Impact Of Built Environment Research Articles

The Impact of Built Environment in Shanghai Neighborhoods on the Physical and Mental Health of Elderly Residents: Validation of a Chain Mediation Model Using Deep Learning and Big Data Methods

As urban aging issues intensify, the impact of the built environment in urban neighborhoods on the physical and mental health of elderly residents has garnered increasing attention. Previous studies have demonstrated that the built environment is related to various health outcomes; however, most empirical research typically focuses on the objective physical environment, lacking measurements of subjective environmental perceptions. This study, using 24 neighborhoods in Shanghai as case studies, employed deep learning, big data methods, and surveys to collect 462 valid questionnaires from elderly residents. Structural equation modeling was applied to explore the relationship between the built environment and the physical and mental health of elderly residents, incorporating respondents’ subjective perceptions, physical activity, and neighborhood relationships as chain mediation effects. The results indicate that although there is no direct relationship between the built environment and the mental health of elderly residents, the built environment positively impacts mental health through enhancing subjective.

Retrospective Cross-Sectional Observational Study on Commuters' Travel Behaviour and Preferences in Delhi: Impact of Built Environment, individual attitude and Socio-Economic Factors

This study examines the factors influencing the travel behaviour of Delhi's working population, utilizing retrospective cross-sectional data from 2005 and 2019 collected across four neighbourhoods. The research provides empirical evidence on how travel mode choices have evolved over time in response to changes in the built environment and socioeconomic conditions. GIS-based analysis was conducted to assess the impact of temporal variations in the built environment on travel behaviour. Results reveal a 21% increase in the reliance on private modes of transportation between 2005 and 2019, with the most significant rise observed in 4-wheeler usage. Conversely, bus usage declined by 32%, attributed to various factors including overcrowding, hygiene concerns, and perceived reliability issues. However, in 2019, Connaught Place reported the highest bus usage at 28%, attributed to its high bus stop density, while enhanced metro facilities across the neighbourhoods led to a 20% increase in overall metro ridership. Multinomial logistic regression analysis identified key socioeconomic determinants of travel behaviour, including age, gender, income, vehicle ownership, and commuter attitude. In 2005, two-wheeler preference over buses was primarily driven by vehicle ownership (O.R.: 620.95), gender (O.R.: 4.20), and income (O.R.: 1.28). By 2019, commuter attitude (ProPV) emerged as a significant factor, alongside vehicle ownership (O.R.: 136.72), ProPV (O.R.: 21.41), and income (O.R.: 2.14). A similar trend was observed for car usage, highlighting the increasing influence of commuter behaviour and attitudes on travel choices over time. These findings underscore critical policy implications for the development and enhancement of Delhi's transport system, offering insights that could be applicable to other cities facing similar challenges.

Sustainability Assessments of Living Walls in the Mediterranean Area

The evaluation of the environmental impacts of a living wall (LW) system cannot leave out the effects on the buildings’ sustainability during its life cycle. Consequently, to consider the embodied impacts of all the components, an LCA of the whole system is recommended. Therefore, this paper was targeted to evaluate the environmental performances of four LW solutions considering a combination of energy performances and system LCA. In the first step, the yearly energy consumption of a reference building equipped with LWs was determined through simulations carried out in the EnergyPlus environment. Subsequently, the LCA completed the evaluation of the environmental impact of the different building configurations. To quantify the effects related to the implementation of LWs, the results were compared to those obtained for the reference building without vegetation. The analyses refer to a real university’s four-floor housing located in the city of Reggio Calabria (38°07′21.4″ N 15°39′45.2″ E), which is currently under construction. The results confirm the benefits achievable through the LW integration, measuring both energy savings and the increase in the hours with indoor temperature within the well-being zone. At an annual level, the best LW solution produces 24% of energy saving and LCA highlights a limitation of 2.1 × 105 kg of CO2eq when compared to the reference case. These data confirm the effectiveness of implementing LWs as a reliable intervention to enhance building environmental impact, especially for edifices requiring renovation.

