The Pentagon Model of Urban Social Sustainability: An Assessment of Sociospatial Aspects, Comparing Two Neighborhoods

Abstract

Social concerns have caused a critical rethinking of urban space in today’s society, with sociospatial issues at the forefront of discussions. This study aims to better understand the relationship between sociospatial aspects of urban space and social sustainability. We provide a pentagon model for urban social sustainability by identifying five dimensions: person (demographic and household characteristics), place (accessibility, social infrastructure, open spaces, and places for daily operations), people (sense of community, social relations, and social network), perception (sense of place, and security and safety), and process (participation, and future of space). The research methodology includes a spatial analysis, questionnaire survey, and statistical analyses, applied to two study areas in Izmir, Turkey. The findings show that the two study areas have significantly different scores in terms of social sustainability criteria. Residents who reported their neighborhood as being more accessible and having better places for daily operations indicated a higher sense of place and participation. Residents who rated their open spaces more highly reported better social relations and social networks, and greater security and safety. In addition, there are a variety of positive associations between indicators of social sustainability. The study summarizes the relationship between social sustainability indicators, followed by a discussion.

A Thematic Review of Neighbourhood Built Environment Factors That Affect the Sense of Community

“…It specifically examines how toponym changes affect the urban landscape and sense of community. Finally Through the identification of five dimensions which are person, place, people, perception, and process for the research Accessibility, social infrastructure, open spaces, and places for routine operations are some of the physical metrics taken into account in the place factor, according to Akcali and Cahantimur's pentagon model for urban social sustainability published in 2022 [41] also taking into consideration the factor of urban design, building type, density, mixed land use, and centre quality. Most of the studies indicate that people who place a high value on their green or open spaces report greater social networks, better social interactions, and increased safety and security.…”

“…We discover some physical characteristics that are the most to the least important from various studies in the table above. The most physical aspect recreational facilities factor which has a total of thirteen (13) as per used by [17], [30]- [32], [35], [37], [38], [41], [44], [52] [19], [53]. The second most physical factor is architecture style similarly, which is used by 10 researchers [17], [31], [32], [38], [41], [43], [44], [49], [54] [19] Similarly used from the third to furth physical criteria 10 times each, roadway design, and lake and garden paths.…”

“…The most physical aspect recreational facilities factor which has a total of thirteen (13) as per used by [17], [30]- [32], [35], [37], [38], [41], [44], [52] [19], [53]. The second most physical factor is architecture style similarly, which is used by 10 researchers [17], [31], [32], [38], [41], [43], [44], [49], [54] [19] Similarly used from the third to furth physical criteria 10 times each, roadway design, and lake and garden paths. Eight researchers utilised this study, and street and landscape trees were the sixth most frequently used while residential density is ranked as the fifth significant physical factor affecting SOC by eight (8) scholars.…”

A Bibliometric Analysis on Smart Cities Related to Land Use

“…Previous works refer to social sustainability, characterized by five dimensions [67] (p. 1): person (demographic and household characteristics), place (accessibility, social infrastructure, open spaces, and places for daily operations), people (sense of community, social relations, and social network), perception (sense of place, security and safety), and process (participation and future of space), and, therefore, a strong sustainable perspective that ensures the sustainability of cities.…”