Social sustainability of urban high-rise community

Abstract

Since recent years, the issue of social sustainability in urban high-rise housing developments has become one of the major concerns in the field of urban studies, psychology and architecture. The failure to address the social sustainability in dense living conditions not only causes negative emotions in the individual; but the lack of social sustainability has caused a social deficit in the urban community. This social issue has resulted in living conditions that mimic living in pigeon holes. Eventually, this phenomenon could lead to the formation of a generation conditioned to isolation. Hence, the purpose of this dissertation is to identify strategies to promote social interactions in urban high-rise housing. This study is conducted through literature review of other related studies, and by conducting a critical analysis of architectural solutions that contribute in enhancing social sustainability in high rise residences. Several studies have shown the inclusion of social spaces in high-rise housing could improve social sustainability in community living. However, the success of this inclusion does not only depend on the layout design of social spaces. It also involves the sense of belonging to a home boundary based on the social setting. A field observation of a squatter settlement in Kampung Pengkalan Rinting, Tampoi, Johor Bahru was conducted to identify the sense of belonging that is based on social settings. The study has shown that the design of transitional spaces near the dwelling?s doorstep has positive contributions to the social setting of the community such as in providing a social platform for interaction with neighbours. Beside this, the maintenance of social spaces and community strategies are one of the deciding concerns for the success of social spaces included in high-rise residences. At the end of this study, a set of architectural-based guidelines is proposed that are supported by relevant arguments for the inclusion of social spaces in high-rise dwellings.