Impacts of Built Environment on Urban Vitality in Cultural Districts: A Case Study of Haikou and Suzhou

Impacts of Built Environment on Urban Vitality in Cultural Districts: A Case Study of Haikou and Suzhou

Developing a systematic framework for integrating life cycle carbon emission assessment in urban building energy modeling

Extensive research has been conducted in recent years on the environmental evaluation of building lifecycles, spanning construction, usage, and end-of-life phases. This holistic approach shows promise in assisting cities to achieve decarbonization goals, given the significant carbon emissions attributed to buildings in urban areas. Prior efforts have successfully utilized Urban Building Energy Modeling (UBEM) tools to assess city-scale building energy consumption and explore energy efficiency scenarios. However, the integration of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) with UBEM, a robust environmental assessment approach, remains underexplored. The combination of LCA and UBEM can provide a comprehensive understanding of a building's environmental impact, considering energy performance as well as broader considerations such as materials, construction processes, and waste management. Despite the evident benefits, there exists a research gap in fully harnessing the potential of integrating LCA and UBEM methodologies. Further investigation is thus warranted to unlock the synergies between these approaches, establishing an integrated framework that enhances sustainability assessments and informs decision-making in the built environment. A systematic approach is essential to address the challenges associated with the development of a city-scale environmental tool. This entails defining the challenges, identifying key components, establishing a structured framework, and testing and refining it through iterations. The defined framework should be implemented in modeling tools that offer a compatible environment.To address this need, this study proposes a systematic approach to the development of a framework for the integration of LCA into UBEM tools. Firstly, a structured procedure is defined to facilitate the systematic creation of the integrated framework. This procedure serves as a guide for developers to adopt a comprehensive and organized approach in addressing the challenges of combining LCA and UBEM methodologies. Subsequently, a workflow is designed to accommodate the implementation of any improvement practices within the defined systematic process of integrating LCA into UBEM tools.Applying the developed workflow in a real case study in Montreal, Canada, reveals that embodied carbon emissions can actually be higher than operational emissions, when the energy supply is renewable (hydropower). The outcomes of this research are expected to provide guidance for future studies on Urban Building Environmental Assessment (UBEA), facilitating a structured approach to advance and improve the field.

Implementing the model-based systems engineering (MBSE) approach to develop an assessment framework for healthcare facility design

AbstractThe global elderly population rises, increasing dementia cases. Built environment impact on dementia health outcomes is known, forming the basis for evidence-based design studies. There's a need for a comprehensive assessment framework due to the complexity of interactions among Architectural Variables (AVs) and Health and Care Outcomes (HCOs). This paper proposes using Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) to create such a framework. It collects data from 105 studies on 40 AVs, 36 HCOs, and 396 interactions. MBSE offers a holistic understanding, aiding healthcare facility design decisions.

Impact of Built Environment on Fear of Falls among older adults: A Systematic Review

Impact of Built Environment on Fear of Falls among older adults: A Systematic Review

The Impact of Built Environment on Low Carbon Travel：A Case Study from China

This study investigates the impact of the built environment on low-carbon travel behaviors in Panzhihua, a medium-sized city in China, using the Hierarchical Linear Model (HLM). The analysis, based on a survey of residents' travel patterns, reveals an significantly influences travel choices in land use and bus stop density by one standard unit, that is, the likelihood of residents to choose public transportation for commuting increases by 46.24%. Oppositely, residents in densely populated areas are less willing to choose cars in living trips. It suggests the balances between residential density and accessible public transit, which shows the necessary for urban planning. These findings provide valuable insights for public officials to reduce carbon emissions through sustainable urban development strategies.

Advancing application of satellite remote sensing technologies for linking atmospheric and built environment to health.

