_user_site:
+
+        # When not passed a scheme, try to figure out what scheme to be used.
+        # Also handles --user and --global.
+        if options.working_scheme is None:
+            if options.use_user_site and options.use_global_site:
+                raise CommandError(
+                    "Unable to determine which scheme to use for "
+                    "installation (got both --global and --user). "
+                    "Please specify scheme explicitly using --scheme."
+                )
+            elif options.use_user_site or options.use_global_site:
+                if options.use_user_site:
+                    options.working_scheme = "user"
+                else:
+                    assert options.use_global_site
+                    options.working_scheme = "global"
+            # If we're in an virtualenv, we want to use the venv scheme.
+            elif running_under_virtualenv():
+                options.working_scheme = "venv"
+            # user scheme doesn't make sense if user site-packages is disabled
+            # or if a prefix is to be used.
+            elif not site.ENABLE_USER_SITE or options.prefix_path:
+                options.working_scheme = "global"
+            else:
+                # NOTE: We do backwards compatibility checks here. Eventually,
+                #       this line should just be:
+                # options.working_scheme = "user"
+                options.working_scheme = guess_correct_working_scheme()
+
+        # Ensure no one can ever depend on these variables.
+        del options.use_global_site
+        del options.use_user_site
+
+        # Ensure the given scheme is a valid one.
+        if options.working_scheme not in ["user", "global", "venv"]:
+            raise CommandError(
+                "Got unknown scheme {!r}. "
+                "Should be one of 'global', 'user' or 'venv'."
+                .format(options.working_scheme)
+            )
+
+        # Sanity checks for working schemes
+        if options.working_scheme == "venv":
+            if not running_under_virtualenv():
+                raise CommandError(
+                    "Can not use 'venv' scheme when a virtualenv is not "
+                    "active."
+                )
+            options.require_venv = True
+        elif options.working_scheme == "user":
             if options.prefix_path:
                 raise CommandError(
-                    "Can not combine '--user' and '--prefix' as they imply "
-                    "different installation locations"
+                    "Can not combine '--scheme user' and '--prefix' as they "
+                    "imply different installation locations."
                 )
             if virtualenv_no_global():
                 raise InstallationError(
-                    "Can not perform a '--user' install. User site-packages "
-                    "are not visible in this virtualenv."
+                    "Can not perform a user scheme install. User "
+                    "site-packages are not visible in this virtualenv."
                 )
+
             install_options.append('--user')
             install_options.append('--prefix=')
 
@@ -246,7 +324,7 @@ def run(self, options, args):
                     target_dir=target_temp_dir.path,
                     pycompile=options.compile,
                     require_hashes=options.require_hashes,
-                    use_user_site=options.use_user_site,
+                    working_scheme=options.working_scheme,
                 )
 
                 self.populate_requirement_set(
@@ -266,7 +344,7 @@ def run(self, options, args):
                         finder=finder,
                         session=session,
                         wheel_cache=wheel_cache,
-                        use_user_site=options.use_user_site,
+                        working_scheme=options.working_scheme,
                         upgrade_strategy=upgrade_strategy,
                         force_reinstall=options.force_reinstall,
                         ignore_dependencies=options.ignore_dependencies,
@@ -301,7 +379,7 @@ def run(self, options, args):
                     )
 
                     possible_lib_locations = get_lib_location_guesses(
-                        user=options.use_user_site,
+                        user=options.working_scheme == "user",
                         home=target_temp_dir.path,
                         root=options.root_path,
                         prefix=options.prefix_path,
@@ -326,11 +404,11 @@ def run(self, options, args):
                 except EnvironmentError as e:
                     message_parts = []
 
-                    user_option_part = "Consider using the `--user` option"
+                    user_option_part = "Consider using `--scheme user` option"
                     permissions_part = "Check the permissions"
 
                     if e.errno == errno.EPERM:
-                        if not options.use_user_site:
+                        if options.working_scheme != "user":
                             message_parts.extend([
                                 user_option_part, " or ",
                                 permissions_part.lower(),
diff --git a/src/pip/_internal/commands/wheel.py b/src/pip/_internal/commands/wheel.py
index e03983cd124..82e02b750e9 100644
--- a/src/pip/_internal/commands/wheel.py
+++ b/src/pip/_internal/commands/wheel.py
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ def run(self, options, args):
                     finder=finder,
                     session=session,
                     wheel_cache=wheel_cache,
-                    use_user_site=False,
+                    working_scheme="global",
                     upgrade_strategy="to-satisfy-only",
                     force_reinstall=False,
                     ignore_dependencies=options.ignore_dependencies,
diff --git a/src/pip/_internal/req/req_install.py b/src/pip/_internal/req/req_install.py
index 43b85665bd6..4a81dfcce56 100644
--- a/src/pip/_internal/req/req_install.py
+++ b/src/pip/_internal/req/req_install.py
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ def __init__(self, req, comes_from, source_dir=None, editable=False,
         self.install_succeeded = None
         # UninstallPathSet of uninstalled distribution (for possible rollback)
         self.uninstalled_pathset = None
-        self.use_user_site = False
+        self.working_scheme = "global"
         self.target_dir = None
         self.options = options if options else {}
         self.pycompile = pycompile
@@ -840,7 +840,7 @@ def get_install_args(self, global_options, record_filename, root, prefix):
         else:
             install_args += ["--no-compile"]
 
