Social Sustainability and the Development Process : What Is It, Why Does It Matter, andHow Can It Be Enhanced ?

Development debates frequently focus on making economic growth sustainable or ensuring thatnatural resources are used sustainably; such debates rest on longstanding scholarship and largely shared understandingsof how such problems should be addressed. Increasingly, there are also calls for development to be sociallysustainable. Yet the theory and evidence undergirding this third “pillar” are comparatively thin, focusing primarily onhigh-income countries and mapping only partially onto a coherent policy agenda. This paper seeks to help close thesegaps by providing (a) a brief history and literature review of social sustainability, emphasizing its distinctivenessfrom economic and environmental sustainability; (b) a definition and conceptual framework, identifying socialsustainability’s key components; (c) empirical evidence linking these components to mainstream development outcomes;and (d) operational insights for promoting social sustainability—on its own and as a complement to economicand environmental sustainability. The scale and intensity of the world’s current development challenges—and their impactsnot just on economies and the environment but entire societies—requires a more robust understanding of theirsocial dimensions, what policies and programs should be enacted in response, and how such efforts can be implementedwith local legitimacy and sustained politically over time.