Wind resource assessment is a critical parameter in a diverse range of considerations within the built environment. Engineers and scientists, engaging in building design, energy conservation/application and air-quality/air-pollution control measures, need to be cognisant of how the associated wind resource imposes increased complexities in their design and modelling processes. In this regard, the morphological heterogeneities within these environments, present significant challenges to quantifying the resource and its turbulent characteristics. This paper presents three aspects of turbulence assessment within the built environment. Firstly, an analysis of how turbulence is currently quantified is considered. The industry standard, TI (Turbulence Intensity) is compared with a proposed alternative metric described as T-Df modelling (Turbulent Fourier Dimension). Secondly, the application of the turbulence assessment is considered with respect to how TI affects the productivity of small/micro wind turbines in complex environments though Gaussian distribution analysis. Finally, an extended discussion on current developments such as the concept of a turbulence rose and the ongoing development of statistical modelling is presented. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.