ABSTRACT
Canada’s National Housing Strategy and many provincial and territorial housing strategies stress the need to create sustainability in the social and affordable housing sector. Three dimensions of sustainability are identified: financial, environmental and social. While all three are important, social sustainability is often the dimension least explored, both in practice and in the literature. It has also not been well operationalized for the social and affordable housing sector. Measurement of social sustainability is also not simple as there is no one aggregate measure that would provide a viable report. Based on a conceptualization of social sustainability that is multi-scalar, multidimensional and linked to found key themes – equity, inclusion, security and resiliency – we work to operationalize social sustainability in a social and affordable housing context at the level of a housing provider in the sector by presenting a possible measurement framework.
