View source for Built environment

{{Short description|Human-made space in which people live, work and recreate on a day-to-day basis}}
{{specific|date=January 2015}}
[[File:Suburbia by David Shankbone.jpg|thumb|Part of the built environment: [[suburb]]an [[tract housing]] in [[Colorado Springs, Colorado]]]]

The term '''built environment''' refers to human-made conditions and is often used in [[architecture]], [[landscape architecture]], [[urban planning]], [[public health]], [[sociology]], and [[anthropology]], among others.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sussman |first=Ann |title=Cognitive architecture : designing for how we respond to the built environment |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-367-46860-6 |oclc=1224041975}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Handy |first1=Susan L. |last2=Boarnet |first2=Marlon G. |last3=Ewing |first3=Reid |last4=Killingsworth |first4=Richard E. |date=2002-08-01 |title=How the built environment affects physical activity: Views from urban planning |url=https://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797(02)00475-0/abstract |journal=American Journal of Preventive Medicine |language=English |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=64–73 |doi=10.1016/S0749-3797(02)00475-0 |issn=0749-3797 |pmid=12133739|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Sallis">{{cite journal |last1=Sallis |first1=James F. |last2=Floyd |first2=Myron F. |last3=Rodriguez |first3=Daniel A. |last4=Saelens |first4=Brian E. |date=February 2012 |title=The Role of Built Environments in Physical Activity, Obesity, and CVD |journal=Circulation |volume=125 |issue=5 |pages=729–37 |doi=10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.110.969022 |pmc=3315587 |pmid=22311885}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Galster |first1=George |last2=Sharkey |date=2017 |title=Spatial Foundations of Inequality: A Conceptual Model and Empirical Overview |journal=RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=1 |doi=10.7758/rsf.2017.3.2.01 |issn=2377-8253 |doi-access=free |s2cid=131768289}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Lawrence |first1=Denise L. |last2=Low |first2=Setha M. |date=1990 |title=The Built Environment and Spatial Form |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2155973 |journal=Annual Review of Anthropology |volume=19 |pages=453–505 |doi=10.1146/annurev.an.19.100190.002321 |issn=0084-6570 |jstor=2155973|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-02-05|title=The Built Environment Assessment Tool Manual {{!}} DNPAO {{!}} CDC|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/state-local-programs/built-environment-assessment/index.htm|access-date=2021-03-29|website=www.cdc.gov|language=en-us}}</ref> These curated spaces provide the setting for human activity and were created to fulfill human desires and needs.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last=McClure, Bartuska |first=Wendy, Tom |title=The Built Environment: A Collaborative Inquiry into Design and Planning |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2007 |edition=2nd |location=Canada and Hoboken, New Jersey |pages=5–6}}</ref> The term can refer to a plethora of components including the traditionally associated buildings, [[cities]], public infrastructure, [[transportation]], open space, as well as more conceptual components like [[farmlands]], dammed rivers, [[wildlife management]], and even [[domesticated animals]].<ref name=":8" /> 
[[File:Dubai Highrise (Paper White).jpg|thumb|High-rise structures and major highway infrastructure as an example of the built environment in [[Dubai|Dubai, UAE]]]]
The built environment is made up of physical features. However, when studied, the built environment often highlights the connection between physical space and social consequences.<ref name=":1" /> It impacts the environment<ref>{{Cite book |last=Omer |first=Abdeen Mustafa |title=Built Environment : Identifying, Developing, and Moving Sustainable Communities Through Renewable Energy |publisher=Nova Science Publishers, Inc. |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-63463-339-0 |location=e-book |pages=xxix}}</ref> and how society physically maneuvers and functions, as well as less tangible aspects of society such as socioeconomic inequity and health. Various aspects of the built environment contribute to scholarship on [[housing]] and [[Housing segregation in the United States|segregation]], physical activity, food access, [[climate change]], and [[environmental racism]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last=Carmona|first=Matthew|date=2019-01-02|title=Place value: place quality and its impact on health, social, economic and environmental outcomes|journal=Journal of Urban Design|volume=24|issue=1|pages=1–48|doi=10.1080/13574809.2018.1472523|s2cid=115751848|issn=1357-4809|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Ghimire |first1=Ramesh |last2=Ferreira |first2=Susana |last3=Green |first3=Gary T. |last4=Poudyal |first4=Neelam C. |last5=Cordell |first5=H. Ken |last6=Thapa |first6=Janani R. |date=June 2017 |title=Green Space and Adult Obesity in the United States |journal=Ecological Economics |volume=136 |pages=201–212 |doi=10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.02.002 |bibcode=2017EcoEc.136..201G |issn=0921-8009}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{cite journal |last=Rahman |first=T |author2=Cushing RA |author3=Jackson RJ |year=2011 |title=Contributions of built environment to childhood obesity |journal=Mt Sinai J Med |volume=78 |issue=1 |pages=49–57 |doi=10.1002/msj.20235 |pmid=21259262}}</ref>

