Investigating Social Sustainability Dimensions in Social Housing in India

Azra Ahamed¹, Farzaneh Haghighi¹, Paola Boarin¹

1. Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland

Published in Proceedings of the International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Built Environment (SASBE 2024), edited by Ali GhaffarianHoseini, Amirhosein GhaffarianHoseini, Farzad Rahimian and Mahesh Babu Purushothaman. Springer Nature, Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, volume 591, 2025, pages 1055 to 1065. DOI 10.1007/978-981-96-4051-5_101.

Abstract

This research analyses the concept of social sustainability by examining its operationalization in social housing in Chennai, India. The growing importance of the social aspects of creating sustainable communities has emphasized the need to conceptualize and operationalize social sustainability at various scales within the urban environment, including social housing communities. This need highlights the vital role of socially sustainable social housing in fostering holistic and sustainable urban development. This research is twofold. First, it proposes a framework for assessing the social sustainability of social housing. This framework includes 3 major Social Sustainability Dimensions (SSD). These are i) housing, ii) amenities and infrastructure, and iii) social and cultural life. Each SSD further encompasses five Social Sustainability Indicators (SSI); these indicators serve as the underpinning for the investigation. Second, it examines the framework in Perumbakkam, Chennai, India. Primary data is collected from the case using qualitative research methods such as semi-structured interviews, observations, and archival records. The findings are practical recommendations to enhance the social sustainability of Perumbakkam. The recommendations reveal the roles of various stakeholders that need to be involved with the design of social housing in Chennai, such as architects, urban planners, policymakers, government institutions, and legal advisories.

Keywords

Session

Presented in Track D, Friday 8 November 2024, 11:00 to 13:00, room WG 1020, Auckland University of Technology. Session chair Dr Alessandro Premier.

How to Cite

Ahamed, A., Haghighi, F., & Boarin, P. (2025). Investigating Social Sustainability Dimensions in Social Housing in India. In A. GhaffarianHoseini, A. GhaffarianHoseini, F. Rahimian, & M. B. Purushothaman (Eds.), Proceedings of the International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Built Environment (SASBE 2024) (Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, Vol. 591, pp. 1055–1065). Springer Nature Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-4051-5_101

About the Conference

Presented at SASBE 2024, the International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, held in Auckland from 7 to 9 November 2024 and chaired by Professors Ali and Amirhosein GhaffarianHoseini, founders of GDI Academy. The version of record is published by Springer Nature; this page is the conference archive record kept by GDI Academy.