-        if running_under_virtualenv():
+        if self.working_scheme == "venv":
             py_ver_str = 'python' + sysconfig.get_python_version()
             install_args += ['--install-headers',
                              os.path.join(sys.prefix, 'include', 'site',
@@ -913,7 +913,7 @@ def check_if_exists(self):
             existing_dist = pkg_resources.get_distribution(
                 self.req.name
             )
-            if self.use_user_site:
+            if self.working_scheme == "user":
                 if dist_in_usersite(existing_dist):
                     self.conflicts_with = existing_dist
                 elif (running_under_virtualenv() and
@@ -935,7 +935,7 @@ def move_wheel_files(self, wheeldir, root=None, prefix=None,
                          warn_script_location=True):
         move_wheel_files(
             self.name, self.req, wheeldir,
-            user=self.use_user_site,
+            user=self.working_scheme == "user",
             home=self.target_dir,
             root=root,
             prefix=prefix,
diff --git a/src/pip/_internal/req/req_set.py b/src/pip/_internal/req/req_set.py
index fb07120e880..ab64992b0a8 100644
--- a/src/pip/_internal/req/req_set.py
+++ b/src/pip/_internal/req/req_set.py
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@
 class RequirementSet(object):
 
     def __init__(self,
-                 require_hashes=False, target_dir=None, use_user_site=False,
-                 pycompile=True):
+                 require_hashes=False, target_dir=None,
+                 working_scheme="global", pycompile=True):
         """Create a RequirementSet.
 
         :param wheel_cache: The pip wheel cache, for passing to
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ def __init__(self,
         self.unnamed_requirements = []
         self.successfully_downloaded = []
         self.reqs_to_cleanup = []
-        self.use_user_site = use_user_site
+        self.working_scheme = working_scheme
         self.target_dir = target_dir  # set from --target option
         self.pycompile = pycompile
         # Maps from install_req -> dependencies_of_install_req
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ def add_requirement(self, install_req, parent_req_name=None,
                     wheel.filename
                 )
 
-        install_req.use_user_site = self.use_user_site
+        install_req.working_scheme = self.working_scheme
         install_req.target_dir = self.target_dir
         install_req.pycompile = self.pycompile
         install_req.is_direct = (parent_req_name is None)
diff --git a/src/pip/_internal/resolve.py b/src/pip/_internal/resolve.py
index 0c22ee9c92c..b38ac5fdf5e 100644
--- a/src/pip/_internal/resolve.py
+++ b/src/pip/_internal/resolve.py
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ class Resolver(object):
 
     _allowed_strategies = {"eager", "only-if-needed", "to-satisfy-only"}
 
-    def __init__(self, preparer, session, finder, wheel_cache, use_user_site,
+    def __init__(self, preparer, session, finder, wheel_cache, working_scheme,
                  ignore_dependencies, ignore_installed, ignore_requires_python,
                  force_reinstall, isolated, upgrade_strategy):
         super(Resolver, self).__init__()
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ def __init__(self, preparer, session, finder, wheel_cache, use_user_site,
         self.ignore_dependencies = ignore_dependencies
         self.ignore_installed = ignore_installed
         self.ignore_requires_python = ignore_requires_python
-        self.use_user_site = use_user_site
+        self.working_scheme = working_scheme
 
     def resolve(self, requirement_set):
         """Resolve what operations need to be done
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ def _set_req_to_reinstall(self, req):
         """
         # Don't uninstall the conflict if doing a user install and the
         # conflict is not a user install.
-        if not self.use_user_site or dist_in_usersite(req.satisfied_by):
+        if self.working_scheme != "user" or dist_in_usersite(req.satisfied_by):
             req.conflicts_with = req.satisfied_by
         req.satisfied_by = None
 
diff --git a/src/pip/_internal/utils/misc.py b/src/pip/_internal/utils/misc.py
index d9ecbeb8302..5a5b40623bb 100644
--- a/src/pip/_internal/utils/misc.py
+++ b/src/pip/_internal/utils/misc.py
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 import subprocess
 import sys
 import tarfile
+import tempfile
 import zipfile
 from collections import deque
 
