The built environment consists of man-made constructions that have been created to facilitate society and human existence. In any urban area the built environment including houses, office blocks, roads, railway lines, factories, bridges, and churches surrounds us. The majority of the local built environment is unremarkable to those who live within it, but occasionally something within the built environment is created that becomes a spectacle, and as a consequence an attraction. When this happens it is largely due to the novelty of what has been created. Built environment attractions can be novel due to their uniqueness, architecture, history, notoriety, usage, size or any combination of these factors. When something has been created within the built environment that becomes an attraction this is often capitalised upon with the introduction of educational facilities so that visitors to the attraction can learn more about it. The majority of built environment attractions were not originally created as attractions, however in some cases their importance as attractions has become central to their existence. An example of this could be the ruins of the
Colosseum in Rome, Italy, that once formed an important functioning building, but today has no function other than to draw in visitors.
Many built environment sites that are recognised as being attractions, have often had educational facilities built such as visitor centers, or observation platforms. The intention of these is usually to help audiences interpret and understand the attraction and as such these facilities are edutainment venues.
Built environment attractions include the following:
- Airport Viewing Areas
- Archaeological Attractions
- Bridges
- Canal Based Attractions
- Famous & Historic Buildings
- Monuments, Statues & Sculpture
- Sports Stadiums
- Reservoirs & Dams
- Towers & Tall Buildings with Observation Decks
- Windmills & Wind Farms