== Features ==

There are multiple different components that make up the built environment. Below are some prominent examples of what makes up the urban fabric:{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}

=== Buildings ===
Buildings are used for a multitude of purposes: residential, commercial, community, institutional, and governmental. Building interiors are often designed to mediate external factors and provide space to conduct activities, whether that is to sleep, eat, work, etc.<ref name=":9">{{Cite book |last=McClure, Bartuska |first=Wendy, Tom |title=The Built Environment: A Collaborative Inquiry into Design and Planning |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2007 |edition=2md |location=Canada and Hoboken, New Jersey}}</ref> The structure of the building helps define the space around it, giving form to how individuals move through the space around the building:{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}

=== Public infrastructure ===

[[Public infrastructure]] covers a variety of things like roads, highways, pedestrian circulation, public transportation, and parks:{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}

Roads and highways are an important feature of the built environment that enable vehicles to access a wide range of urban and non urban spaces. They are often compared to the arteries and veins of a [[cardiovascular system]] insofar as they circulate people and materials throughout a city similar to how arteries and veins circulate molecules like oxygen, glucose, and hormones between the heart and the cells, which is required for cell survival and optimal functioning.  .<ref name="Samaniego 2008 21–39">{{Cite journal |last1=Samaniego |first1=Horacio |last2=Moses |first2=Melanie E. |date=2008 |title=Cities as organisms: Allometric scaling of urban road networks |journal=Journal of Transport and Land Use |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=21–39 |doi=10.5198/jtlu.v1i1.29 |issn=1938-7849 |jstor=26201607|doi-access=free |hdl=11299/170551 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Pedestrian circulation is vital for the walkability of a city and general access on a human scale. The quality of sidewalks and walkways has an impact on safety and accessibility for those using these spaces. [[Public transportation]] is essential in urban areas, particularly in cities and areas that have a diverse population and income range:{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}

=== Agriculture ===

[[Agricultural production]] accounts for roughly 52% of U.S. land use.<ref>{{Cite web |title=USDA ERS - Land Use, Land Value & Tenure |url=http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/land-use-land-value-tenure |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=www.ers.usda.gov}}</ref> Not only does population growth cause an expansion of cities, it also necessitates more agriculture to accommodate the demand for food for an expanding population:{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}

==History==
{{expand section|date=December 2021}}
"Built environment" as a term was coined in the 1980s, becoming widespread in the 1990s<ref name=":9" /> and places the concept in direct contrast to the supposedly "unbuilt" environment.<ref name="Moffatt 248–268">{{Cite journal |last1=Moffatt |first1=Sebastian |last2=Kohler |first2=Niklaus |date=2008-06-01 |title=Conceptualizing the built environment as a social–ecological system |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/09613210801928131 |journal=Building Research & Information |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=248–268 |doi=10.1080/09613210801928131 |bibcode=2008BuRI...36..248M |issn=0961-3218 |s2cid=111275156|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The term describes a wide range of fields that form an interdisciplinary concept that has been accepted as an idea since classical antiquity<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Burns |first=Alfred |date=1976 |title=Hippodamus and the Planned City |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4435519 |journal=Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=414–428 |issn=0018-2311 |jstor=4435519}}</ref> and potentially before. Through the study of [[anthropology]], the progression of the built environment into what it is today has been able to be examined. When people are able to travel outside of urban centers and areas where the built environment is already prominent, it pushes the boundaries of said built environment into new areas. While there are other factors that influence the built environment, like advancements in architecture or agriculture, transportation allowed for the spread and expansion of the built environment.

