Assessing Social Sustainability in US Cities: A Systems Approach
Brundtland’s definition of sustainability is the ability to “meet the needs of the present<br/>without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs” (IISD, 2021). But<br/>what if there are no future generations? Social sustainability, the sector of sustainability that<br/>foregrounds the well-being and livelihoods of people (and thereby continuation of humanity), is<br/>included in definitions within the sustainability field, but less developed in sustainability<br/>practice. In an effort to bridge this gap of knowledge, 14 U.S. cities and over 100 sustainability<br/>policies were analyzed for their social sustainability performance. An eight-item analytical<br/>framework that deals with differing areas of social equity guided the analysis. Results found that<br/>most cities’ sustainability departments fell short of truly addressing social sustainability<br/>concerns. Out of the eight items, the most frequently addressed were housing security and racial<br/>and gender equality whereas few, if any, cities addressed the more specific social concerns of<br/>immigration, technology and media, or arts/cultural preservation. Future research is<br/>recommended to gain a better understanding of the ways existing cities can improve in this area.
- Co-author: Weekes, Daniel Buckner
- Co-author: Tam, Joey
- Thesis director: Brian, Jennifer
- Thesis director: Keeler, Lauren Withycombe
- Committee member: N/A, N/A
- Contributor (ctb): Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business
- Contributor (ctb): Department of Economics
- Contributor (ctb): Department of Supply Chain Management
- Contributor (ctb): Barrett, The Honors College