2,670,200 research outputs found
Healthy built environments: A review of the literature
Full text linkThe Healthy Built Environments Program has completed a major scholarly literature review examining the role of the built environment in supporting human health as part of everyday living. The principal aim of the Review is to establish an evidence base that supports the development, prioritisation and implementation of healthy built environment policies and practices. The Review identifies current gaps in the evidence to inform future research directions. It includes an annotated bibliography of key research articles and a glossary of terms to assist practitioners, policy makers and researchers working in this interdisciplinary realm.
The focus of the Review is on the three key built environment domains that support human health:
The Built Environment and Getting People Active.
The Built Environment and Connecting and Strengthening Communities.
The Built Environment and Providing Healthy Food Options.
These built environment domains address three of the major risk factors for contemporary chronic disease - physical inactivity, social isolation and obesity.
The Literature Review is available for download as the whole document or its individual sections.
Whole document (12MB)
Cover and Acknowledgements (1.11MB)List of Abbreviations and Contents (2.11MB)The Healthy Built Environments Program Overview (291KB)Executive Summary (295KB)1.0 Introduction (255KB)2.0 Structure of this Review (2.46MB)3.0 Aims and Parameters (2.99MB)4.0 Scope and Methodology (3.20MB)5.0 The Evidence (200KB)5.1 The Built Environment and Getting People Active (653KB)5.2 The Built Environment and Connecting and Strengthening Communities (546KB)5.3 The Built Environment and Providing Healthy Food Options (416KB)6.0 Professional Development (284KB)7.0 Conclusion (114KB)References (490KB)Appendix 1: Diary of Database Searches (202KB)Appendix 2: Glossary (282KB)Appendix 3: Annotated Bibliography (2.57MB
The role of virtual reality in built environment education
Full text linkThis study builds upon previous research on the integration of Virtual Reality (VR) within the built environment curriculum and aims to investigate the role of VR and three-dimensional (3D) computer modelling on learning and teaching in a school of the built environment. In order to achieve this aim, a number of academic experiences were analysed to explore the applicability and viability of 3D computer modelling and VR into built environment subject areas. Although two-dimensional (2D) representations have been greatly accepted by built environment professions and education, 3D computer representations and VR applications, offering interactivity and immersiveness, are not yet widely accepted. The study attempts to understand the values and challenges of integrating visualisation technologies into built environment teaching and investigates tutors’ perceptions, opinions and concerns with respect to these technologies. The study reports on the integration process and considers how 3D computer modelling and VR technologies can combine with, and extend, the existing range of learning and teaching methods appropriate to different disciplines and programme areas
Bellcurve: Built Environment Lifelong Learning Challenging University Responses to Vocational Education: Lifelong University for the Built Environment
No full textBELLCURVE (Built Environment Lifelong Learning Challenging University Responses to Vocational Education) is a
European Commission funded research project conducted at the School of the Built Environment, University of
Salford, UK, in collaboration with Department of Construction Economics and Property Management, Vilnius
Gediminas Technical University, Lithuania and Department of Building Production, Tallinn University of
Technology, Estonia.
This project addressed issues associated with the mismatch between graduate skills and labour market
requirements as this mismatch has been identified as one of the main factors behind graduate unemployment and
employer dissatisfaction, particularly in the Built Environment (BE) sector. BELLCURVE considered ‘student
engagement’ as a continuous through-life process rather than a temporary traditional engagement limited by the
course duration. This through-life studentship defines the essence of the new innovative “Lifelong University”
concept, whereby providing an opportunity for learners to acquire and develop skills and knowledge enabling
responds to changing construction labour market needs on a continuous basis. This requires a reform in
governance systems to respond labour market needs effectively while promoting the lifelong learning agenda
Exploring roles and relationships in the production of the built environment
No full textGiven the number of different agencies and the complexity of institutional and professional relationships in the production, management and regulation of the built environment, many students entering built environment professions leave university education to take up work placements or employment without a sufficient understanding of the different actors and the formal and informal interactions and social relationships between them. Furthermore, destructive stereotypes may form during the educational process as students construct their own professional identity, in part learnt from their teachers and peers, and naturalised by the academic and professional institutions that form the context of their education – a process of enculturation termed ‘professional socialization’ by social scientists (Cuff, 1991: 118). These stereotypes may lead ultimately to inter-professional tensions and hostilities. Innovations in practice often involve challenges to established roles or joined-up thinking which breaches institutional structures, for all of which graduates may be ill-prepared
Disaster Risk Reduction in the Built Environment in Sri Lanka- An overview
No full textNatural disasters have long-term implications on sustainable development. They mainly destroy
the built environment thereby hindering economic and social development, and causing
environment degradation. Reducing the risk of natural disasters within the built environment is
therefore critical for ensuring sustainable development. The paper in this context, aims to
assess the current state of disaster risk reduction in the built environment in Sri Lanka.
Empirical data was collected employing semi-structured in-depth interviews which were
conducted with a group of professionals who were involved in disaster risk reduction in the
built environment in Sri Lanka. The data was analysed following thematic analysis. The paper
reveals the current state of disaster risk reduction in the built environment requires to be
improved to achieve a satisfactory level of success whilst highlighting a number of barriers that
hinder the desired progress. Deficient funds and weak regulatory framework are identified as
major barriers for successful implementation. Central and local government authorities are
identified as the primarily responsible parties for disaster risk reduction in the built
environment in Sri Lanka in the paper. The paper further presents various recommendations on
how to improve the current situation
Dissertation research and writing for built environment students
Full text linkDissertation Research and Writing for Built Environment Students is a step-by-step guide to get students through their final year research project. Trusted and developed over three previous editions, the new fourth edition shows you how to select a dissertation topic, write a proposal, conduct a literature review, select the research approach, gather the data, analyse and present the information and ultimately produce a well-written dissertation.