The intricate interplay between human well-being and the surrounding environment underscores contemporary discourse. Within this paradigm, comprehensive environmental monitoring holds the key to unraveling the intricate connections linking population health to environmental exposures. The advent of satellite remote sensing monitoring (SRSM) has revolutionized traditional monitoring constraints, particularly limited spatial coverage and resolution. This innovation finds profound utility in quantifying land covers and air pollution data, casting new light on epidemiological and geographical investigations. This dynamic application reveals the intricate web connecting public health, environmental pollution, and the built environment. This comprehensive review navigates the evolving trajectory of SRSM technology, casting light on its role in addressing environmental and geographic health issues. The discussion hones in on how SRSM has recently magnified our understanding of the relationship between air pollutant exposure and population health. Additionally, this discourse delves into public health challenges stemming from shifts in urban morphology. Utilizing the strategic keywords "SRSM," "air pollutant health risk," and "built environment," an exhaustive search unfolded across prestigious databases including the China National Knowledge Network (CNKI), PubMed and Web of Science. The Citespace tool further unveiled interconnections among resultant articles and research trends. Synthesizing insights from a myriad of articles spanning 1988 to 2023, our findings unveil how SRMS bridges gaps in ground-based monitoring through continuous spatial observations, empowering global air quality surveillance. High-resolution SRSM advances data precision, capturing multiple built environment impact factors. Its application to epidemiological health exposure holds promise as a pioneering tool for contemporary health research. This review underscores SRSM's pivotal role in enriching geographic health studies, particularly in atmospheric pollution domains. The study illuminates how SRSM overcomes spatial resolution and data loss hurdles, enriching environmental monitoring tools and datasets. The path forward envisions the integration of cutting-edge remote sensing technologies, novel explorations of urban-public health associations, and an enriched assessment of built environment characteristics on public well-being.

Can the built environment impact on the health and well-being of people with dementia? Evidence from Literature and Stakeholders Involvement

Abstract Worldwide there are about 55 million people have dementia and the number is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years. Because of the comorbidities and symptoms of the disease, these often live within residential care facilities. The impact that the built environment can have on people's health is now well known, although many aspects are still under-investigated. This research aims to analyze which are the relationships between the built environment and health and well-being outcomes in people with dementia (PwD) by comparing data from the systematic literature review with the direct experiences of experts. The methodology consists of two parts: a systematic literature review and the involvement of stakeholders with expertise in dementia. The first analysis was conducted on scientific databases (Scopus, Pubmed, and Web of Science), using significant keywords, outlining a comparison matrix that correlates architectural aspects and the health of people with dementia. The second analysis was conducted through the compilation of the matrix, between architectural-spatial and health and well-being outcomes which emerged from the literature and was expanded by the study authors, between architectural-spatial aspects (such as location, size, indoor environmental qualities, signage) and health and wellness outcomes of patients with dementia (such as Delirium, wandering, ADL, BPSD, falls). The literature review identified how some studies relate health outcomes and the built environment. Many aspects seem to be widely explored, for example, quality of life (QOL), BPSD (Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia), the number of rooms per household, light, or the creation of a home-like environment. Many of the studies do not analyze the impact that specific features of the built environment can have on people with dementia, including concerning health outcomes.

11.E. Workshop: Healthy Buildings: interdisciplinary perspectives

Abstract The Workshop titled “Healthy Buildings: interdisciplinary perspectives” - proposed and developed by the three EUPHA Section: Urban Public Health (URB), Public Mental Health (MEN) and Environmental Health (ENV) - is aimed to foster the dialogue between designers (architects and urban planners), Public Health experts (operators, professionals and epidemiologists), policy/decision makers and buildings’ users, to establish a multidisciplinary approach for understanding together how to create and manage healthy living indoor environments (both housing and complex constructions/public buildings). The Workshops mainly address both the “Climate emergency / Environment and health / Urban health” and the “Mental health” EPH23 conference topics. The Workshops purpose is to explore the relationship between housing conditions, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Mental Health implications on human well-being. In fact, time spent at home and in the indoor environment increased due to the recent COVID-19 lockdown period, and social-sanitary emergencies are expected to grow due to the urbanization phenomenon. Thus, the role of the physical environment in which we live, study, and work, has become of crucial importance, as the literature has recently highlighted. The Workshops program include inputs which they argue current experiences, emerging practices and scientific outcomes related to the Urban Health discipline. From Sustainable Development Goals framework, in “Urban environment, unhealthy buildings as a root of inequalities and importance of SDGs”, to Indoor Environmental Quality implications, in “Can housing conditions and features affect well-being? A review through Indoor Environmental Quality aspects and Mental Health implications”. From experience-based works related to specific functions, in “Can the built environment impact on the health and well-being of people with dementia? Evidence from Literature and Stakeholders Involvement”, to Indoor Air Quality emerging issue, in “Buildings, air quality and mental health conditions: a review of intervention studies”. Key messages • Explore the relationship between housing conditions, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Mental Health implications on users well-being. • Establish a multidisciplinary approach for understanding together how to create and manage healthy living indoor environments (both housing and complex constructions/public buildings).

