Addressing social sustainability in residential development - An analysis of a residential developer and two municipalities in Sweden

Sammanfattning: Social sustainability is one of the three dimensions in the concept of sustainability and is seen as the weakest pillar of sustainable development. Previous literature concludes that social sustainability is a difficult concept to define and achieve. Therefore, the social dimension has not been addressed to the same extent and has been frequently avoided in research and practice. However the importance of the social dimension of sustainable development has been recognized from both the private and the public sector during the last decade. The social aspect of sustainability requires more attention and it is important to define the social sustainability processes that should be integrated during the planning phase of residential development projects. The purpose of this research is to contribute with knowledge about how social sustainability can be addressed in the housing industry and within the scientific fields of urban planning and project development. By looking deeper, from both the developer and municipality perspective, into how social sustainability aspects are addressed today, how cooperation regarding these aspects is working, what values a focus on social aspects can create for both parties as well as desires for the future, the research also aims to provide a recommendation of how residential developers can improve their working process. Four projects located both in Stockholm and Gothenburg have been used as a basis for the empirics in this research. Empirical information has been collected primarily through interviews but also from existing social sustainability tools. Interviews were conducted with representatives from JM AB and the municipalities of Stockholm and Gothenburg. The research has identified that concrete tools, cooperation, clear objectives, and an understanding of each other’s aims and goals are crucial for a good working process regarding social sustainability. A recommended working process has been developed with the aim of helping residential developers to address social sustainability in residential projects. The identified steps in the recommendation provide an understanding of how developers should work with social sustainability internally and in cooperation with the municipality. By working systematically with social sustainability in residential development, the research indicates that developers can become more attractive in the eyes of the municipality and thus gain a competitive advantage over their competitors as well as increase the possibility of creating shared values.