ABSTRACT
Social sustainability occurs “when the formal and informal processes, systems, structures, and relationships actively support the capacity of current and future generations to create healthy and livable communities” (Barron & Gauntlett, 2002, p. vi). Dujon (2009) posits that the core task in support of social sustainability is to “ … identify the processes that generate social health and well-being now and in the future … ” (p. 123). Our chapter argues that developing and maintaining positive mental health is foundational to the generation of social well-being, and therefore a critical component of social sustainability. This chapter will delineate three ideas crucial for understanding the connections between positive mental health and social sustainability. First, mental health must be distinguished from mental illness. Second, mental health is a social indicator and its cultivation requires both community and individual level interventions. Third, lack of equity is a key barrier to cultivation of mental health. The integration at the institutional level of these propositions can create guides for policy, practice, and organizational culture (Friedli, World Health Organization, & Mental Health Foundation, 2009; Schein, 2004) and support the foundation of positive mental health essential to the generation of social sustainability. These three propositions, drawn from international advances in mental health policy, will be applied to a case study of development and evolution of the Equity and Empowerment Lens in Multnomah County, Oregon, USA.