Influence of BIM's level of detail on the environmental impact of buildings: Danish context

Integrating a BIM-based life-cycle assessment (LCA) in the early design stages of building projects can promote a reduction of environmental impacts. However, the reliability of the analysis depends on the quality of the model. BIM modelling of timber-frame construction is often simplified, potentially hindering the LCA outcome due to quantity inaccuracy and a failure to consider elements regarded as negligible. This study addresses the methodological problem that influences the calculation of the environmental impact by examining the various environmental impacts caused by inventory data obtained from BIM models with a level of detail of (LOD)350–400 vs LOD200. The environmental impacts obtained from both models of a timber building calculated through an attributional LCA method are compared. Material inventory sourced from the LOD200 model results in a 14.7% lower value of embodied impact. The discrepancies resulted from aluminium, mineral wool and bitumen, which are identified as critical materials requiring quantity adjustment. Relying on simplified BIM models for LCA may lead to the GWP being under-estimated with incorrect identification of hotspots in the early design stages. The results aksi question the cut-off criterion of the current EN15978 norm that serves as a foundation for developing environmental policies within the industry. It recommends exclusion of materials constituting less than 1% of the overall mass from the system boundary. This study underscores the potential significance of materials falling below this threshold, challenging the validity of the criterion, and suggesting that such materials should be carefully evaluated and included in the LCA to ensure a comprehensive assessment of the environmental impacts. The overall objective of the study is to emphasize the importance of employing accurate BIM models in LCAs to make informed decisions that are aligned with the sustainability goals, encouraging practitioners to consider the impact of critical materials, even those with seemingly minimal contributions. With this knowledge, the practitioners are able to take meaningful actions that compensate for the LCA uncertainty, mitigating the environmental burden of the most impactful areas. Most importantly, the findings aim to identify the error in design LCA versus as-built studies, helping to develop design LCA tools that predict the as-built impact more precisely and earlier in the design process. The findings can also improve the expected building model definition in carbon policies.

The Impact of Built Environment on the Commuting Distance of Middle/Low-income Tenant Workers in Mega Cities Based on Nonlinear Analysis in Machine Learning

The issues of housing and traffic in China's mega cities have become increasingly pressing problems, particularly for middle/low-income tenant workers. These tenants are from less advantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, which has resulted in a significant geographical separation between their workplace and their residence. Although a large number of studies have confirmed that built environment factors have a solid impact on residents’ commuting distance, few studies have investigated the mechanism underlying the nonlinear influence on middle/low-income tenants. This paper aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the key factors and nonlinear influencing mechanism of the built environment on middle/low-income tenant workers’ commuting distance by establishing a gradient-boosting decision tree model, using Beijing as an empirical case. The paper reveals three primary findings: (1) An important nonlinear relationship between the surrounding built environment and peoples’ jobs–housing spatial proximity can be observed for those middle/low-income tenant workers who use slow and public modes of commuting. Specifically, the density of public transport stations, road networks, and workplaces, and the land use mix play a dominant role. (2) A limited effect of built environment factors can be found for the same group of tenant workers who choose cars as their mode of commuting. (3) The differences in self-selected commuting modes have a significant mediating effect on the relationship between the built environment and jobs–housing situation among middle/low-income tenant workers. Given this, effective policy guidance for residents’ travel modes is necessary to optimize the built environment indicators to achieve the best effect. In addition, we should consider giving priority to the matching indicators such as land use mix and resident population density. Another possibility is to strengthen the connection to the public transport stations, which in turn can optimize the walkability in residential environments.