=== Pre–industrial Revolution ===

Agriculture, the cultivation of soil to grow crops and animals to provide food as well as products, was first developed about 12,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Development of Agriculture {{!}} National Geographic Society |url=https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/development-agriculture |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=education.nationalgeographic.org}}</ref> This switch, also called the [[Neolithic Revolution]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Neolithic Revolution |url=https://www.history.com/topics/pre-history/neolithic-revolution |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=HISTORY |language=en}}</ref> was the beginning of favoring permanent settlements and altering the land to grow crops and farm animals. This can be thought of as the start of the built environment, the first attempt to make permanent changes to the surrounding environment for human needs. The first appearance of cities was around 7500 BCE, dotted along where land was fertile and good for agricultural use.<ref name=":10">{{Cite web |title=The History of Cities {{!}} National Geographic Society |url=https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/history-cities |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=education.nationalgeographic.org}}</ref> In these early communities, a priority was to ensure basic needs were being met. The built environment, while not as extensive as it is today, was beginning to be cultivated with the implementation of buildings, paths, farm land, domestication of animals and plants, etc. Over the next several thousand years, these smaller cities and villages grew into larger ones where trade, culture, education, and economics were driving factors.<ref name=":10" /> As cities began to grow, they needed to accommodate more people, as well as shifted from focusing on meeting survival needs to prioritizing comfort and desires – there are still many individuals today who do not have their basic needs met and this idea of a shift is within the framework of the evolution of society.<ref name=":9" /> This shift caused the built aspect of these cities to grow and expand to meet the growing population needs:{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}

=== Industrial Revolution ===
[[File:Transactions of conference held March 9 to 13, 1914, at Liberty buildings, Liverpool (1914) (14782417514).jpg|thumb|1914 proposed street drawing]]
The pinnacle of city growth was during the [[Industrial Revolution]] due to the demand for jobs created by the rise in factories.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |title=Industrial Revolution and Technology {{!}} National Geographic Society |url=https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/industrial-revolution-and-technology |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=education.nationalgeographic.org}}</ref> Cities rapidly grew from the 1880s to the early 1900s within the United States. This demand led individuals to move from farms to cities<ref name=":11" /> which resulted in the need to expand city infrastructure and created a boom in population size.<ref>{{Cite web |title=modernization - Population change {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/modernization/Population-change |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> This rapid growth in population in cities led to issues of noise, sanitation, health problems, traffic jams, pollution, compact living quarters, etc.<ref>{{Cite web |title=City Life in the Late 19th Century {{!}} Rise of Industrial America, 1876-1900 {{!}} U.S. History Primary Source Timeline {{!}} Classroom Materials at the Library of Congress |url=https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/rise-of-industrial-america-1876-1900/city-life-in-late-19th-century/ |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA}}</ref> In response to these issues, mass transit, trolleys, cable cars, and subways, were built and prioritized in an effort to improve the quality of the built environment. An example of this during the industrial revolution was the [[City Beautiful movement]]. The City Beautiful movement emerged in the 1890s as a result of the disorder and unhealthy living conditions within industrial cities.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |title=Oxford research encyclopedia of American history |year=2013 |editor=Jon Butler |isbn=978-0-19-932917-5 |location=New York, NY |oclc=1258269397}}</ref> The movement promoted improved circulation, civic centers, better sanitation, and public spaces. With these improvements, the goal was to improve the quality of life for those living in them, as well as make them more profitable.<ref name=":12" /> The City Beautiful movement, while declining in popularity over the years, provided a range of urban reforms. The movement highlighted city planning, civic education, public transportation, and municipal housekeeping.<ref name=":12" />

