Abstract
By definition, green buildings focus on minimizing environmental impacts through reductions in energy usage, water usage, waste production, and CO2 emissions. Less widely recognized is the fact that green buildings also address human health through the design of healthy indoor and outdoor environments. Indeed, the paradigmatic shift from health as the simple absence of disease to a state of physical, mental, and social well-being has broadened the disciplinary domain of health to the field of architecture and urban environment. The awareness of the effects of the built environment on well-being has emphasized the importance of adopting a transdisciplinary and salutogenic approach in rethinking urban fabric and indoor environments. To this end, it is crucial to assume healthy, sustainable, and environmental aware architecture as the only possible one, in line with SDG 3, 7, 11, 13, and 15.
The paper intends to examine the state of art on building design that focuses on indoor environmental quality and human health and to identify best practices, through a comparison of existing projects, brought about by a review of case studies. The objective of our review is to provide an overall knowledge framework and identify invariants and relevant strategies to be adopted in any context to ensure the user’s well-being. Thus, the case studies are identified in different geographical and climate contexts, and are selected by virtue of their degree of pertinence to a performance-oriented and salutogenic design approach.
Moreover, a limitation of the research is the reliance on indirect, lagging and subjective measures of health. To address this, the case studies are selected according to direct, objective health performance indicators, deduced from significant contributions of up-to-date literature. What stands out is that in all case studies, healthy spaces represent a catalyst capable of embracing cultural, social, environmental, and ecosystemic issues.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Rydin, Y., Bleahu, A., Davies, M., Davila, J. D., Friel, S., De Grandis, G., Groce, N., Hallal, P. C., Hamilton, I., Howden-Chapman, P., et al. (2012). Shaping cities for health: Complexity and the planning of urban environments in the 21st century. Lancet, 379, 2079–2108.
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. (2019). World urbanization prospects: The 2018 revision (ST/ESA/SER.A/420). United Nations.
World Health Organization. (2010). Why urban health matters (No. WHO/WKC/WHD/2010.1). World Health Organization.
Fanger, O. (2006). What is IAQ? Indoor Air, 16(5), 328–334.
US Environmental Protection Agency. (1989). Report to Congress on indoor air quality, volume II: Assessment and control of indoor air pollution. Technical Report EPA/400/1-89/001C.
Klepeis, N. E., Nelson, W. C., Ott, W. R., Robinson, J. P., Tsang, A. M., Switzer, P., et al. (2001). The National Human Activity Pattern Survey (NHAPS): A resource for assessing exposure to environmental pollutants. Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, 11(3), 231–252.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (2013).Questions about your community: Indoor air. EPA New England. http://www.epa.gov/region1/communities/indoorair.html. Accessed 5 July 2022.
Spengler, J. D., MDMS, J. M. S., & DCIH, J. F. M. S. (2001). Indoor air quality handbook. McGraw-Hill Education.
World Health Organization. (2018). WHO housing and health guidelines.
Allen, J. G., Bernstein, A., Cao, X., Eitland, E., Flanigan, S., Gokhale, M., & Yin, J. (2017). The 9 foundations of a healthy building. School of Public Health.
WGBC. (2020). Health & Wellbeing Framework six principles for a healthy, sustainable built environment - executive report better places for people. World Green Building Council.
Higgins, S., Hall, E., Wall, K., et al. (2005). The impact of school environments: A literature review. Design Council, The Centre for Learning and Teaching, University of Newcastle.
Hammer, M. S., Swinburn, T. K., & Neitzel, R. L. (2014). Environmental noise pollution in the United States: Developing an effective public health response. Environmental Health Perspectives, 122(2), 115–119.
Heschong, L., Wright, R. L., & Okura, S. (2002). Daylighting impacts on human performance in school. Journal of the Illuminating Engineering Society, 31(2), 101–114.
Frumkin, H. (2003). Healthy places: Exploring the evidence. American Journal of Public Health, 93(9), 1451–1456.
Rosenfeld, L., Chew, G. L., Rudd, R., Emmons, K., Acosta, L., Perzanowski, M., & Acevedo-García, D. (2011). Are building-level characteristics associated with indoor allergens in the household? Journal of Urban Health, 88(1), 14–29.
Colton, M. D., MacNaughton, P., Vallarino, J., Kane, J., Bennett-Fripp, M., Spengler, J. D., & Adamkiewicz, G. (2014). Indoor air quality in green vs conventional multifamily low-income housing. Environmental Science & Technology, 48(14), 7833–7841.
Samet, J. M., & Eradze, G. R. (2000). Radon and lung cancer risk: Taking stock at the Millenium. Environmental Health Perspectives, 108(Suppl 4), 635–641.
Bornehag, C. G., & Nanberg, E. (2010). Phthalate exposure and asthma in children. International Journal of Andrology, 33(2), 333–345.
Wipfli, H., Avila-Tang, E., Navas-Acien, A., Kim, S., Onicescu, G., Yuan, J., et al. (2008). Secondhand smoke exposure among women and children: Evidence from 31 countries. American Journal of Public Health, 98(4), 672–679.
Dahlgren, G., & Whitehead, M. (1993). Tackling inequalities in health: What can we learn from what has been tried. Working paper prepared for the king’s fund international seminar on tackling inequalities in health.
World Health Organization. (2014). Global status report on non-communicable diseases 2014. World Health Organization. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/148114
Asma, S., Lozano, R., Chatterji, S., Swaminathan, S., de Fátima Marinho, M., Yamamoto, N., et al. (2020). Monitoring the health-related Sustainable Development Goals: Lessons learned and recommendations for improved measurement. The Lancet, 395(10219), 240–246.
Gifford, B. (2015). Linking workforce health to business performance metrics-strategies, challengers and opportunities. Integrated Benefits Institute.
Lipset, S. M., Trow, M., & Coleman, J. (1956). Union democracy (1st ed.). Free Press.
Yin, R. K. (2003). Case study research: Design and method (1st ed.). SAGE.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Calcagni, L., Calenzo, A. (2023). Building a Healthier Living Environment for People and the Planet: A Case Study Review. In: Sayigh, A. (eds) Mediterranean Architecture and the Green-Digital Transition. Innovative Renewable Energy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33148-0_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33148-0_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-33147-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-33148-0
eBook Packages: EnergyEnergy (R0)