ABSTRACT
The concept of social capital advanced in the work of Robert Putnam and Eva Cox pays attention to the quality of social interaction and has led to increasing awareness of relationships within society which promote trust, reciprocity and mutual development. The concept of capital contributes understanding of a base amount, with the increase or decrease relating to the ability of communities to work towards socially sustainable futures. Combined with the concept of capital, the graphic indicator registers how people feel about the state of their community at regular intervals. Vibrancy within each community contributes to regional development and planners become aware of the outflow of capital, attention turns to supporting existing businesses as well as encouraging entry and expansion of new complimentary businesses. The framework of integrated development extended thinking beyond social capital to consider the implications of fields of political capital, cultural capital, personal and spiritual capital, economic capital and environmental capital.
