Neighborhood (Social) Sustainability Assessment Frameworks and Models: A Literature Review

Abstract

Neighbourhoods have garnered global attention in sustainability evaluation owing to their appropriate scale for demonstrating the interaction between the individual and the urban environment. Inspired by building sustainability assessment systems effectiveness in advancing sustainability principles and practices, over the past twenty years, a movement has advanced, and many systems and tools were developed to assess neighbourhood scale sustainability. Researchers have examined framework content, interactions, actors in the process, and institutions, as well as the efficacy of framework-based advancements in practical applications. Neighbourhood frameworks encompass environmental, social, and economic sustainability, offering a more complete approach than building frameworks. Nonetheless, there is minimal consensus over the practical implications of this, and concerns of economic and environmental prejudice have emerged. Also, the extensive geographical spread and regional disparities, along with contextual distinctions between developing and industrialised nations, pose challenges for the international implementation of any of these systems, which has resulted in consideration of different dimensions, items and scale and methods to assess neighbourhood sustainability. This paper aims to enhance comprehension of the existing tools, frameworks, and models proposed by researchers within the current body of knowledge, focusing on neighbourhood sustainable development and neighbourhood social sustainability.