ICE - Institution of Civil Engineers - Virtual Library

This paper presents the findings of a comparative analysis of documents addressing sustainable development in relation to the built environment. The analysis has identified commonality in interpretations of sustainability for the built environment and enabled the collation of a set of principles or guidelines that represent current thinking on how the objectives of sustainable development could be interpreted for the built environment.

Traffic planning involves aesthetic issues that impinge on people's daily lives. Roads and traffic have an appreciable effect on the environment, not just through noise and pollution but also through their visual impact on users and non-users alike. So far, it is the tangible effects of transport on the environment—noise, pollution and severance—that have occupied the attention of researchers in the transport field. In this paper, the authors explore some of the less tangible aspects that cannot be expressed in quantitative terms. They focus on two main issues: the role of aesthetics in traffic furniture and vehicle design (does their appearance matter?), and aesthetic principles that might enable vehicles and traffic furniture to relate more closely to the urban landscape. The paper begins with a discussion of what might be termed the aesthetic disruption generated by traffic hardware within the visual environment: street clutter and the aggressive shapes of vehicles accentuated by light reflections from hard metallic surfaces. The authors then attempt to draw out some basic principles that might be applied to the design of vehicles, highways, and street furniture in order to ease the visual clash between transport hardware and the urban landscape. Some suggestions are made for improvement, including the ‘internalisation’ of traffic signs and signals so that drivers receive information via head-up displays rather than on-street hardware, an innovative approach to car body design, partial de-regulation of traffic signs regulations together with ‘aesthetic audits’, and the use of geographical information systems and virtual reality as management tools in order to curb the proliferation of street furniture.

• Learning objectives

• The environment, boundaries and organizations as an open system

• Characteristics of the external environment

• Forces of the external environment on organizations

• Strategic response to the environment

• Structural response to the environment

• Summary and conclusion

• References

• 2.1 General

• 2.2 Internal Environments

• 2.3 External Environments

• References

Society is looking for increasingly technological answers to solve imminent transport crises, yet walking is often overlooked as a viable alternative for short trips. A complex matrix of factors affects the decision of whether or not to walk. Providing a street environment and public realm that encourages walking will, however, start to create a better balance in our villages, towns and cities, making it easier to choose to walk. Urban environments that have high levels of walking benefit the local community in many ways, in terms of health, social capital and local economic stability. Delivering high-quality walking environments requires an understanding of generic pedestrian issues such as accessibility for all users, designing out crime and connectivity. But delivery also requires specific local knowledge. Utilising local knowledge at the start of any scheme helps avoid costly mistakes and ensures that any improvements actually meet the needs of local people. In situ consultation reinforces ideas and helps local people express and explain the issues. Living Streets has applied this approach in different urban environments including London and Preston and also through the Walkability Project.Working in four similar district centre sites has allowed the identification of ten recurring issues faced by pedestrians.

Precast construction can significantly contribute to the environment. Generally, it causes less construction and demolition waste, it uses less energy during erection and demolition, and the emissions during production of the precast elements and the construction of the buildings are minimised. Precast construction offers great possibilities regarding building adaptability, building flexibility and reuse of precast concrete elements. The fib commission 6—Prefabrication—has (in close cooperation with the fib commission 3—environmental aspects of design and construction) installed a working group dealing with environmental issues and precast concrete technology in the building industry. This working group, together with the Department of Building Engineering of the Delft University of Technology has carried out research in order to analyse the possibilities, which precast concrete construction, due to its demountability, has in terms of flexibility and adaptability of buildings, their sustainability and our environment. For this purpose different precast concrete and demountable building systems in the Netherlands have been analysed. This article gives a concise review of the research and the results achieved.

It is widely claimed in UK policy, practice and research that high quality built environments have positive social benefits for residents. This claimed association is, however, not supported by an evidence base, nor is there consensus on how high quality or social cohesion are defined. This paper aims to provide definitions of both concepts, calling on primary research conducted in six study sites in England. The findings show that features of quality of the built environment have varying influence on social activity. Residents' perceptions of quality of the neighbourhood and the level of maintenance and the character of the neighbourhood are positively associated with sense of community and place attachment, while density is negatively associated with social interaction and perceptions of trust. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications that the findings have for UK policy and practice.

Compared to other renewable energy technologies, modular solar photovoltaic technologies that convert sunlight into electricity and can generate power from watts to megawatts are more versatile and can be integrated within building envelopes. The cornerstone of the technology is the solar cell, which is manufactured from various semiconductor materials including silicon. Conversion efficiencies and costs have improved significantly in recent years and there are now many national schemes and energy targets promoting the use of photovoltaic technology in the built environment. This paper describes the current state of solar photovoltaic technology and the approaches being considered for using it to generate electricity within buildings.

This paper highlights the key influences on the participants in the UK construction process with regard to the environment arising from both legal and non-legal sources. It outlines the broad framework of environmental law, built up from the common law torts of nuisance, negligence and even trespass; the provisions of construction contracts; and legislation, which has its origins in curbing the harmful effects of industrialisation in the nineteenth century but now greatly influenced by European law. The importance of secondary legislation and the regulations, such as the Building Regulations, is noted, as is the growing use of planning law to achieve environmental objectives. The paper touches on the role of international law, and the non-legal influences of international declarations, recommendations and standards; the role of European and UK government policy; the influence of the Environmental Agency; and other influences, not least that of public opinion—not only on political parties and policy-makers, but also on commercial organisations which are increasingly, and voluntarily, setting their own environmental policies.