Exploring Sustainable Development and Its Interpretation in the Built Environment

Building industry is a significant contributor to a majority of environmental issues. Design, construction, operation and disposal of buildings and cities also impact social and economic standards. Building industry’s triple and high interaction with the human development requires professionals within the industry to reevaluate their development approaches. This requires designers such as architects and engineers, as well as the builders to understand the basics of sustainable development and how it has been and can be incorporated into their professions. Many resources in this area focus on the technical aspect of sustainability as an effort to train professionals in sustainable applications. However, sustainability is a more complicated concept that evolves based on time, location, and intent. Thus it is critical for building professionals to evaluate sustainability and sustainable development at a conceptual level, which can allow them to make better decisions in a continuously changing global world. This paper introduces the philosophical concepts behind sustainability in the built environment and specifically focuses on the role of builders, designers, and owners in the implementation of these concepts.


Introduction
Sustainability has been a major concern for many industries including the building industry.Achieving sustainability of a building requires a shift in decision making throughout the entire life cycle of a building including its design, construction, operation, and disposal.Starting with the building owners, many parties involved in the creation of the built environment have become to realize that the only way to fully achieve the principles of sustainability is to work towards it as a team.A typical list of participants in the building industry includes the client (owner), designer (architects and engineers), constructors (builders), public officials, and the public.
One of the many challenges that the project teams face is to determine how to measure the success of the end product and its construction process.This challenge is also known as the determination of a sustainability rating.Although there is still not a single global source for a sustainability building rating system (Ding, 2008), there have been many successful efforts at regional, national, and international levels (Reed, Bilos, Wilkinson, & Schulte, 2009).Two of the most popular and widely used rating systems are the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Leadership (LEED) developed by USGBC, and Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM).
Creating a sustainable built environment can be a challenging task for a project team.However, a bigger challenge is to understand the basic concepts of this global effort.It is the role of educators in the associated disciplines to introduce the philosophy behind the term "Sustainable Buildings", before providing them with the tools to achieve it.There is a clear need for more pedagogical resources in the schools of architecture, engineering, construction science/technology/management.This need is primarily to assist the instructors educate, inform, and train their students in becoming aware of the current issues as well as to help students be a part of this evolution as innovators of new, more efficient, higher quality, and conscious technologies.(Höppe, 2002)  Access to natural lighting (Edwards & Torcellini, 2002)  Access to views of nature (Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989)  Acoustical comfort (Kupritz, 1998)  Odor control (Knasko, 1992) There is not a single day that we do not discover some other mystery of what needs of the present are.Some of these discoveries impact the general building theme dominating the design and construction industry (Table 1) while some still are struggling to make a significant impact on the way buildings are designed, constructed, and operated.A good example of a relatively new concept that has a potential to impact the built environment is called Biophilia.Wilson (1984) introduced the hypothesis that there is an instinctive bond between human beings and other living systems.According to Wilson (1984), the term biophilia describes "the connections that human beings subconsciously seek with the rest of life."In his book, Wilson (1984) proposed that there might be deep affiliations between humans and the nature, which are rooted, in human biology.

Ability of Future Generations to Meet Their Own Needs
Based on the UN's definition of sustainable development, humans must be concerned with the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.The philosophy behind this concern can be better understood by thinking about the needs of the underrepresented groups.These groups can include people of various genders, races, nationalities, ages, religions, and people with disabilities.For example, women in many countries around the world still face discrimination where they do not hold the rights to vote or express their opinions on issues that directly shape the environment they live in.This problem also exists in some parts of the world for different races, people of certain religions, status and nations.Age and disabilities can also be determining factors for individuals to gain the right to express their opinions, and even determine their right to vote on alternative decisions that may impact their own living environment.Groups without these rights may include children as well as individuals with mental disabilities.It should then become the responsibility of those who have the right and the opportunity, to consider those without the same, when making and implementing decisions that influence the way humans live in and utilize the world.
As much as we care about our children and are concerned with their future, we should also consider those who are not born yet while consuming the resources that they will need as much as, or more than we do today to satisfy our basic needs.This can be achieved by considering basic sustainability principles within our decision-making processes.Some of these principles are the "precautionary principle", "irreversibility principle", and "polluter pays principle" (Kibert, 2012).These principles have officially been around (some claim since 1800s), and have somehow impacted the way humans introduced and advanced new technologies.
A good example of how to apply basic sustainability principles can be derived from a discussion around nuclear research and its applications.Although the efficiency of nuclear technology is proven to be much higher then   especially compared to what globalization stands for, it would not be too difficult for one to realize that in order to achieve a sustainable globalization, regional solutions and systems need to be utilized.Eisenberg and Reed (2003, p. 7) state that when resources and sinks (where our needs come from and where they go to) are not local, the costs of procurement and waste disposal become inordinately high.Regionalization would allow industries to visualize and experience their impacts first hand thus take corrective actions.It is currently difficult for anyone to understand what the exact consequences of their actions are when many of the components within those actions come from other regions and countries.
A hypothesis can be that if humans were to achieve true sustainable regional living frameworks, globalization could also be achieved in a similar format.Sustainable globalization could be possible via increasing integration of sustainable regions.
A sustainable building industry will need true regionalization of materials and resources while globalizing even more when it comes to and innovation.Achieving this will only be possible by utilizing regional materials in the design and construction of the buildings.Regional materials can be a complicated terminology in these times where most of the raw materials come from, processed, and assembled at different locations.Regionalization of materials and resources would require as many of these processes to be completed within the local reach.This would enable not only a reduction in transportation requirements and associated emissions, but also help the industry understand the limits of resources better than shopping at a global scale.

Summary and Conclusion
Principles of sustainable development require the current generations to meet their own needs without compromising the ability of future generations to do the same (United Nations, 1987).Building industry, a significant contributor to the environmental problems, needs to evaluate these relatively new principles and how they can be applied within.The solution will derive from a collaborative effort between various industries, policy makers, professionals, and the general public.The process will include reconsideration of philosophies and technologies within the current economy, and the society with an understanding that both are subject to the limits of the environment.Realizing the boundaries was the first step toward a more sustainable future.Now it is time for humans to proceed with the remaining steps to truly achieve sustainability for both current and future generations.

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Figure 4. T

Table 1 .
Historical quest for building quality.(AdaptedfromChan, Burnett, & Jones, 2000) Meeting the needs of the present is undoubtedly a significant part of sustainable development.It is however important to determine exactly what those needs are and how they can be met.It is also important to realize that meeting the needs of the present, does not guarantee achieving sustainable development all by itself.Next section discusses the second goal of sustainable development: "Ability of future generations to meet their own needs".