Introduction

In most of the context in which individuals spend their living time, the environment is already built, but annual construction modifies it and can make a profound difference over several decades. The production of the built environment entails the use of natural materials, the consumption of energy, and localised impacts on habitats. The cumulative impact of these short-range environmental impacts may result in more significant long-range impacts and their environmental consequences only become fully apparent to future generations. Therefore, there is a need to both understand which dynamics and mechanisms (social, economic, technological, juridical) are required to transform the existing built environment to make it more sustainable and to internalise environmental costs in current economic accounting.