Creating strong communities: how to measure the social sustainability of new housing developments

Summary

This project demonstrates that new housing developments can rapidly become strong communities that offer residents high quality design and a good quality of life. The findings challenge the popular stereotype that new housing developments are less sociable and less attractive places to live than older, more established communities. This work shows that the social sustainability of new housing developments can be assessed, offering lessons which enrich the process of building successful places. That is crucial as the Government seeks to encourage one of the biggest housebuilding programmes this country has seen in a generation.