=== Post Industrial Revolution to present ===

The invention of cars, as well as train usage, became more accessible to the general masses due to the advancements in the steel, chemicals, and fuel generated production. In the 1920s, cars became more accessible to the general public due to [[Henry Ford|Henry Ford's]] advances in the assembly line production.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1920s consumption (article) {{!}} 1920s America |url=https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/rise-to-world-power/1920s-america/a/1920s-consumption |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=Khan Academy |language=en}}</ref> With this new burst of personal transportation, new infrastructure was built to accommodate. Freeways were first built in 1956 to attempt to eliminate unsafe roads, traffic jams, and insufficient routes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Interstate Highway System |url=https://www.history.com/topics/us-states/interstate-highway-system |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=HISTORY |date=7 June 2019 |language=en}}</ref> The creation of freeways and interstate transportation systems opened up the possibility and ease of transportation outside a person's city. This allowed ease of travel not previously found and changed the fabric of the built environment. New streets were being built within cities to accommodate cars as they became increasingly popular, railway lines were being built to connect areas not previously connected, for both public transportation as well as goods transportation. With these changes, the scope of a city began to expand outside its borders. The widespread use of cars and public transportation allowed for the implementation of suburbs; the working individual was able to commute long distances to work everyday.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-02-28 |title=City and Suburb |url=https://americanhistory.si.edu/america-on-the-move/city-and-suburb |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=National Museum of American History |language=en}}</ref> Suburbs blurred the line of city "borders", the day-to-day life that may have originally been relegated to a pedestrian radius now encompassed a wide range of distances due to the use of cars and public transportation. This increased accessibility allowed for the continued expansion of the built environment:{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}

Currently, the built environment is typically used to describe the [[interdisciplinary]] field that encompasses the design, construction, management, and use of human-made physical influence as an interrelated whole. The concept also includes the relationship of these elements of the built environment with human activities over time—rather than a particular element in isolation or at a single moment in time, these aspects act together via the multiplier effect. The field today draws upon areas such as [[economics]], law, [[public policy]], [[sociology]], [[anthropology]], public health, [[management]], [[geography]], design, engineering, technology, and [[environmental sustainability]] to create a large umbrella that is the built environment.<ref name="Moffatt 248–268" />

There are some in modern academia who look at the built environment as all-encompassing, that there is no natural environment left. This argument comes from the idea that the built environment not only refers to that which is built, arranged, or curated, but also to what is managed, controlled, or allowed to continue. What is referred to as "nature" today can be seen as only a commodity that is placed into an environment that is constructed to fulfill the human will and desire.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web |last=Michelbach |first=Christian |title=I Hate Nature |url=https://msp.world/academic-research/writings/i-hate-nature/ |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=Martha Schwartz Partners |language=en-US}}</ref> This commodity allows humans to enjoy the view and experience of nature without it inconveniencing their day-to-day life.<ref name=":13" /> It can be argued that the forests and wild-life parks that are held on a pedestal and are seemingly natural are, in reality, curated and allowed to exist for the enjoyment of the human experience. The planet has been irrevocably changed by human interaction. Wildlife has been hunted, harvested, brought to the brink of extinction, modified to fit human needs, the list goes on. This argument juxtaposes the argument that the built environment is only what is built, that the forests, oceans, wildlife, and other aspects of nature are their own entity:{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}

== Impact ==

The term built environment encompasses a broad range of categories, all of which have potential impacts. When looking at these potential impacts, the environment, as well as people, are heavily affected:{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}