The book simplifies dissertation research and writing into a process involving a sequence of learnable activities and divides the process into three parts.
Part One covers the necessary groundwork, including: identifying the problem, writing a proposal and reviewing the literature.
Part Two covers the research design and includes: approaches and techniques for data collection and constructing and sampling a questionnaire.
Part Three covers: measurement of data, analysis of data with SPSS, structuring and writing the whole dissertation, and supervision and assessment.
This new edition is packed with updated examples and research samples, making this the ideal resource for students involved in research in built environment subjects such as construction management, construction project management, facilities management, real estate, building surveying, quantity surveying and civil engineering
Behavioural Decision-Making in Sustainable Conservation of Built Heritage
No full textThe role of heritage buildings in pursuing a more sustainable built environment has been widely discussed in the last decades, from their importance to cohesive and inclusive communities to their contribution to resources conservation and therefore to reducing materials-related carbon emissions. Norms, policies, standards, and design-aid tools have been developed to encourage urban conservation, but a question persists: why are best practices not yet widely implemented? Decision-making processes have an intrinsic behavioural dimension. Decisions are influenced not only by conscious and rational factors related to heritage buildings and their adaptive reuse, but also by a conjugation of social, psychological, and emotional factors related to the designer. This research uses the “Theory of Planned Behaviour” to analyse architects’ design decisions and reveal the common beliefs, challenges, and opportunities in the conservation of heritage buildings. The results show that while responsibility for the failure in the implementation of conservation is often attributed to third parties, individual attitudes and personal beliefs strongly correlate to the adopted behaviours and, thus, need to be targeted for effective change. Understanding the behavioural dimension of the decision-making process in the adaptive reuse of built heritage is essential to maximize the effect of tools and policies that support actual change toward the growth of a circular economy and a more sustainable future.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care. Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Heritage & Architectur
Challenges in Creating a Disaster Resilient Built Environment
No full textWith the increase in occurrences of high impact disasters, the concept of risk reduction and resilience is widely recognised.
Recent disasters have highlighted the exposure of urban cities to natural disasters and emphasised the need of making cities resilient to disasters. Built environment plays an important role in every city and need to be functional and operational at a time of a disaster and is expected to provide protection to people and other facilities. However, recent disasters have highlighted the
vulnerability of the built assets to natural disasters and therefore it is very much important to focus on creating a disaster resilient
built environment within cities. However the process of making a disaster resilient built environment is a complex process where
many challenges are involved. Accordingly the paper aims at exploring the challenges involved in building a disaster resilient built environment. Paper discusses the findings of some expert interviews and three case studies which have been conducted in Sri Lanka by selecting three cities which are potentially vulnerable to threats posed by natural hazards. The empirical evidence
revealed, lack of regulatory frameworks; unplanned cities and urbanisation; old building stocks and at risk infrastructure; unauthorised structures; institutional arrangements; inadequate capacities of municipal councils; lack of funding; inadequacy of qualified human resources; and corruption and unlawful activities as major challenges for creating a disaster resilient built environment within Sri Lankan cities. The paper proposes a set of recommendations to address these prevailing concerns and to build a more resilient built environment within cities
Defining absolute environmental limits for the built environment
No full textThe question addressed is whether it is possible to define working limits on environmental impacts from the built environment in terms of global carrying capacity. The main focus is on energy-related impacts, since these are global and relatively well-understood. Four possible approaches to defining limits are explored: static equilibrium, asymptotic, integral of excess and planned future. The conclusions that emerge from this exploration are that global environmental constraints are very tight, but also that they are dynamically and strongly influenced by the trajectory of social and technological development over the coming century. Their use as the basis for practical, quantitative metrics of sustainability, therefore, involves a large measure of subjectivity. A fifth approach - the developmental approach - is identified, which instead of focusing on long-term external constraints to human activity, focuses instead on the internal, short- to medium-term dynamics of the built environment itself. It appears likely that the developmental approach, guided by qualitative conclusions from the analysis of global carrying capacity, is likely to be most fruitful
The role of virtual reality and 3D modelling in built environment education
No full textThis study builds upon previous research on the integration of Virtual Reality (VR) within the built environment curriculum and aims to investigate the role of Virtual Reality and three-dimensional (3D) computer modelling on learning and teaching in a school of the built environment. In order to achieve this aim a number of academic experiences were analysed to explore the applicability and viability of 3D computer modelling and Virtual Reality (VR) into built environment subject areas. Although two-dimensional representations have been greatly accepted by built environment professions and education, three-dimensional computer representations and VR applications, offering interactivity and immersiveness, are not yet widely accepted. The project builds on previous studies which focused on selecting and implementing appropriate VR strategies and technologies (Horne and Hamza, 2006) and offers an approach on how three-dimensional computer modelling and virtual reality may be integrated into built environment teaching. It identifies the challenges and perceived benefits of doing so by academic staff and reports on the systematic approach which was adopted by Northumbria University, School of the Built Environment, to raise awareness of VR technologies across the spectrum of built environment disciplines. A selection of case studies is presented which illustrate how VR and 3D modelling have been integrated to extend traditional forms of representation and enhance the students’ learning experience. The attitudes perceptions, opinions and concerns of academic staff in regards to use of 3D and VR technologies in their teaching are discussed
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