How socio-spatial aspects of urban space influence social sustainability: A case study

Abstract

Today's society is increasingly concerned with the social impacts of sustainability. Social and economic difficulties necessitated a reconsideration of urban space, with socio-spatial issues at the center of discussions. Urban space is a facilitator for accomplishing social and environmental equity and fostering the sustainability of community. This study aims to discover the relationship between the socio-spatial characteristics of urban space and social sustainability. It highlights socio-spatial dimensions such as social equity (accessibility, social facilities, daily operations), environmental equity (open spaces), and sustainability of community (attachment, sense of community, sense of safety, participation). Applied to two study areas in Izmir, Turkey, the research method consists of detailed spatial analyses, a questionnaire survey, and statistical analyses. The findings show that the study areas had considerably differing social sustainability scores in the indicators of accessibility, daily operations, open spaces, attachment, social relations, sense of safety, and participation whereas they showed similar results in social facilities and sense of neighborliness. Furthermore, there are many promising relationships between social sustainability measures with varying strengths. Most particularly, residents who stated that their neighborhood was more accessible and that daily operations were more pleasant showed higher results in attachment and participation. Residents who evaluated their open spaces higher showed greater social relationships and a higher sense of safety. So, the study shows that the sustainability of community is highly influenced by social and environmental equity, which should be thoroughly considered in planning and developing the urban space. The study summarizes the relationship between socio-spatial aspects, followed by a discussion.