=== Health ===

The built environment can heavily impact the public's health. Historically, unsanitary conditions and overcrowding within cities and urban environments have led to infectious diseases and other health threats.<ref name=":14">{{Cite journal |last1=Perdue |first1=Wendy Collins |last2=Stone |first2=Lesley A. |last3=Gostin |first3=Lawrence O. |date=September 2003 |title=The Built Environment and Its Relationship to the Public's Health: The Legal Framework |journal=American Journal of Public Health |volume=93 |issue=9 |pages=1390–1394 |doi=10.2105/ajph.93.9.1390 |issn=0090-0036 |pmc=1447979 |pmid=12948949}}</ref> Dating back to [[Georges-Eugène Haussmann|Georges-Eugene Haussmann]]'s comprehensive plans for urban Paris in the 1850s, concern for lack of air-flow and sanitary living conditions has inspired many strong city planning efforts. During the 19th century in particular, the connection between the built environment and public health became more apparent as life expectancy decreased and diseases, as well as epidemics, increased.<ref name=":14" /> Today, the built environment can expose individuals to pollutants or toxins that cause chronic diseases like [[asthma]], [[diabetes]], and coronary vascular disease, along with many others.<ref name=":14" /> There is evidence to suggest that chronic disease can be reduced through healthy behaviors like a proper active lifestyle, good nutrition, and reduced exposure to toxins and pollutants.<ref name=":14" /> Yet, the built environment is not always designed to facilitate those healthy behaviors. Many urban environments, in particular suburbs, are automobile reliant, making it difficult or unreasonable to walk or bike to places. This condition not only adds to pollution, but can also make it hard to maintain a proper active lifestyle. Public health research has expanded the list of concerns associated with the built environment to include [[healthy diet|healthy]] [[food security|food access]], [[community gardening|community garden]]s, [[mental health]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Assari, A Birashk, B Nik, M Mousavi Naghdbishi, R |year=2016 |title=IMPACT OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT ON MENTAL HEALTH: REVIEW OF TEHRAN CITY IN IRAN |journal=International Journal on Technical and Physical Problems of Engineering |volume=8 |issue=26 |pages=81–87}}</ref> [[physical health]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Boncinelli |first1=Fabio |last2=Riccioli |first2=Francesco |last3=Marone |first3=Enrico |date=May 2015 |title=Do forests help to keep my body mass index low? |journal=Forest Policy and Economics |volume=54 |pages=11–17 |doi=10.1016/j.forpol.2015.02.003 |issn=1389-9341|hdl=11568/936732 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sander |first1=Heather A. |last2=Ghosh |first2=Debarchana |last3=Hodson |first3=Cody B. |date=August 2017 |title=Varying age-gender associations between body mass index and urban greenspace |journal=Urban Forestry & Urban Greening |volume=26 |pages=1–10 |doi=10.1016/j.ufug.2017.05.016 |issn=1618-8667 |pmc=5716478 |pmid=29225562}}</ref> [[walkability]], and [[cycling mobility]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Lee |first=V |author2=Mikkelsen, L |author3=Srikantharajah, J |author4=Cohen, L |title=Strategies for Enhancing the Built Environment to Support Healthy Eating and Active Living |url=http://www.preventioninstitute.org/component/jlibrary/article/id-60/127.htm |access-date=29 April 2012 |work=Prevention Institute}}{{Dead link|date=August 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> Designing areas of cities with good public health is linked to creating opportunities for physical activity, community involvement, and equal opportunity within the built environment. Urban forms that encourage physical activity and provide adequate public resources for involvement and upward mobility are proven to have far healthier populations than those that discourage such uses of the built environment.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Frank |first1=Lawrence D. |last2=Engelke |first2=Peter O. |date=2001-11-01 |title=The Built Environment and Human Activity Patterns: Exploring the Impacts of Urban Form on Public Health |url=https://doi.org/10.1177/08854120122093339 |journal=Journal of Planning Literature |language=en |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=202–218 |doi=10.1177/08854120122093339 |issn=0885-4122 |s2cid=153978150|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== Social ===

==== Housing and segregation ====
Features in the built environment present physical barriers which constitute the boundaries between [[Neighbourhood|neighborhoods]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kramer|first=Rory|date=2017|title=Defensible Spaces in Philadelphia: Exploring Neighborhood Boundaries Through Spatial Analysis|journal=RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences|volume=3|issue=2|pages=81–101|doi=10.7758/rsf.2017.3.2.04|jstor=10.7758/rsf.2017.3.2.04|s2cid=149167954|issn=2377-8253|doi-access=free}}</ref> Roads and [[Rail transport|railways]], for instance, play a large role in how people can feasibly navigate their environment.<ref name=":4">Roberto, Elizabeth and Jackelyn Hwang. 2017. "Barriers to Integration: Physical Boundaries and the Spatial Structure of Residential Segregation." Working paper, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.</ref> This can result in the isolation of certain communities from various resources and from each other.<ref name=":4" /> The placement of roads, highways, and sidewalks also determines what access people have to jobs and childcare close to home, especially in areas where most people do not own vehicles. Walkability directly influences community, so the way a neighborhood is built affects the outcomes and opportunities of the community that lives there.<ref name=":7">{{Cite news |last=Pando |first=Patricia |date=2011 |title=In the Nickel, Houston's Fifth Ward |work=Houston History Magazine |url=https://houstonhistorymagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Fifth-Ward.pdf}}</ref> Even less physically imposing features, such as [[Building design|architectural design]], can distinguish the boundaries between communities and decrease movement across neighborhood lines.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Small|first=Mario Luis|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226762937.001.0001|title=Villa Victoria|date=2004|publisher=University of Chicago Press|doi=10.7208/chicago/9780226762937.001.0001|isbn=978-0-226-76292-0}}</ref>

