Terminology of Built Environment updated and expanded

Rakennetun ympäristön pääsanasto, Huvudordlista för byggd miljö

Ministry of the Environment, 2023

The terminology is available:
- in the Terminologies Tool on the Interoperability Platform

Languages of the terminology:
- Terms: Finnish, Swedish, English
- Concept descriptions: Finnish

The Terminology of Built Environment was updated and expanded in 2021–2023 by the Ministry of the Environment and the Finnish Terminology Centre. The work was done in connection with the terminology project related to the reform of Land Use and Building Act. The terminology of Built Environment consists of around 650 concepts of which approximately 300 are new or have now been updated.

The aim of the terminology is to define the core concepts related to built environment, suggest the preferred terms and clarify their usage. The definitions have been formed in a way that supports coherent usage of the concepts in different contexts and the interoperability of the public administration’s information contents. The concepts are given equivalents in Swedish and English, and the relations between the concepts are illustrated by concept diagrams. The terminology is intended to serve as a tool for people working with built environment.

The updates to the terminology were prepared in several working groups dealing with different subject fields. Experts participating in the working groups were from the Ministry of the Environment, the National Land Survey of Finland, the Finnish Environment Institute, the City of Helsinki, the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, Senate Properties, the University of Oulu, the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities, Rakli, Ramboll and Sitowise. The working groups were led by the Terminology Centre’s terminologists, who were responsible for the terminology work.