The importance of actions towards sustainable operations and corporate social responsibility has increased over the years, and the awareness of the phenomenon has increased. Good environmental-, economic- and social actions are all essential in order to achieve sustainable development. Social sustainability as a part of sustainable development seems to be overlooked or underrepresented area in the field of sport and exercise research, especially in Finland. In this research gender equality is seen as an aspect within social sustainability, and the deeper focus is in it. In Finland, gender equality has gone far, but issues have also raised and for instance women are minority when it comes to decision-making regarding sport and physical activity. This research aims to examine and problematize how and if social sustainability, with a focus on gender equality is perceived and experienced in Finnish sport organisations and their practices. Furthermore, this study examines the role and possible potential of Finnish Olympic Committee’s guidelines regarding equality and equal opportunity in sport. The research follows a qualitative case study approach. Five people working in different Finnish sport organizations participated in the research. Semi structured written interviews were conducted to obtain data, and thematic analysis was used to interpret the data from the interviews. The concepts of social sustainability, gender equality and gender theory by Meyerson and Kolb was applied as a theoretical framework. In the Finnish sport field, social sustainability and its aspects are acknowledged and perceived important regarding responsible actions in and towards communities and society. Organizational practices are perceived equal, but issues are recognized in sport practices and sports themselves. The direction seems to be towards neutralizing gender and seeing and treating everyone as individuals over genders. Guidance is perceived important and useful, but more different level cooperation is hoped, especially when considering larger issues like gendered sports. The imbalanced numbers in representation of genders does not seem to impact on how the practices within the sport organizations are perceived. The main gender issues are caused by gender norms in sport, and in order to shape those, it requires larger push from more powerful operators.

Despite the value of public spaces for creating greater social cohesiveness, they risk not being prioritized in urban planning. This thesis aims to investigate the role of public spaces for a social sustainable urban development, focusing on equality in Linköping. The research questions concern the municipality's work, qualities and challenges regarding equal public places. Previous research highlights social sustainability based on equality and problems surrounding planning of public places. The study is based on qualitative interviews, with a politician and employees at the planning department of Linköping, and a supplementary document analysis. The results highlight the municipality's work with equal public spaces and a lack of evaluation methods. Accessibility, security and multifunctionality are important in the design of equal public places. The challenges are densification, privatization and conflicts of interest. It can be stated that Linköping’s work with the issue is reflected in previous research. However, there are development opportunities regarding citizen dialogue, evaluation methods for equal meeting places and better definitions of goals and concepts. / Offentliga mötesplatsers riskerar att bortprioriteras i den fysiska planeringen, trots sitt värde för den sociala sammanhållningen i staden. Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka offentliga mötesplatsers roll för en socialt hållbar stadsutveckling med fokus på jämlikhet i Linköpings kommun. Frågeställningarna berör kommunens arbete, kvaliteter samt utmaningar gällande jämlika mötesplatser. Tidigare forskning lyfter främst upp social hållbarhet utifrån jämlikhet samt problematiken kring planering av offentliga mötesplatser. Frågeställningarna besvaras genom kvalitativa intervjuer med en politiker och tre tjänstepersoner från Linköpings kommun, samt en kompletterande dokumentanalys. Resultatet redovisar kommunens arbete med jämlika mötesplatser samt en brist på utvärderingsmetoder. Tillgänglighet, tillhörighet, trygghet samt mångfunktionalitet är viktiga vid utformningen av jämlika mötesplatser. Utmaningarna som betonas är förtätning, privatisering samt intressekonflikter. Det går att konstatera att den tidigare forskningen återfinns i Linköpings kommuns arbete med frågan. Dock finns det utvecklingsmöjligheter gällande medborgardialog, utvärderingsmetoder för jämlika mötesplatser samt bättre definitioner av mål och begrepp.

The social dimension of sustainability has been underdefined and under researched when compared to the fields of economic and environmental sustainability. The paper explores the difficulty in understating the concept of social sustainability and the difficulty in operationalising the concept, items discussed in interviews. Through a qualitative content analysis, the paper highlights how the concept of social sustainability is positioned within the sustainability discourse and in a conflictual relationship with the economic and environmental sustainability. The concept of social sustainability is explored in the understanding of both a traditional and a new set of values, the latter being a weak instrument in operationalising compared to the former. The role of governance in navigating the interpretation of social sustainability is explored, with particular focus on policies as the result of decision-making process in governance. Partnerships structures are emphasised as an answer to incorporating social sustainability components of equity, empowerment, representation, and inclusion in policymaking. Urban regeneration is explored as an opportunity to change at local level, and EU policies are presented to highlight the discourse of urban regeneration to be more inclusive of social sustainability themes. Lastly, the case study of Leipzig East suggests the local authorities’ means to create a more socially sustainable governance structure during urban regeneration programmes. The case study shows strong local leadership and attention to power sharing during partnership schemes which involve public, private, and civic actors alike. The paper shows how Leipzig’s partnerships for urban regeneration fostered the creation of a more inclusive, democratic environment for both governance and residents alike.

