Policies to Achieve Environmental Goals in the Built Environment

Abstract

The built environment is a primary source of environmental impacts. In particular, the building and transportation sectors are critical sources and thus have been extensively investigated. However, most research on environmental impacts of the built environment focuses on two scales of analysis: the building and urban scales. Consequently, inter-scale impacts are omitted, revealing a critical research gap. Therefore, a new category, called induced impacts, has been developed to capture the environmental impacts resulting from the interactions between the building and urban scales via transportation.

Using induced impact results in the urban region of Munich, this chapter outlines specific policy recommendations to achieve environmental goals. The work critically examines existing policies focusing on the built environment. The author then provides ten policy recommendations in six areas: government directives, building rating systems, urban-scale projects, urban form development, stakeholder action, and relating actions to environmental goals. The chapter focuses on existing policies at various levels (national, state, regional, and local) in Germany and the United States. Recommendations encompass various scales within the built environment: building, district, city, and region. The author outlines strategic actions to ensure a more holistic quantification of environmental impacts within the built environment — a prerequisite for achieving environmental objectives.