@@ -28,8 +29,8 @@
 from pip._internal.compat import console_to_str, expanduser, stdlib_pkgs
 from pip._internal.exceptions import InstallationError
 from pip._internal.locations import (
-    running_under_virtualenv, site_packages, user_site, virtualenv_no_global,
-    write_delete_marker_file
+    distutils_scheme, running_under_virtualenv, site_packages, user_site,
+    virtualenv_no_global, write_delete_marker_file
 )
 
 if PY2:
@@ -877,3 +878,38 @@ def enum(*sequential, **named):
     reverse = dict((value, key) for key, value in enums.items())
     enums['reverse_mapping'] = reverse
     return type('Enum', (), enums)
+
+
+def guess_correct_working_scheme():
+    # XXX: This is purely for addressing backwards compatibility concerns.
+
+    def _can_create_file_in(folder_path):
+        """Returns whether a file can be created in the given folder
+        """
+        # If the given folder does not exist, try to create it. If there's
+        # going to be a successful installation, the folder probably needs to
+        # be created anyway.
+        try:
+            ensure_dir(folder_path)
+        except EnvironmentError:
+            return False
+
+        # Try to create a temporary file in the folder and delete it.
+        try:
+            with tempfile.TemporaryFile(dir=folder_path):
+                pass
+        except EnvironmentError:
+            return False
+
+        return True
+
+    # This is the "smart" portion. Check if there's any potential global folder
+    # for which pip doesn't have the required permissions. If there's any such
+    # location, pip should perform a user installation instead.
+    for folder in distutils_scheme("").values():
+        if not _can_create_file_in(folder):
+            return "user"
+
+    # Assume the user wants to do a global installation. This is the most
+    # backwards compatible policy; preserving behaviour for `sudo pip install`
+    return "global"
diff --git a/tests/functional/test_install.py b/tests/functional/test_install.py
index 9d137e8d1de..32c9495836b 100644
--- a/tests/functional/test_install.py
+++ b/tests/functional/test_install.py
@@ -708,7 +708,7 @@ def test_install_package_conflict_prefix_and_user(script, data):
         expect_error=True, quiet=True,
     )
     assert (
-        "Can not combine '--user' and '--prefix'" in result.stderr
+        "Can not combine '--scheme user' and '--prefix'" in result.stderr
     )
 
 
diff --git a/tests/functional/test_install_user.py b/tests/functional/test_install_user.py
index cf0cb513773..c9a3d95a73d 100644
--- a/tests/functional/test_install_user.py
+++ b/tests/functional/test_install_user.py
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ def test_install_subversion_usersite_editable_with_distribute(
                 tmpdir.join("cache"),
             )
         )
-        result.assert_installed('INITools', use_user_site=True)
+        result.assert_installed('INITools', in_user_site=True)
 
     def test_install_curdir_usersite(self, script, virtualenv, data):
         """
@@ -98,8 +98,8 @@ def test_install_user_venv_nositepkgs_fails(self, script, data):
             expect_error=True,
         )
         assert (
-            "Can not perform a '--user' install. User site-packages are not "
-            "visible in this virtualenv." in result.stderr
+            "Can not perform a user scheme install. User site-packages are "
+            "not visible in this virtualenv." in result.stderr
         )
 
     @pytest.mark.network
diff --git a/tests/lib/__init__.py b/tests/lib/__init__.py
index 99af72dc52c..5538d03894b 100644
--- a/tests/lib/__init__.py
+++ b/tests/lib/__init__.py
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ def __str__(self):
 
     def assert_installed(self, pkg_name, editable=True, with_files=[],
                          without_files=[], without_egg_link=False,
-                         use_user_site=False, sub_dir=False):
+                         in_user_site=False, sub_dir=False):
         e = self.test_env
 
         if editable:
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ def assert_installed(self, pkg_name, editable=True, with_files=[],
             without_egg_link = True
             pkg_dir = e.site_packages / pkg_name
 
-        if use_user_site:
+        if in_user_site:
             egg_link_path = e.user_site / pkg_name + '.egg-link'
         else:
             egg_link_path = e.site_packages / pkg_name + '.egg-link'
@@ -217,7 +217,7 @@ def assert_installed(self, pkg_name, editable=True, with_files=[],
                     repr(egg_link_contents))
                 ))
 
-        if use_user_site:
+        if in_user_site:
             pth_file = e.user_site / 'easy-install.pth'
         else:
             pth_file = e.site_packages / 'easy-install.pth'
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_req.py b/tests/unit/test_req.py
index 1e4646cd54a..550957621d4 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_req.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_req.py
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ def _basic_resolver(self, finder):
         return Resolver(
             preparer=preparer, wheel_cache=None,
             session=PipSession(), finder=finder,
-            use_user_site=False, upgrade_strategy="to-satisfy-only",
+            working_scheme="global", upgrade_strategy="to-satisfy-only",
             ignore_dependencies=False, ignore_installed=False,
             ignore_requires_python=False, force_reinstall=False,
             isolated=False,