The built environment—which includes the places we live and work, the infrastructure that links us, and the systems that support our societies—is fundamental to human advancement. It influences our daily lives, work, and interactions, forming the backbone of social and economic well-being. Despite its significance, the sector continues to struggle with persistent issues such as inefficiency, limited collaboration, considerable environmental impact, and a slow rate of transformative change, especially in areas like value generation, business model innovation, and large-scale sectoral shifts.
Digitalisation and digital transformation, powered by technologies like building information modelling (BIM), the internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence, and immersive tools, are now crucial for tackling these challenges. More recently, distributed ledger technologies (DLT)—including blockchain and self-executing smart contracts—have appeared, presenting new possibilities for the built environment.
As discussed in this book, emerging research demonstrates that DLT can enhance transparency and trust (through immutable records and greater accountability), boost efficiency and automation (via smart contracts and streamlined workflows), improve data security (with decentralised integrity), enable collaborative governance (through shared decision-making), support tokenisation (for more democratic ownership), foster integration (by connecting with digital twins, BIM, and IoT), and promote sustainability (such as circular economies and renewable energy). Nevertheless, the adoption of DLT in the built environment is hindered by legal, technical, ethical, and stakeholder-related challenges.
Blending both theoretical insights and practical examples, this book explores how blockchain and DLT can be applied to the delivery and management of the built environment, examining adoption strategies, real-world applications, and the benefits and obstacles involved.
Aimed at researchers, professionals, students, technology developers, and policymakers, Blockchain, Smart Contracts and Distributed Ledger Technologies in the Built Environment: Key Concepts, Technologies, and Applications serves as a thorough resource for understanding and implementing DLT in the built environment sector.