The segregation of communities is significant because the qualities of any given space directly impact the [[Well-being|wellbeing]] of the people who live and work there.<ref name=":1" /> [[George Galster]] and [[Patrick Sharkey]] refer to this variation in geographic context as "spatial opportunity structure", and claim that the built environment influences socioeconomic outcomes and general welfare.<ref name=":1" /> For instance, the history of redlining and housing segregation means that there is less green space in many Black and Hispanic neighborhoods. Access to parks and green space has been proven to be good for mental health which puts these communities at a disadvantage.<ref name=":5" /> The historical segregation has contributed to environmental injustice, as these neighborhoods suffer from hotter summers since urban asphalt absorbs more heat than trees and grass.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news |last1=Plumer |first1=Brad |last2=Popovich |first2=Nadja |last3=Palmer |first3=Brian |date=2020-08-24 |title=How Decades of Racist Housing Policy Left Neighborhoods Sweltering |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/08/24/climate/racism-redlining-cities-global-warming.html |access-date=2021-03-29 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The effects of spatial segregation initiatives in the built environment, such as redlining in the 1930s and 1940s, are long lasting. The inability to feasibly move from forcibly economically depressed areas into more prosperous ones creates fiscal disadvantages that are passed down generationally.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Aaronson|first1=Daniel|last2=Hartley|first2=Daniel|last3=Mazumder|first3=Bhashkar|date=November 2021|title=The Effects of the 1930s HOLC "Redlining" Maps|url=https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/pol.20190414|journal=American Economic Journal: Economic Policy|language=en|volume=13|issue=4|pages=355–392|doi=10.1257/pol.20190414|s2cid=204505153|issn=1945-7731|hdl=10419/200568|hdl-access=free}}</ref> With proper public education access tied to the economic prosperity of a neighborhood, many formerly redlined areas continue to lack educational opportunities for residents and, thus, job and higher-income opportunities are limited.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Case|first=Anne|title=Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism|publisher=The Princeton University Press|year=2020|isbn=9780691190785|location=Princeton, NJ|language=English}}</ref>

=== Environmental ===

The built environment has a multitude of impacts on the planet, some of the most prominent effects are greenhouse gas emissions and Urban Heat Island Effect.<ref>{{Cite web |last=US EPA |first=OW |date=2015-10-01 |title=Reduce Urban Heat Island Effect |url=https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/reduce-heat-islands |access-date=2024-01-24 |website=[[United States Environmental Protection Agency]] |language=en}}</ref>

The built environment expands along with factors like population and consumption which directly impact the output of greenhouse gases. As cities and urban areas grow, the need for transportation and structures grows as well. In 2006, transportation accounted for 28% of total greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.<ref name=":15">{{Cite journal |last1=Younger |first1=Margalit |last2=Morrow-Almeida |first2=Heather R. |last3=Vindigni |first3=Stephen M. |last4=Dannenberg |first4=Andrew L. |date=2008-11-01 |title=The Built Environment, Climate Change, and Health: Opportunities for Co-Benefits |url=https://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797(08)00682-X/abstract |journal=American Journal of Preventive Medicine |language=English |volume=35 |issue=5 |pages=517–526 |doi=10.1016/j.amepre.2008.08.017 |pmid=18929978 |s2cid=35151432 |issn=0749-3797|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Building's design, location, orientation, and construction process heavily influence greenhouse gas emissions.<ref name=":15" /> Commercial, industrial, and residential buildings account for roughly 43% of U.S. {{CO2}} emissions in energy usage.<ref name=":15" /> In 2005, agricultural land use accounted for 10–12% of total human-caused greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.<ref name=":15" />

