Social sustainability strategies in green neighbourhoods: An assessment of Dockside Green

This research paper examines social sustainability strategies in green neighbourhoods and how they involve a negotiation and balance between social justice and neoliberal justification. Dockside Green a LEED- ND Platinum Certified neighbourhood in Victoria BC is used as a case study to investigate how social justice can be envisioned and enacted within a Triple Bottom Line approach to sustainable development. The study examines the social sustainability obligations that were set out at the onset of the project within the Master Development Agreement (2005); and the underlying factors within neoliberal policies, that affected social sustainability outcomes. The research is based on interviews, observations, newspaper articles and policy documents. The results of the study reveal that social justice is at risk of being sidelined in neighbourhood planning to cater for profitability and the competitiveness agenda.