Social sustainability of communities: A systematic literature review

Abstract

Social sustainability, a critical pillar of sustainability, has gained increasing recognition in recent years. It focuses on achieving human well-being and enhancing life quality. Communities, as the fundamental physical and social units within cities, present a practical scale for examining social sustainability in the built environment. This paper presents a Systematic Literature Review of articles from two of the largest academic online databases, Web of Science (WoS) core collection and Scopus, aiming to augment understanding of social sustainability in community contexts. The review identifies four conceptual frameworks, eight foundational indicators, and four strategies for improvement. The results highlight the integration of physical and social attributes, alongside community experiences of residents, as essential to social sustainability. Improvement efforts necessitate collaboration among local authorities, the private sector, and various stakeholders. This study contributes to a deeper comprehension of community-based social sustainability, laying the groundwork for future scholarly research and guiding local authorities and private sector initiatives in effective infrastructure and service delivery.