[[Urban heat island]]s are pockets of higher temperature areas, typically within cities, that effect the environment, as well as quality of life.<ref name=":16">{{Cite web |last=US EPA |first=OAR |date=2014-06-17 |title=Learn About Heat Islands |url=https://www.epa.gov/heatislands/what-are-heat-islands |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=[[United States Environmental Protection Agency]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=US EPA |first=OAR |date=2014-06-17 |title=Heat Island Impacts |url=https://www.epa.gov/heatislands/heat-island-impacts |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200720205840/https://www.epa.gov/heatislands/heat-island-impacts |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 20, 2020 |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=[[United States Environmental Protection Agency]] |language=en}}</ref> Urban Heat Islands are caused by reduction of natural landscape in favor of urban materials like asphalt, concrete, brick, etc.<ref name=":16" /> This change from natural landscape to urban materials is the epitome of the built environment and its expansion:{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}

==See also==
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Center for the Built Environment]]
* [[City planning]]
* [[Environmental psychology]]
* [[Environmental sustainability]]
* [[Healing environments]]
* [[Healthy building]]
* [[Indoor air quality]]
* [[International Association of People-Environment Studies]]
* [[Microbiomes of the built environment]]
* [[National Building Museum]]
* [[Natural environment]]
* [[Public health]]
* [[Social environment]]
* [[Urbanism]]
* [[Urban planning]]
* [[Vernacular architecture]]
* [[Weatherization]]
{{div col end}}{{Clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite journal | last1 = Jackson | first1 = Richard J. | last2 = Dannenberg | first2 = Andrew L. | last3 = Frumkin | first3 = Howard | year = 2013 | title = Health and the Built Environment: 10 Years After | journal = American Journal of Public Health | volume = 103 | issue = 9| pages = 1542–1544 | doi=10.2105/ajph.2013.301482| pmid = 23865699 | pmc = 3780695 }}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Leyden | first1 = Kevin M | year = 2003 | title = Social Capital and the Built Environment: The Importance of Walkable Neighborhoods | url = http://www.minority.unc.edu/sph/minconf/2004/materials/leyden.k.pdf | journal = American Journal of Public Health | volume = 93 | issue = 9 | pages = 1546–1551 | doi = 10.2105/ajph.93.9.1546 | pmid = 12948978 | pmc = 1448008 | access-date = 2014-02-26 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171018173922/http://www.minority.unc.edu/sph/minconf/2004/materials/leyden.k.pdf | archive-date = 2017-10-18 | url-status = dead }}
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=805YPAAACAAJ&q=jeb+brugmann+urban+revolution Jeb Brugmann, ''Welcome to the urban revolution: how cities are changing the world'', Bloomsbury Press, 2009]
* [[The Death and Life of Great American Cities|Jane Jacobs, ''The Death and Life of Great American Cities'', Random House, New York, 1961]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081122061610/http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/book.asp?ref=9781405161107&site=1 Andrew Knight & Les Ruddock, ''Advanced Research Methods in the Built Environment'', Wiley-Blackwell 2008]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081217063313/http://www.lawlectures.co.uk/bear2006/chynoweth.pdf Paul Chynoweth, ''The Built Environment Interdiscipline: A Theoretical Model for Decision Makers in Research and Teaching'', Proceedings of the CIB Working Commission (W089) Building Education and Research Conference, Kowloon Sangri-La Hotel, Hong Kong, 10 - 13 April 2006].
* [http://www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118033663.html Richard J. Jackson with Stacy Sinclair, ''Designing Healthy Communities'', Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 2012]
* [http://www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-047062003X.html Russell P. Lopez, ''The Built Environment and Public Health'', Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 2012]

==External links==
* [https://www.asbec.asn.au/ Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC)]
* [https://builtsurvey.utm.my/ Faculty of Built Environment, UTM, Skudai, Johor], Malaysia
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111117234408/http://designinghealthycommunities.org/ ''Designing Healthy Communities'', link to nonprofit organization and public television documentary of same name]
* [http://www.preventioninstitute.org/index.php?option=com_jlibrary&view=article&id=114&Itemid=127 The Built Environment and Health: 11 Profiles of Neighborhood Transformation]

{{Environmental social science}}
{{Human impact on the environment}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Built Environment}}
[[Category:Architectural terminology]]
[[Category:Urban studies and planning terminology]]
[[Category:Health effects by subject|Built]]
[[Category:Human geography]]
[[Category:Cultural landscapes]]
[[Category:Environmental social science concepts]]