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Urban Form and Social Sustainability: The Role of Density and Housing Type

Author

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  • Glen Bramley

    (School of the Built Environment, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland)

  • Sinéad Power

    (Analytical Services, Scottish Executive, Edinburgh, Scotland)

Abstract

In the United Kingdom planning favours a more compact, high-density, and mixed-use urban form. Many of the claims made for such compact forms in terms of the sustainability benefits are contested, and few have been rigorously researched. Drawing upon policy and academic literature we identify two key dimensions of social sustainability: social equity and sustainability of community. Using data from the Survey of English Housing this paper analyses the relationship between key aspects of urban form, density, and housing type, and selected social sustainability outcomes. Simpler analyses suggest strong relationships between urban form and a range of outcomes, although in opposite directions for the equity and community dimensions. However, the impact of urban form on these outcomes is substantially modified once we control for exogenous and intervening demographic and socioeconomic factors. In addition, outcome patterns relating to access to services and facilities favour denser urban forms at the same time as outcomes relating to sustainability of community remain adverse in denser areas. This suggests trade-offs within the social dimensions of sustainability, as well as between the social, environmental, and economic dimensions.

Suggested Citation

  • Glen Bramley & Sinéad Power, 2009. "Urban Form and Social Sustainability: The Role of Density and Housing Type," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 36(1), pages 30-48, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envirb:v:36:y:2009:i:1:p:30-48
    DOI: 10.1068/b33129
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    1. Mace, Alan & Holman, Nancy & Paccoud, Antoine & Sundaresan, Jayaraj, 2015. "Coordinating density; working through conviction, suspicion and pragmatism," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 56768, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Taozhi Zhuang & Queena K. Qian & Henk J. Visscher & Marja G. Elsinga, 2017. "Stakeholders’ Expectations in Urban Renewal Projects in China: A Key Step towards Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-21, September.
    3. Rid, Wolfgang & Haider, Wolfgang & Ryffel, Andrea & Beardmore, Ben, 2018. "Visualisations in Choice Experiments: Comparing 3D Film-sequences and Still-images to Analyse Housing Development Alternatives," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 203-217.
    4. Delmelle, Elizabeth C. & Haslauer, Eva & Prinz, Thomas, 2013. "Social satisfaction, commuting and neighborhoods," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 110-116.
    5. Feriha Urfalı Doğu & Lerzan Aras, 2019. "Measuring Social Sustainability with the Developed MCSA Model: Güzelyurt Case," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-20, April.
    6. Theresa Kotulla & Jon Martin Denstadli & Are Oust & Elisabeth Beusker, 2019. "What Does It Take to Make the Compact City Liveable for Wider Groups? Identifying Key Neighbourhood and Dwelling Features," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-18, June.
    7. Rid, Wolfgang & Ezeuduji, Ikechukwu O. & Pröbstl-Haider, Ulrike, 2014. "Segmentation by motivation for rural tourism activities in The Gambia," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 102-116.
    8. Leung Kwok Prudence Lau & Pak Yin Ophios Chow, 2019. "The Right to Landscape: Social Sustainability and the Conservation of the State Theatre, Hong Kong," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-16, July.
    9. Riechers, Maraja & Barkmann, Jan & Tscharntke, Teja, 2016. "Perceptions of cultural ecosystem services from urban green," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 33-39.
    10. Eurydice Bled & Igor Alvarez & David Carassus & Jacques Jaussaud, 2017. "French smart cities : which factors are key to manage a sustainable development?," Post-Print hal-02142219, HAL.
    11. Soud K. Al-Thani & Alexandre Amato & Muammer Koç & Sami G. Al-Ghamdi, 2019. "Urban Sustainability and Livability: An Analysis of Doha’s Urban-form and Possible Mitigation Strategies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-25, February.
    12. Maja Ročak & Gert-Jan Hospers & Nol Reverda, 2016. "Searching for Social Sustainability: The Case of the Shrinking City of Heerlen, The Netherlands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-22, April.
    13. Steven Webber & Kevin Hanna, 2014. "Sustainability and suburban housing in the Toronto region: the case of the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan," Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(3), pages 245-260, September.
    14. Bjoern Hagen & Cara Nassar & David Pijawka, 2017. "The Social Dimension of Sustainable Neighborhood Design: Comparing Two Neighborhoods in Freiburg, Germany," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 2(4), pages 64-80.
    15. Lishan Xiao & Quanyi Qiu & Lijie Gao, 2016. "Chinese Housing Reform and Social Sustainability: Evidence from Post-Reform Home Ownership," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-14, October.
    16. Shuyi Xie & Elena Batunova, 2019. "Shrinking Historic Neighborhoods and Authenticity Dilution: An Unspoken Challenge of Historic Chinatowns in the United States through the Case of San Francisco," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-20, December.
    17. Ricardo Enrique Vega-Azamar & Rabindranarth Romero-López & Norma Angélica Oropeza-García & Mathias Glaus & Robert Hausler & Herlinda Del Socorro Silva-Poot, 2017. "Emergy Evaluation of Dwelling Operation in Five Housing Units of Montreal Island, Canada," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-16, April.
    18. Czepkiewicz, Michał & Ottelin, Juudit & Ala-Mantila, Sanna & Heinonen, Jukka & Hasanzadeh, Kamyar & Kyttä, Marketta, 2018. "Urban structural and socioeconomic effects on local, national and international travel patterns and greenhouse gas emissions of young adults," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 130-141.
    19. Chisun Yoo & Sugie Lee, 2016. "Neighborhood Built Environments Affecting Social Capital and Social Sustainability in Seoul, Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-22, December.
    20. Rakhshanda Khan, 2016. "How Frugal Innovation Promotes Social Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-29, October.
    21. Nataša Šprah & Mitja Košir, 2019. "Daylight Provision Requirements According to EN 17037 as a Restriction for Sustainable Urban Planning of Residential Developments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-22, December.
    22. Graham Farmer, 2017. "From Differentiation to Concretisation: Integrative Experiments in Sustainable Architecture," Societies, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-23, December.
    23. Robert H. W. Boyer & Nicole D. Peterson & Poonam Arora & Kevin Caldwell, 2016. "Five Approaches to Social Sustainability and an Integrated Way Forward," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-18, September.

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