The true meaning of social sustainability in Nobelhorst

Abstract

THE TRUE MEANING OF SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY IN NOBELHORST – City and local governments are increasingly adopting new planning policies that seek to steer urban form towards sustainable development. In contrast to the ecological and economic aspects, the social domain of the sustainable city has consistently received less attention in terms of policy and research, and even when the importance of the social dimension is acknowledged and accepted, exactly what it means has not yet been clearly defined and agreed upon. There is a need for a better understanding of how cities and neighbourhoods can consider social sustainability as one of its main objectives. A case-study design is applied in which the interpretation and development of the “social sustainable” neighbourhood Nobelhorst (located in Almere, the Netherlands) has been analysed in great detail. Emphasis is placed on the community perspective, including the interplay between the different actors involved. The findings show that even though the actual experience of residents deviates considerably from the planners’ intentions, a certain degree of harmony with regard to the true meaning of “social sustainability” in Nobelhorst has been established. This study also provides stories of “social unrest” and “discontent” with regard to the development of “social sustainability” in Nobelhorst, due to a variety of influencing factors. These can be grouped as: (1) political related factors, (2) organisational related factors, and (3) personal and situationally linked factors. In case of integrating “social sustainability” in planning policies, city and local governments must consider the influence of the environment, and devise strategies that truly allow for the empowering, enabling and amplification of positive, bottom-up initiatives. If not, the planning policies will result in lost opportunities, and at worst, negative social outcomes.