Architectural Attributes for Social Sustainability a Framework for Analysing Housing Projects with Special Reference to the Maldives

Social sustainability within the scope of the built environment is largely neglected despite its importance. The research aims to develop a theoretical framework highlighting the attributes of mass housing developments which are critical to social sustainability at a neighbourhood level. This is achieved by identifying the Social Sustainability Key Indicators (SSKI) which can be used to assess the overall social sustainability of four social housing projects in the Greater Male Region, Maldives. The residents of the housing developments were asked to rate their respective mass-housing for the nine SSKIs, the average of which gives the Perceived Social Sustainability Score (PSSS), as well as the level of satisfaction with seven critical architectural attributes which were identified from existing literature, and validated by professionals in the industry. The data from the respondents were then verified using One-way ANOVA, Pearson’s r Test of Correlation, and Multiple Linear Regression. The results indicate that a higher mix of land use, better quality housing, and well-planned infrastructure have a positive influence on the PSSS.