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Promoting Social Sustainability of Urban Neighbourhoods : The Case of Bethnal Green, London
Author(s) -
Shirazi M. Reza,
Keivani Ramin,
Brownill Sue,
Butina Watson Georgia
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
international journal of urban and regional research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.456
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1468-2427
pISSN - 0309-1317
DOI - 10.1111/1468-2427.12946
Subject(s) - operationalization , sustainability , neighbourhood (mathematics) , sociology , social sustainability , urban sustainability , sustainable community , dimension (graph theory) , environmental planning , regional science , geography , epistemology , ecology , mathematical analysis , philosophy , mathematics , pure mathematics , biology
The growing significance of neighbourhoods in the urban planning discipline, alongside increasing attention to the social dimension of sustainable communities and societies, has brought to the fore the need to conceptualize socially sustainable neighbourhoods. In this article we reflect critically on the concept of socially sustainable neighbourhoods in two areas, namely definition and operationalization. We then propose a tripartite framework for measuring social sustainability of urban neighbourhoods, which combines the three elements of neighbourhood, neighbouring and neighbours. This framework is tested, examined and discussed for the case of Bethnal Green, London. We then integrate our findings into a social sustainability enhancement index, which encompasses practical recommendations to promote the social sustainability of Bethnal Green. We conclude this article by highlighting the research and policy implications of the proposed framework, and making suggestions for improving the methodology of future research.