In the engineering and social sciences, the term ‘built environment’, or built world, refers to the human-made environment that provides the setting for human activity, ranging in scale from buildings to cities and beyond. It has been defined as "the human-made space in which people live, work and recreate on a day-to-day basis."

The built environment encompasses places and spaces created or modified by people to serve their needs of accommodation, organisation and representation.

The sciences of the built environment cover architecture, urbanism, building technology, civil engineering, landscaping and the management of built stock mutations and operations.

In recent years public health research has expanded the definition of "built environment" to include healthy food access, community gardens, mental health, physical health, "walkability", and "bikeability".