Introduction

In the United Nations Brundtland Commission’s 1987 Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future, sustainability is presented as a tripartite concept consisting of ecological, economic, and social sustainability. The introduction puts forth that of the three interlinked sustainability concepts; it is the social that serves as a foundation for sustainability writ large. The introduction discusses how social sustainability has been defined, both in theory and through practice, before introducing the book’s structure and content. Part 1 discusses historical and theoretical aspects of social sustainability, while Part 2 introduces a series of built-environment examples that illustrate these ideals. Drawing lessons from the case studies examined, this book points towards new building and urban design paradigms for the future.