The urban social sustainability paradigm in Northeast Asia and Europe

Abstract

In general, urban social sustainability has received little recognition in built environment disciplines. To comprehend the social dimensions of sustainable urban design, an understanding of urban planning features is required which takes into consideration the engagement of the local community. The article focuses on the impact that intense sustainable urban transformation has on localities in East Asia and Europe. The comparative research is based on a study of four large-scale urban sustainable cases in Northeast Asia (eco-cities "Sino-Geiman Ecopark" in Qingdao, China; and "Pangyo" in Seongnam, Korea) and Europe (sustainable neighbourhoods "Vauban" in Freiburg, Germany; and "Hammarby Sjostad" in Stockholm, Sweden). The research focuses on the connections and interactions between sustainable urban design and aspects of urban social sustainability. The paper represents an effort to unravel the social dimensions of eco-cities / sustainable neighbourhood projects by investigating how sustainable urban development is articulated and manifested in Europe and Northeast Asia. The final research output consists of the identification of sustainable urban design elements (e.g. community centres, plazas, parks and green zones, etc.) and policies (e.g. affordable housing accessible, public transportation, diversity of housing typologies, etc.) that could enforce the "urban social sustainability". The conclusive analysis offers a source of inspiration and potential policy orientations for cities that are in the process of sustainable transformation.