An overview of Construction for a Healthy Circular Built Environment: Another point of view

Continuous neglect of health on two scales of humans and the planet is the origin of all the contemporary problems. Due to the heavy consequences of careless technology developments, the negative impacts exceeded the earth’s bearing capacity. The alarming climate change, CO2 emissions, land degradation, resources’ overuse, energy crisis, natural disasters, diseases’ spread, etc., are urgent calls requiring immediate actions, actions such as outcomes of the Paris agreement. The world strives for integrated emerging concepts covering sustainability, biodiversity, industrial ecology, and societal health while providing viable economic prosperity. The modern framework of Circular Economy (CE) has been identified as the most appropriate context to set up these solutions in line with the Paris agreement and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As a significant role player in the world’s economy, the building industry (BI) and its enormous negative impacts on the environment are also adapting the attitudes to the CE frame. As a crucial component of the BI, the materialisation of the Built Environment (BE) should also fit into the CE framework very well. The impacts of construction materials on nature’s health in general, and particularly for human health, are recognised. Presently, health aspects primarily attract extensive attention and disseminate/transmit considerable awareness in the mentioned section of BI. Thus, construction materials and technologies need urgent adjustment with the modern CE for a healthy environment and society. Therefore, from a global perspective, emerging technologies or renewed styles and methods in building and construction technologies, especially in materials, accomplish sustainable use, reuse, and recycling to improve the planet’s health and wellbeing (WB) and its inhabitants. The current research provides another perspective and an original but brief problem statement for solution findings regarding the health of inhabitants. In order to show the advantages of renewable sources for wellbeing, the setup for a simplified model as a toolkit for materials selection will start with this exploration, which also fits very well in the LCA (i.e., out of the scope here). The more comprehensive study and the outcomes broadcasted in this research are available in Shahnoori et al. (2022).