Social Sustainability

The City’s Approach to Social Sustainability

In May 2005, the City of Vancouver adopted a working definition for social sustainability. The definition was developed based on earlier collaborative discussions with other GVRD municipalities.

This definition of social sustainability supports the work staff is currently undertaking to develop an overall Social Development Plan for the City.

» Background details and definitions on "Social Sustainability "

Three Levels of Need

For a community to function and be sustainable, the basic needs of its residents must be met. A socially sustainable community must have the ability to maintain and build on its own resources and have the resiliency to prevent and/or address problems in the future.

There are two types or levels of resources in the community that are available to build social sustainability (and, indeed, economic and environmental sustainability) - individual or human capacity, and social or community capacity.

Individual or human capacity refers to the attributes and resources that individuals can contribute to their own well-being and to the well-being of the community as a whole. Such resources include education, skills, health, values and leadership.

Social or community capacity is defined as the relationships, networks and norms that facilitate collective action taken to improve upon quality of life and to ensure that such improvements are sustainable.

To be effective and sustainable, both these individual and community resources need to be developed and used within the context of four guiding principles - equity, social inclusion and interaction, security, and adaptability.

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