Social Sustainability of High-Rise Living: A Literature Review

Abstract

This systematic literature review examines the evolution of definitions of sustainability since its inception and the theoretical constructs underlying these definitions. It then discusses and analyses the three types of sustainability, the tripartite, namely Environmental, Economic and Social, and establishes that Economic and Environmental sustainability have dominated the sustainability debate since its beginning. Social Sustainability still lags behind in research activities and is the most neglected among the tripartite. The study then relates sustainability to high-rise apartments and again finds that both environmental sustainability, in terms of energy use, and economic sustainability, in terms of the cost implications of high-rise apartments, have been sought-after research topics.
The paper further investigates Sustainability and Social Sustainability in detail, examining various aspects of a social system, such as Trust, Diversity, Capacity for Learning, Self-Organisation, and Common Meaning. It reviews the various types of social sustainability from the literature. It then establishes a link between Social Sustainability and the Built Environment. This literature review also strikingly finds that certain factors, called the Moderating Factors, are associated with differences in social outcomes, but not in a causal sense, such as residents’ personal circumstances, like income, religion, life-cycle stage and neighbourhood. The research eventually integrates existing research on social sustainability and postulates a definition of social sustainability for high-rise living. It also highlights gaps in the existing literature for future research.