Social Sustainability: Participant-led Dialogue as a Basis for the Development of a Conceptual Framework for Energy Infrastructure Decisions

The concept of social sustainability is discussed in a wide range of literatures with varying emphases; relating to multiple disciplines such as urban planning, international development and accountancy. Authors agree that a notion of social sustainability is difficult to define and comprises numerous component parts or criteria, such as community cohesion, human wellbeing, effective dialogue and the access that individuals and communities have to those that make important decisions on their behalf. The definition and measurement of these criteria and the role of social sustainability in decision making is a contentious issue (the holistic versus reductionist debate). We outline our journey towards a conceptual framework for social sustainability and how our earlier research on the role of dialogue during engagement on energy infrastructure development has led us to propose a conceptual framework for the inclusion of social sustainability criteria in decision making within a range of settings.