Physical development control measures in Nigerian cities: an overview of contemporary issues in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State

Land is the platform upon which every activity of man takes place. Especially in urban areas, man’s activities are many and they struggle for the limited available space. To curtail the rate of chaos and ensure compatibility among the various uses that land is put to, the activation of control mechanism becomes necessary. This study was undertaken to identify the various issues that come with development control in urban areas using Uyo Capital City as a case study. Data for the study were obtained from the staff of Uyo Capital City Development Authority and some identified property developers. Findings revealed the major problems of the area as: flood, erosion menace and poor solid waste management. The study highlighted the benefits of development control to include orderliness, safety, beauty and convenience. From the study also, Zoning Regulation has been found out to be the major tool used in controlling physical development in the study area. Other tools used include building code, subdivision and Environmental Impact Assessment. Major challenges faced by Uyo Capital City Development Authority in its task of controlling and managing the area are; noncompliance by property developers with building regulations, corruption and lack of effective monitoring mechanism. The study recommends that developers should always obtain approval for every building project, that charges for approval should be brought to the barest minimum and that there should be effective monitoring mechanism in place to enforce compliance with the laws.

Impact of Built Environment on Carbon Emissions from Cross-District Mobility: A Social Network Analysis Based on Private Vehicle Trajectory Big Data

The realization of the “double carbon” goals and the development of green transportation require a focused approach to reducing carbon emissions from private cars. Starting from the perspective of social network analysis, this paper constructs the carbon emission network of private car cross-district mobility based on vehicle trajectory big data in Guangzhou and Foshan and analyzes its spatial network characteristics. Next, the MRQAP model is constructed to examine the impact of built environment factors on carbon emissions from private cars. Furthermore, the paper explores the moderating effect of private car mobility in the central urban area. The results indicate the following: (1) Private vehicle cross-district mobility in the Guangzhou and Foshan region are closely interconnected and exhibit a phenomenon of central clustering. (2) Both population density and the number of road intersections have a positive relationship with private car carbon emissions, and after a series of robustness tests, the results are still valid. (3) Private vehicle mobility in central urban areas contributes to an increase in carbon emissions, and the positive impact is reinforced by population density, while road intersections and private car mobility in central urban areas have a substitutive effect on private car carbon emissions.

Adaptability in healthcare buildings: a perspective through Joseph Bracops Hospital.

The healthcare sector has to face changes happening fast and often in an unpredictable way, such as epidemiological trends, the advancements of medical technology and processes or evolving social and economic needs. This results in a frequent need for infrastructures' retrofitting, with an increasing focus on the environmental impact of buildings, which have one of the highest embodied carbon footprints per square meter in the construction sector. As result, interest in healthcare buildings' adaptability is growing among researchers and practitioners. After an introduction on the research topic, a focus on the definition of adaptability and the existing assessment models is provided to address the following research question: to what extent are adaptability models effective to evaluate and orient the design of healthcare buildings? A quite varied use of the term adaptability has been found in the literature, as well as a new research trend aiming to establish a link with circularity. Moreover, most of the assessment models do not have a focus and have never been tested on the healthcare sector. An approach to circular and adaptable design is presented through the case study of the Joseph Bracops Hospital (Belgium), which has been submitted for evaluation by the Reversible Building Design protocol developed by Dr. Durmisevic. The evaluation highlights some of the current barriers in the design of adaptable healthcare facilities. Insights for future research are provided to encourage data-collection about the service life of healthcare buildings, so to understand if the adaptability of these infrastructures should be mainly monofuntional or transfunctional.

