Many models of social sustainability have been proposed in the previous few decades, with the majority of these recognising a co-dependent interaction between three basic elements. These are generally recognised as community/social, environmental and economic. The interaction of these elements impacts on issues of equity, diversity, interconnectedness and acceptance; and there is widespread recognition that healthy communities are communities that accept and foster these ideals.
Of course addressing social sustainability in a meaningful way extends far beyond that of the built environment and requires a strong commitment from government, policy-makers and the greater community itself and has far greater public health connotations. However, it is important for us, as professionals within the property and construction sector, to be mindful of these models and ideas. People residing in urban environments spend up to 90% of their time contained by the built environment; so our influence and contribution to this environment, and consequently the effect on our interactions with and within it, is very significant.
Economic Sustainability
Recent regulatory impact statements associated with a new Disability Standards 2010, Access to Premises – Buildings, identified increased participation of people with disabilities in the workforce as well as within education as a significant element in assessing the economic impact of this new set of standards. The authors also broadly identified reduced living and health costs as a quantifiable economic benefit within these statements. The benefits were reported at $1 billion per annum and the costs were quantified at approximately $620 million per annum. This of course excludes the unquantifiable economic benefits which are derived from the removal of barriers which result in the social exclusion of people with disabilities.
Environmental Sustainability
The fact that Australia’s population, as well as that of most other developed countries, is rapidly ageing has been widely reported and understood for some time now. This coupled with an understanding of the strong correlation between ageing and disability suggests that providing more accessible environments will be hugely beneficial both now and into the future.
By providing buildings that are designed to be universally accessible, the need to refurbish or rebuild later is greatly diminished. It is well known that a substantial amount of embodied energy goes into the construction of any scale building. Limiting building works to the construction and maintenance of the building, hence minimising unassociated further refurbishments, will significantly reduce the embodied energy subsumed in the building and its total lifecycle environmental footprint.
Community/Social Development
Diverse participation and representation at all levels of a community, contributes strongly to achieving stable, cohesive and healthy communities. Allowing all people to network and develop relationships within their local communities impacts directly on outcomes that are equitable to all members, which promote and accept diverse perspectives and novel ideas, and which support interconnectedness within these communities. More importantly, greater representation at all levels of community results in processes which are more democratic by nature, and governance structures which are far more accountable.
Creating built environments that allow increased participation in education and gainful employment provides people with disabilities opportunities to develop requisite knowledge and skills which will allow them to progress to higher levels of representation.
General Health
A recent presentation in Melbourne by Danish architect and urban quality consultant Jan Gehl, highlighted the importance of designing to the human scale in achieving socially sustainable outcomes. Providing services and commercial centres at walkable distances; creating walking and bike friendly environments; open spaces which are both proximal and accessible to all. This style of urban design encourages people to come out into the public realm, to interact with it and lead more active, healthier lives.
More directly, increased activity represents an effective way of reducing the impact of conditions such as obesity and cardiovascular disease; and contributes to a healthier community with fewer incidences of events which can cause disability. The design of accessible spaces intended for congregation and interaction for people of all abilities impacts on all the elements of social sustainability discussed above.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) developed a European Healthy Cities programme in 1986 which has now evolved into a global movement involving more than 1000 cities in more than 30 countries. The program aims to engage local governments in promoting and developing public health through a process of encouraging political commitment and institutional change via collaborative planning and projects. In doing so they are establishing that a healthy city is not one that simply meets a set of measurable outcomes, but rather one that recognises the need to improve people’s health and is continually creating opportunities (both in the built and social environments) to enable all of its citizens to be physically active in their lives.
Therefore, the defining principle for us, as building and property professionals, is to recognise the need to promote and support the sustainability and health of people and communities that occupy our buildings and continually develop new and innovative ways to achieve this.
