Social sustainability in public housing: insight from social network analysis of recent residential developments in Enugu, Nigeria

Abstract

Despite the growing need for public housing schemes to contribute to the attainment of sustainable residential neighbourhoods in line with the Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11), the extent to which such schemes are achieving this in countries in the Global South is yet to be determined. This study investigated the social sustainability of three public housing estates in the Enugu Urban area, Nigeria, with a view to understanding their social sustainability indices. A cross-sectional survey of randomly selected 160 residents of the estates was done and the data analysed using descriptive and social network analyses. The findings revealed that the sampled housing estates recorded moderate social sustainability values due to differing availability and use of public spaces, and associational activities. The study implies that the provision of public spaces and facilities is vital in enhancing the social sustainability of mass housing developments.