Mapping the Knowledge Frontier in Environmental Health and Sustainability in Construction

Environmental health concerns remain a major global challenge. In many nations, the adoption of measures to mitigate the negative environmental impacts of construction-related activities has been slow. Prior research has clarified that further study/advancement are required to improve environmental health/sustainability (EHS). To determine the focus of previous studies, this study attempts to identify, analyse, and visualise the trends in research concerning EHS in construction-related domains. The data were obtained from the Scopus database, and the study employed a bibliometric approach. The following keywords were used to search the database: ‘environmental health’ OR ‘ecological health’ OR ‘environmental sustainability’ OR ‘ecological sustainability’ OR ‘Environmental safety’ OR ‘ecological safety’ AND ‘construction industry’ OR ‘building industry’ to retrieve relevant documents. The analysis included co-citation analysis, keyword co-occurrence and trend mapping. The findings revealed four themes: Environmental Sustainability and Energy-Oriented Decision-Making, Low-Carbon Cementitious Materials and Mechanical Performance of Concrete, Waste Management and Circular Economy Practices, and Life Cycle Assessment and Carbon Emission Analysis. The keyword findings revealed very scant research in environmental health unlike environmental sustainability. Spain, China, and Saudi Arabia are the top three in terms of citation-to-publication ratio, indicating strong influence in literature sources. However, India has the highest number of publications. The findings also suggest that more relevant studies are required in African nations and South Asian countries. It further highlighted a knowledge gap that emerging economies must address to enhance the sustainability and environmental performance of construction projects. This bibliometric analysis is unique in its integrated examination of environmental sustainability and environmental health in the construction industry, employing strategic thematic mapping to reveal system-level linkages, contextual gaps, and targeted directions for future research. The conclusions provide scholars and stakeholders in the built environment with a solid theoretical basis, enhancing the industry’s preparedness to mitigate the adverse environmental and climatic impacts of traditional construction methods.