Phytoremediation is a process through which the integration of plant-based systems treats environmental problems by removing, degrading or metabolizing toxins from the air, water, and soil, thereby rendering them harmless. Phytoremediation as a means to increase human health and well-being at many scales in urban contexts is a quickly evolving area of inquiry.

Urbanization has led to a multitude of environmental, systemic factors that degrade both indoor and outdoor air quality, thereby adversely impacting building energy use, and human health and wellbeing. The impacts of urban development patterns on microbial diversity and interrelated human health indicators is a related and rapidly emerging area of scientific inquiry. Strategies for integrating large scale plant-based air handling systems into buildings are showing early promise to address air quality and related energy use and may be able to address identified challenges in built environment microbiome while offering a range of other environmental, material life cycle and energy benefits associated with an increase in urban vegetation.  However, the complexity of interactions between living systems and environmental control systems is such that there remain substantial gaps in the knowledge, thus continuing to impede both the value characterization and implementation of these systems.