ABSTRACT
Social sustainability is the least discussed, and least clearly articulated, of the three ‘pillars’ of sustainable development: economic sustainability, environmental sustainability and social sustainability (United Nations, 2012). Various definitions of the concept exist. In one commonly cited definition, the Western Australian Council of Social Services (WACOSS) describes social sustainability as a situation where ‘formal and informal processes, systems, structures and relationships actively support the capacity of current and future generations to create healthy and liveable communities’ (as cited in van London and Ruijter, 2010: 18). There are several models and sets of indicators to measure and evaluate social sustainability (for example McKenzie, 2004; Western Australian Council of Social Service, n.d.); in general, these models emphasize principles of equity, diversity, democracy and strong social capital or interconnectedness. Social capital, similarly, has been variously defined. In their review of the concept, Adler and Kwon (2002) defined social capital as ‘the goodwill that is engendered by the fabric of social relations and that can be mobilized to facilitate action’ (17).