Value capture from low embodied emissions of buildings - a business model innovation perspective

The transition to a society with low emissions has led to several intensives for decreasing operational energy and the environmental impact of buildings. The embodied impacts from manufacturing materials have been shown to increase in relative importance as the operational energy efficiency has increased. Several case studies have shown various technical solutions which can reduce embodied carbon emissions. But is this reduction good for business? There are several building projects that have achieved low embodied emissions, but these are often in segments of premium private clients or green public procurement where additional motivation such as reputation and long-term viability is in place. However, with the transition to a low emission society, there is a need to include all types of building markets. This study aims to find business model innovation opportunities with reduced embodied emissions in building projects where the clients have low motivation beyond reducing costs. The approach is through action research with a Norwegian contractor seeking new opportunities while keeping the main competitive advantage. The research starts with a case that could reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions, and includes the potential savings from green loans to find potentials to capture value from reducing emissions. The results show that criteria exist for green loans based on reducing operational and embodied emissions. Future studies are however need to make an integrated assessment on the potential value captured from these green loans.

Impact of Built Environment and Neighborhood on Promoting Mental Health, Well-being, and Social Participation in Older People: an Umbrella Review.

The built environment, especially in the context of the neighborhood, affects older people's health. This umbrella review aims to summarize the associations between factors and interventions in the built environment as regards modifying or improving mental health, well-being, social inclusion and participation in the elderly. We searched articles in the following databases: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Avery Index, Sage, Web of Science, Health Evidence, and Google Scholar, without any time limits. The factors and interventions examined have been classified into three categories (urban infrastructure, green infrastructure, built environment), and we have assessed their relationships with each of the health outcomes. Eight reviews have been included. The results show a positive association between factors and interventions and health outcomes, even though this tends to differ with respect to some of the elements (study design, sample size, built environment and health outcome measurements, and the quality of the primary studies included in the reviews) in the selected studies. In conclusion, the present study suggests and confirms that acting on the built environment has a positive impact on mental health and social inclusion.

Probabilistic Modeling of Small Business Recovery after a Hurricane: A Case Study of 2017 Hurricane Harvey

Economic resilience defines a community’s ability to prevent, withstand, and quickly recover from major disruptions to its economic base. Instead of having repeated damage and need for outside assistance, resilient communities proactively protect themselves against hazards, build self-sufficiency, and become more sustainable over the long term. Within these communities, small businesses are an important driver of economic growth and employment. However, small businesses are extremely vulnerable to natural disasters: about 40–60 percent of them never reopen their doors after a disaster. To gain an insight into the vulnerability and resilience of small businesses, we collected firm-level data through an online survey of primary decision-makers of small businesses located in 2017 Hurricane Harvey impacted counties. The questions in the survey covered five broad categories: general business characteristics; finance impact; operation impact; built environment impact; and mitigation actions. The analysis shows a small variation in recovery time between industry groups. However, the contrast between firms that invested in resilience and firms that did not is significant. We then modeled the small business recovery as a stochastic process and used the survey data to select probability models and then estimate model parameters. If firms chose to invest in resilience, the mean and median times could be reduced by 57% and 8.5%, respectively. Using the baseline provided, a firm could estimate the length of recovery expected and prepare a business continuity plan accordingly. In a hurricane’s aftermath, their performance can be benchmarked against that of their peers. The findings would serve as basis for public policies towards incentivizing prestorm mitigation and resilience-building actions.

Impacts of Built-Environment on Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Traffic: A Systematic Literature Review.

With the acceleration of global urbanization, the interaction between the urban built environment and transportation carbon emissions (TCE) has become an urgent problem and an area of intensive research. This paper presents a bibliometric and visual analysis of 1060 pieces of literature related to the built environment and TCE from 1998 to 2022. It explores the current research progress and future development trends in this field. The results show the following. (1) The number of papers published on the built environment and TCE during this period has shown a continuous increasing trend, and the periods of growth can be divided into three stages. (2) Research in this area has been carried out in many countries and regions around the world, involving different dimensions such as examinations at the city, provincial, and national levels. (3) Through an analysis involving keyword clustering, a keyword hotspot map, and a burst map, we have established that the research on TCE has exhibited step-by-step growth, and the carbon emissions from vehicles is the topic that has been considered over the longest period. (4) The impact of the built environment on TCE can be broadly divided into macro-functional and micromorphological factors.