Social inclusion in the sustainable neighborhood? Idealism of urban social sustainability theory complicated by realities of community planning practice

TLDR: In this article, the authors examined three case studies of neighborhood-scale sustainability planning projects in Portland, Oregon, U.S., Copenhagen, Denmark, and Nagoya, Japan.

Abstract: Developing sustainable communities requires urban planners and community organizers to make decisions that affect environmental, economic and social systems. The most underdeveloped of these dimensions remains social sustainability. Communities are met with complex challenges when negotiating concepts of social sustainability, such as social inclusion and nurturing a sense of belonging. This project examines three case studies of neighborhood-scale sustainability planning projects in Portland, Oregon, U.S.; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Nagoya, Japan. Each community is confronting challenges that further blur the lines of what it means to cultivate social sustainability, such as inclusion of sexually oriented businesses and integration of immigrant groups. Grounded theory analysis revealed emergent themes, including negotiating contested land uses, integration of the disenfranchised, and marginalization of the marginalized. Notions of social sustainability are complicated by active inclusion or exclusion of the truly marginalized. This research indicates that continuing sustainability practice without direction for managing the difficult nuances of the social dimension could exacerbate existing inequalities and lead to further social exclusion. This study raises questions of representation, rights to the city, and NIMBY attitudes in planning for sustainable communities and highlights inherent subjectivities in planning for social sustainability.