Objective: In recent years, social sustainability has attracted considerable attention as one of the key dimensions of sustainable development across various disciplines and, more specifically, in the architectural design of residential complexes. Despite the importance of social sustainability in housing design, studies focusing specifically on its evaluation remain scarce, and this area of knowledge has not received sufficient attention. Therefore, the present study adopts a mixed-methods approach with the aim of identifying and ranking the indicators for evaluating social sustainability in the design of residential complexes.
Method: The present research was conducted in two stages. In the first step, adopting a qualitative approach, the aforementioned indicators were systematically extracted from domestic and international databases using the meta-synthesis method and Sandelowski and Barroso’s seven-step approach. Subsequently, to adapt them to the research context and obtain the final list of indicators, a survey of research experts was conducted for indicator refinement. Following this, in the quantitative phase, the indicators were weighted and prioritized using the Best-Worst multi-criteria decision-making method and the LINGO software.
Results: The qualitative phase of the study revealed 13 concepts, categorized under four themes: environmental satisfaction and desirability, comfort, social justice, and social capital. The quantitative results indicated that, in order of importance, social capital, comfort, environmental satisfaction and desirability, and social justice were the most significant indicators for evaluating social sustainability in this study. Among the sub-indicators, safety, security, social trust, social interaction and sense of place were identified as the top five sub-indicators.
Conclusions: Based on the emerged hierarchical model, including weighted concepts and categories, the results of this research can provide a tool for evaluating housing from the perspective of social sustainability. By highlighting important categories and concepts, it offers a clear direction for designers to create sustainable housing.
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