Environmental Impact

Introduction

Major building companies in the UK have become more environmentally conscious since the beginning of the 1990s. This increasing awareness coincides with the widespread expansion of the environmental revolution, the adoption of new laws (Mohan, Longo, & Kee, 2017), and the promotion of environmental pollution. Some people have interpreted the shifting mindset of the industry as "a growing recognition of the need for action to avoid irrevocable environmental harm" (Mohan, Longo, & Kee, 2017). The most polluting sectors like oil and plastics have often been proposed to be "the forefront" of positive environmental behavior. The quest for a "greener" picture was further encouraged with increasing demand for pro-environmental assertion items. Many multinationals found a formal statement of their environmental responsibility to escape negative attention after recent environmental disasters. In addition, the possibility of non-compliance litigation for management of those companies who may have responsibility for their incompetence is very real with tightening environmental regulation (Mohan et al., 2020). The concern that the fines and sanctions may result in more costs for consumers and developers, who may be responsible for the activities, will also decrease demand for services from people that adhere to public health practices. They will also jeopardize the value of their services.

On the other hand, increased demand for environmentally compatible goods has generated several new market opportunities (Campbell et al., 2017). For instance, the OECD has predicted that the price of adjustment to the greenhouse effect alone will be about 3-4 percent of the global GNP in the next 30 decades (Bäing, & Wong, 2018). These figures are projected to double in 2000 for the British environmental consulting company, currently around £400 million (Bäing, & Wong, 2018). As in every business, special financial incentives will be achieved if the Real estate concerned wins supremacy in this sector. This will allow the company to control the establishment of new norms and explore the tastes of potential brands efficiently.

Real Estate constructions have historically been subject to environmental law; various regulations have regulated their architecture and site practice. However, in a time of such rapid social and technical transition, complying with regulations alone will not be sufficient. Regulations are generally mere indicators of the minimum requirements required and are therefore constantly amended. However, the sector must go beyond the proposed regulatory criteria to reduce environmental emissions realistically. There are twofold incentives for companies at the forefront of technical growth. Market leaders could benefit from a gatekeeper or a first-comer benefit. Through doing so, companies will simultaneously accomplish two targets. First, tightening the barriers to access by using advanced sustainability technology and at the same time vigorously advising lawmakers on the thresholds to be set by the current guidelines.

To update the current state of affairs, the impact of planning and environmental policy on real estate development activity. This paper highlights,

1. One piece of urban policy and identify the principle aim and objectives in reducing the environmental impact of real estate activity.

2. Outline why it was necessary to introduce the selected policy legislation.

3. Examine the proposed policy outcomes, indicating how you believe it will reduce the Environmental impact of real estate activity

Describing the impact of the urban policy on real estate activity and how real estate

Organizations will have to adapt their organization and operational delivery to comply with the selected policy.

Urban regeneration Policy

The introduction of urban regeneration policy has led to the reduction of the environmental impacts that are achieved due to real estate development. Urban regeneration attempts to reverse this downturn by enhancing the physical and, above all, by improving the economy in these regions. The aim of the Urban Regeneration policy in the UK is to introduce Sustainable development by "recycling" land and houses, eliminating demolition waste and the new construction material, reducing demand for urban peripheral expansion, promoting environmental intensification and compactness; this helps the cities and also reduces Real estate development activities that are in one way or the other contributing to environmental effects and impacts in the UK (Rhodes & Brown, 2019). The recession that has plagued the building industry and the housing sector for many years now has affected investments in public works and has led to increased unemployment. Overcome these research projects, regulatory initiatives, policy development, the improvement and restoration of urban environments, the conservation of the environment and the countryside, and the elimination of land losses for other purposes. In the European Union, all policies and plans are subject to the concept of sustainable growth (Bäing & Wong, 2018).

In recent decades, the major programs aimed at metropolitan cities are considering the urban process aimed at addressing major urban issues that would support existing people and potential citizens to meet the quality expectations of vulnerable populations. In addition, the objective to address urban challenges and seek to develop economic, physical, social, and environmental issues in a region that needs to be improved in the long term. There are the most important principles of urban regeneration:- the need to establish clear and measurable objectives of the urban regeneration process and their objectives for sustainable development; - adequate local environment analyses;- the need to efficiently use available natural, economic and human resources (Putra, 2019). Urban regeneration is an opportunity to resolve issues such as loss of identification, lack of public parks, and high urban density making it difficult to extend roads, create green areas, plant trees on sidewalks, etc. urban regeneration is an opportunity. The word for city redevelopment refers to urban refurbishment or urban refurbishment. Therefore, regardless of speech, this concept is founded on a series of principles of action that strive to promote sustainable urban growth (Putra, 2019).

