ABSTRACT

Policy-makers and governmental bodies have developed urban policies, planning strategies, and social programmes to enhance social sustainability of cities and communities. Urban social sustainability is fundamentally related to urban policy. The first policy challenge of urban social sustainability is ‘thematic negligence’: social sustainability is not recognized as an integral part of urban planning and urban policy, and has rarely been integrated into future plans, urban initiatives, and urban governance structure. Urban social sustainability is a relational concept in terms of place and time. Urban social sustainability is not exclusively about preserving and sustaining existing societal qualities for the present and future generations, but enhancing, improving, and upgrading them. The paradigm shift from government to governance indicates that, in order to achieve social sustainability goals and objectives, the governance of urban social sustainability should ensure effective coordination and coherent action of all the actors, including civil society and formal governmental bodies.