Can the act of designing and building promote equitable living?

Little has been done to calculate and measure the social sustainability of construction projects. The Social Impact of Buildings Rating System is a proposed evaluation method that quantifies social sustainability in an easily accessible tool. This social sustainability rating system is intended to focus on the shared benefits and impacts that a project might have on the proposed neighborhood, workforce, and residents during and following a construction project. The rating system is divided into four categories of community impact, quality of life, social equity in the project design, and operations of the projects users once the project is completed. Specific credits have been identified in each category with a concise description of the issue that the credit is intended to address, the requirements for achieving the credit, and potential strategies for incorporating social sustainability into a project.