As part of this interconnected urban regeneration process, the projects created by traditionally urban actors, including public administration and new players, include economic, social, and political projects. This style of the project makes sustainable planning scalable and encourages dialogue among all the parties concerned such that various facets of urban development can be correlated. It further often focused on a shared political vision for urban players through agreements on the implementation and division of their responsibilities. The urban project is a town management complex (Lak et al., 2020). All the factors and the importance of urban regeneration addressed here are important in reducing the environmental impact of real estate activity (Putra, 2019).

Importance of urban regeneration policy in legislation

Globally there is an increase in the number of people residing in urban areas. That puts considerable pressure on services in general, which leads to urgent legislation of urban regeneration policy that needs to radically upgrade local infrastructure, especially accommodation, food, water, and waste. Therefore, the management of metropolitan cities is one of the major growth issues of the 21st century. Construction is a central component of modern life. To satisfy the growing number of people coming to the city and increasing demand on existing services and pollution, considerable infrastructure expenditure and further growth must be done (Heath et al., 2017). Towns still face an enormous energy renovation task. Such urban transformations present new possibilities simultaneously: vigorous restoration will provide people with many advantages, with smart material loops making the circular economy a possibility. Many essential facets of sustainable development and urban living also affect the architecture and materials used for construction. Factors like wellbeing, thermal comfort, sound efficiency, and fire resistance are affected. Buildings will be part of the resolution of the day's problems and the future by taking a strategic view and creating healthy communities. Cities have the authority to behave and improve within their borders (Lak et al., 2020).

In many major cities, the neighborhoods are difficult and frequently characterized by many socioeconomic challenges, insufficient housing standards, and poor reputations. These issues also strengthen one another in a vicious spiral, which leads to a negative pattern in the region. Mostly 40-50 years old, the structures comprising these areas were constructed at a time characterized by diverse social values. Time has changed, and our demand for the world has also changed. Much of these buildings are in desperate need of an upgrade—to decrease their energy use, increase their thermal comfort and hygiene, and improve their esthetic characteristics. Therefore, it was necessary to introduce urban regeneration in legislation because we can ensure that our towns, living spaces, and workplaces are future-oriented and enable the people to live sustainable living. However, urban renewal may be one of the key tasks facing our economies (Nurse & North, 2020). Still, it also creates high-quality, accessible, and safe buildings if it succeed in upscaling and replicating the lessons learned from the many pilot cases worldwide. Urban regeneration as a legislation policy is important because it controls the real estate development in towns. Cities are also exposed to new risks from climate change which leads to more severe weather (Putra, 2019). A greater incidence of events such as floods, hurricanes, and fires presents towns with new threats. Cities should therefore be immune to these threats, avoiding serious individual, social and economic impacts. After a tragedy, a resilient town will quickly rebound.

Examine the proposed policy outcomes

Regenerations help in reducing environmental impact by providing spaces within the city. Today real estate development has impacted water and sewer line areas. As a result, this has contributed to water pollution in the major cities. Because some companies will tend to incorporate sewer lines and water lines together in case of any damage in the line, there will be contamination. Hence people will be affected as a result of using contaminated water. The growth of real estate has also affected water drainage and dumpsites. There are no specific places within the town that can be designed either for dumpsite and water drainage; as results, when it rains, the whole city gets flooded with contaminated substances (Mangialardo & Micelli, 2020).

Nevertheless, the introduction of urban regeneration policy has tried to manage some of these factors by allowing for the regeneration of old buildings and houses to maintain environmental sustainability and sustainable growth. Real estate personnel must now shift their attention to regenerating old buildings to improve and reduce energy consumption that is an environmental problem. The pollution from building and demolition operations affects urban centers (CDW) (Boyle et al., 2018). The Foundation Ellen MacArthur has described the building environment as one of the major systemic waste fields. For instance, in Europe, even during working days, the average office uses just 35%–50% of the time. The UN-IRP report called The Weight of Cities reveals that at 2050 global "domestic resources" (DEMs) in sand, gravel, iron ore, coal and wood are possibly in the region of 8–17 tons per annum, meaning that material demand per annum would stabilize at a lower level than today's developed countries in the developing world (Bragaglia & Caruso, 2020).

Regeneration attempts to improve the environment and sceneries by changing consumer understanding of places, to become more appealing. This includes re-imaging areas that use media attention, sculpture, and festivals to improve the appearance of rural and urban sites. This invites developers to increase the region's capital (Boyle et al., 2018). In the 1960s and 1970s, housing was a big need – the result was that most buildings were constructed fast and equally. Time has changed, and our appetite for the constructed environment has changed (Boyle et al., 2018). The majority of these buildings now need to be upgraded to reduce their energy consumption, improve thermal convenience and health conditions for the people who live in them, and update the entire neighborhood of their esthetic consistency and urban areas. Urban regeneration needs more recognition as communities must be made affordable into residential spaces and working spaces. Difficult urban areas often need attention, particularly in constructing stable structures. In case of fire or natural disasters, the mix of high-rises constructions and compact urban areas poses a greater danger to the environment. An upgraded entity also allows people to live more healthily and leads them to live (Micelli, 2018).

