 Social sustainability and the development process: what is it, why does it matter, and how can it be enhanced?Patrick Barron, Louise Cord, José Cuesta, Sabina A. Espinoza, Greg Larson and Michael Woolcock Oxford Development Studies, 2025, vol. 53, issue 3, 222-237 Abstract: Few dispute that development processes should be both economically and environmentally sustainable. Many also call for development to be socially sustainable, yet the contours, distinctiveness, and implications of this concept remain largely unspecified, certainly as it pertains to understanding and engaging with development processes. Development is socially sustainable, we argue, when all people feel part of the development process and believe that they and their descendants will benefit from it. Social sustainability’s analytical distinctiveness inheres in its status as a ‘club’ (as opposed to a private or public) good, i.e. one wherein development outcomes are sought through the actions of groups whose membership is excludable but non-rival, yet whose identity, purpose, and status may shift over time. Ensuring that social groups nonetheless retain an enduring sense of cohesion, inclusion, and resilience – and accord legitimacy to development’s inherently disruptive change processes – is crucial. Initiatives consistent with this approach are profiled. Date: 2025 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:oxdevs:v:53:y:2025:i:3:p:222-237 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from DOI: 10.1080/13600818.2025.2502971 Access Statistics for this article Oxford Development Studies is currently edited by Jo Boyce and Frances Stewart More articles in Oxford Development Studies from Taylor & Francis Journals |
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