INTEGRATING HEALTH INTO BUILDINGS OF THE FUTURE.

The health and wellbeing of building occupants should be a key priority in the design, building, and operation of new and existing buildings. Buildings can be designed, renovated, and constructed to promote healthy environments and behaviors and mitigate adverse health outcomes. This paper highlights health in terms of the relationship between occupants and buildings, as well as the relationship of buildings to the community. In the context of larger systems, smart buildings and green infrastructure strategies serve to support public health goals. At the level of the individual building, interventions that promote health can also enhance indoor environmental quality and provide opportunities for physical activity. Navigating the various programs that use metrics to measure a building's health impacts reveals that there are multiple co-benefits of a "healthy building," including those related to the economy, environment, society, transportation, planning, and energy efficiency.

The built environment, climate change, and health: opportunities for co-benefits.

The earth's climate is changing, due largely to greenhouse gas emissions resulting from human activity. These human-generated gases derive in part from aspects of the built environment such as transportation systems and infrastructure, building construction and operation, and land-use planning. Transportation, the largest end-use consumer of energy, affects human health directly through air pollution and subsequent respiratory effects, as well as indirectly through physical activity behavior. Buildings contribute to climate change, influence transportation, and affect health through the materials utilized, decisions about sites, electricity and water usage, and landscape surroundings. Land use, forestry, and agriculture also contribute to climate change and affect health by increasing atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide, shaping the infrastructures for both transportation and buildings, and affecting access to green spaces. Vulnerable populations are disproportionately affected with regard to transportation, buildings, and land use, and are most at risk for experiencing the effects of climate change. Working across sectors to incorporate a health promotion approach in the design and development of built environment components may mitigate climate change, promote adaptation, and improve public health.