The physical changes in a house and neighborhood may positively affect the experience and conduct of people, in that they can now embrace environmental protection because they would want to maintain the cleanliness of their residence. It is clear that the cheapest option long-term is substantial renovations by using quality materials mixing energy upgrades, and architectural upgrades to improve environmental protection growth. Profound renovation ensures very low energy consumption for the next 30 to 50 years. Moreover, repair and management expenses are also limited (Martin et al., 2019). Experience has shown that restoration efforts easily carried out using cheap materials had a limited lifetime, which would require refurbishment again. High quality, robust fabrics, by comparison, ensure the continued pleasure of restored buildings for decades. In urban regeneration, the advantages of energy regeneration are not limited to saving energy alone. The benefit to people and the environment is widely recognized—good indoor climates, thermal comfort, acoustic efficiency, ventilation, etc. Increase the health and wellbeing of the people in classrooms, hospitals, and staff generally and positively impact productivity. When examining the materials used in buildings, a life-cycle approach will reduce the environmental effect of the buildings in a community. In addition, the assessment of the current and prospects generates greater economic benefit. Not unexpectedly, there is a strong tendency to make building construction and renovation more efficient (Atkinson, et al., et al 2019).

The impact of the urban regeneration on real estate activity

Urban regeneration will reduce real estate construction activities as they will be required to focus on regenerating existing houses. Cities are in a good situation with their large distribution of wealth, money, data, and expertise over the limited geographic area to tackle the resource and waste problems of the real estate development industry. Sustainability and quality of life will benefit significantly from closing the loop in the building sector and changing architecture. This will further help local planners achieve their greenhouse emissions, mobility, indoor air quality, and non-toxic climate goals. The change to a renewable, carbon-independent, and resource-efficient economy, known as a "circular economy," is deemed crucial for future communities and enhancing residents' quality of life. At this time, our global economy is just 9.1 percent circular (Atkinson, et al., et al 2019).

The Circle Economy notes that "closing the circularity gap is a higher objective of preventing more and accelerating social injustice and environmental deterioration" - particularly when the need for housing and infrastructure is the most important resource base (Chen et al., 2020). They agree that an alternative to a circular economy allows cities to take real action in reducing pollution, creating new employment, enhancing industry and productivity, and improving public health and well-being (Lee & Lim, 2018). This transformation is made possible by sustainable buildings. Real estate developers must now follow city regulations to meet the development requirements of a town. When planning construction in an area, they must first identify old buildings within the locations; if there are such buildings, the policy requires them to reconsider regeneration instead of commencing a new project. They have to accept and adopt the new policies to maintain their business within the major cities. Furthermore, after regenerating the houses, low-income earners might consider living in the area because of the high rental prices that will come as a result of regeneration (Balampanidis et al., 2019).

Gentrification is one of the unintended results of urban regeneration. Gentrification is a rise in land prices in an affluent society against wealthy inhabitants and businesses. Investment by property construction firms, city government, or political groups in a community traditionally leads to gentrification. It can and will always stimulate economic growth, recruit companies, and lower crime rates. Besides these possible advantages, gentrification will lead to undesirable patterns in the displacement of poorer people by wealthy immigrants. Average income is increasing, and family size declines in a neighborhood facing gentrification. Poorer tenants who cannot afford higher rents or real estate taxes will be priced out. Therefore, new enterprises enter the city and can afford an improved trade rent (Taşan-Kok et al., 2019). It particularly addresses a more prosperous customer base—further enhances its call for migrants with higher incomes, and reduces mobility for the disadvantaged. The social implications of the plan should also be as relevant as the environmental and economic concerns when planning an urban renewal project. They should be thoroughly taken into account in the preparation of the project. Community involvement is one means of identifying, defining, and tackling social problems related to the redevelopment process. As such, it needs individuals with the correct skills (Martins et al., 2019).

Conclusion

Real Estate owners have the potential to be part of a systemic approach to the solutions to the problems of today and tomorrow in sustainable communities. There is also extensive expertise worldwide on constructing and renovating sustainable buildings to achieve high efficiency, resilient buildings, and low energy usage. The key task is to identify ways to scale up current operations and create innovative and sustainable business strategies to deal with metropolitan cities and capital management threats.

Continue your journey with our comprehensive guide to Environmental Challenges in the Construction Industry.

Reference

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