Developing places for human capabilities: Understanding how social sustainability goals are governed into urban development projects

Although social objectives are frequently part of the pursuit of sustainable urban development, how such social sustainability goals can be achieved in urban development practices remains a largely unsolved puzzle. While scholars increasingly acknowledge that urban social sustainability is a plural concept that needs to be specified in...

Governing capabilities, not places – how to understand social sustainability implementation in urban development

Social sustainability’s implementation in urban development is a complex endeavour that demands alternative forms of governance. This article draws on the capabilities approach as an evaluative framework to better understand this implementation process. Through an in-depth case comparison of two Dutch urban development projects, the study...

Understanding people-centered planning practice in Europe: An institutionalist comparison between urban development projects in Vienna and Helsingborg

Pursuing people-centered planning practices (PCPs) such as participatory approaches demands a better understanding of how their operationalization relates to contextual structures and conditions in urban governance. By comparing two cases of social sustainability operationalization in Austrian and Swedish urban development projects based on...

Type I Social Life Cycle Assessments: Methodological Challenges in the Study of a Plant in the Context of Circular Economy

Policymakers need to know where the social externalities of products occur in order to act at the macro level. The Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) method can contribute to the assessment of the social externalities of products; a necessary method supporting the European Union while they transitioning to a circular economy. This study...

Implementing social sustainability in area development projects in the Netherlands

During recent decades, urbanization processes and changing population compositions in European cities have underlined the relevance of social sustainability for urban development. Despite a growing amount of research on the social sphere of sustainability, the actual implementation of social sustainability in area development projects remains...

Does aging-friendly enhance sustainability? Evidence from Hong Kong

The aging population is one of the demographic changes in the 21st century. World Health Organization defines an age-friendly city as a place that has an “inclusive and accessible urban environment that promotes active aging.” It receives considerable attention in the field of gerontology and contains important aspects of sustainable urban...

Framework for capacity based sustainable design & development ; towards resilient communities

The most fundamental struggle for realizing a sustainable built environment still lies in the use of non-renewable resources in its articulation. Although effort has been taken to increase the use of sustainable materials (bio based, C2C, etc.) the vast majority of the building sector still relies heavily on steel and concrete. This article...

Beyond individual-centric privacy: Information technology in social systems

In the public debate, social implications of information technology are mainly seen through the privacy lens. Impact assessments of information technology are also often limited to privacy impact assessments, which are focused on individual rights and well-being, as opposed to the social environment. In this article, I argue that this...

Stakeholders’ Expectations in Urban Renewal Projects in China: A Key Step towards Sustainability

China’s fast growth of economy and urbanization have driven large-scale urban renewal projects, thus triggering a wide spectrum of unsustainable problems. Little research has systematically explored the stakeholders’ expectations in urban renewal projects in China. A deeper understanding of the divergent interests and expectations of the key...

An Alternative Model to Determine the Financing Structure of PPP-Based Young Graduate Apartments in China: A Case Study of Hangzhou

Public-private partnerships (PPP) can be employed to provide public rental housing for young graduates, which has been urgent to achieve social sustainability in China. However, few studies have been conducted to investigate the financing structure of PPPs, particularly the ratio of private investment, which is important in initiating a PPP...

Diversity management: Managing migrant construction workers on construction sites in Singapore

It is not sustainable for construction projects in Singapore to rely merely on a Singaporean workforce due to the low participation rate of indigenous workers. A typical construction site in Singapore thus comprises migrant workers from several countries. This gives rise to the need for diversity management on construction sites to ensure social...

Design without borders: International collaborative design projects as a mechanism to integrate social sustainability into student design practice

Like the notion of social impacts in Sustainable Development, social sustainability in design is a complex, contradictory and challenging area. Although not clearly defined, it is often where all the vague and immeasurable elements of Sustainable Design are placed. Addressing the balance of sustainability to include societal and human concerns...