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A Review of Social Sustainability Studies Involving Multiple-Criteria within the Construction Industry

9 pagesPublished: December 11, 2023

Abstract

This paper explores future research directions on social sustainability in the construction industry through a systematic literature review of studies focusing on multiple criteria. The analysis involved 36 studies identified through the Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and Scopus. The results uncovered how social sustainability assessment is conducted, and where the studies are taking place, mostly in developing countries. On average, the reviewed studies used 29 criteria to assess social sustainability. That large number of criteria indicates a need to find a subset of criteria capable of representing social sustainability complexity. Regarding the methods identified, Multicriteria Decision-Making/Aiding (MCDM/A) methods are the most used, including the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and weighted aggregation. However, it is difficult to confirm if they are the most appropriate since the authors did not mention how these methodologies were selected or the decision-makers’ rationality, which is necessary for choosing the proper MCDM/A method. Thus, future studies in social sustainability should focus on: i) dimensionality reduction and ii) the structure of the decision problem to correctly choose the decision method. These two recommendations will add to the body of knowledge, especially to the value of integrating the social aspect of sustainability in construction.

Keyphrases: construction, multiple criteria, projects, social sustainability

In: Tom Leathem, Wes Collins and Anthony Perrenoud (editors). Proceedings of 59th Annual Associated Schools of Construction International Conference, vol 4, pages 506-514.

BibTeX entry
@inproceedings{ASC2023:Review_Social_Sustainability_Studies,
  author    = {George D. M. Passos Neto and Luciana H. Alencar and Rodolfo Valdes-Vasquez and Mehmet E. Ozbek},
  title     = {A Review of Social Sustainability Studies Involving Multiple-Criteria within the Construction Industry},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of 59th Annual Associated Schools of Construction International Conference},
  editor    = {Tom Leathem and Wes Collins and Anthony Perrenoud},
  series    = {EPiC Series in Built Environment},
  volume    = {4},
  publisher = {EasyChair},
  bibsource = {EasyChair, https://easychair.org},
  issn      = {2632-881X},
  url       = {/publications/paper/cwXg},
  doi       = {10.29007/cb71},
  pages     = {506-514},
  year      = {2023}}
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