Built environment

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. These curated spaces provide the setting for human activity and were created to fulfill human desires and needs. 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.

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. It impacts the environment 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 segregation, physical activity, food access, climate change, and environmental racism.

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]}

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. 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]}

Public infrastructure covers a variety of things like roads, highways, pedestrian circulation, public transportation, and parks:^{[citation needed]}

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. . 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]}

Agricultural production accounts for roughly 52% of U.S. land use. 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]}

"Built environment" as a term was coined in the 1980s, becoming widespread in the 1990s and places the concept in direct contrast to the supposedly "unbuilt" environment. The term describes a wide range of fields that form an interdisciplinary concept that has been accepted as an idea since classical antiquity 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.