Children and youth’s involvement in participatory urban planning processes is a phenomenon that is given increased attention by planning actors and stakeholders, as well as it is gaining space in research regarding environmental- and social sustainability. This thesis research examines how children and youth’s participation is defined, and implemented, in the two major Swedish cities of Stockholm and Gothenburg. The main challenges, and current possibilities, for planning professionals in the two cities are explored. Drawing on qualitative interviews with experienced planning professionals, and relevant documents, I analyze current issues with defining and implementing children and youth’s participation in the practice of urban planning. Discerning participation from consultation, or simply asking about children and youth’s opinions, is surrounded by some confusion. This occurs in the phase of defining and implementing children and youth’s participation, in both theory and practice. There are also factors in the formal institutional context which pose challenges to implementation, since time frames, budgets, and resources to develop knowledge and competence are limited. Other challenges planners face relates to ways in which they can use the information collected when engaging children and youth, and how to provide feedback to participants as a part of daily practice. Participatory planning projects allow for learning to take place, inclusive of planners, children and youth. Children and youth contribute with new perspectives and insight about their surroundings, which are important to include in urban planning. Participatory processes enable them to develop skills of becoming community builders and democratic citizens.

Much of the existing literature on the social aspects of sustainability in the supply chain has focused on dyadic buyer-supplier relationships. However, supply chains are much more extensive, featuring multi-tiered systems consisting of many interconnected sequential and parallel dyadic relationships; therefore, a more expansive and holistic approach to exploring the management and integration of social sustainability standards across the extended supply chain is desirable. This research attempts to help fill this void and considers the extent to which a series of sequential upstream and downstream supply chain partners, rather than only a focal organization’s immediate suppliers and buyers, influence the formulation process of the social aspects of a sustainability strategy and the deployment of associated practices across the extended supply chain. Findings in the literature indicate that, inter alia, sustainability efforts in the supply chain are likely to be guided by stakeholders’ sustainability desires/requirements, the geographical location of buyers and suppliers and the associated sustainability enforcement regulations and cultural norms, and the volume of trade between the buyer and supplier. This paper uses the results gleaned from a review of the literature to propose a conceptual framework for selection of sustainability strategy across the multi-tiered supply chain. Finally, we introduce a conceptual approach to the process of implementing and deploying the social aspects of sustainability strategies and practices across the supply chain using an integrated social-sustainability information management system (ISIMS).

Due to globalization and influx, Sweden is facing the challenge of fostering socially inclusive and non-segregated cities. To tackle this challenge, the implementation of social sustainability in urban development projects is crucial. Therefore, this study examines how leadership is perceived to facilitate this process. For this purpose, the authors propose a leadership approach consisting of three aspects (i.e., Communication of Vision, Stakeholder Engagement, Adaptation to the Transition Process) and a framework that makes social sustainability tangible in an urban context. The context of this descriptive case-study was Drottninghög, a multicultural district in Helsingborg, which was the focus of an ongoing urban development project during the conduction of this thesis. The study made use of a qualitative approach, consisting of semi-structured interviews with leaders and community members in Drottninghög and unobtrusive field observations. The data were analyzed using a directed content analysis. Among the main findings were the importance of the use of diverse communication strategies and channels and continuous information loops, to adequately reach all stakeholders while communicating the vision; the significance of empowering stakeholders to actively engage in the community by offering appropriate and diverse activities and creating a personal atmosphere as well as including stakeholders as early as possible in the processes; and the value of leaders being flexible and adaptive to individual needs through inside knowledge and personal involvement when supporting stakeholders to adapt to the transition process.

Creating socially sustainable residential areas is an important topic as urbanisation and migration increase. This thesis is about Swedish residential areas built during the period 1965 to 1974 as the result of a political programme called the Million homes programme. The areas hold cultural historic values being the physical manifestation of an era of the Swedish history that has strongly shaped our present society, but is now threatened by lack of social sustainability. The Million homes areas constitute a large part of the residential areas in Sweden today. By the end of the programme there were an abundance of housing options in Sweden, and empty apartments were in a high degree located in the modernistic suburbs, as people with good economy chose to move elsewhere. To fill the apartment, the municipalities used them for social contracts. The areas became segregated, and still are today despite several attempts to improve their popularity. This thesis analyses various measures and strategies for improving social sustainability in the Million homes areas, and their effects on the cultural heritage. The ambition with the study is to give a broad, cross-functional view of the topic, studying various approaches, e.g. physical renovations to social activities to cooperation with the police. The thesis starts with a literature study of social sustainability in residential areas, and the factors influencing it. A classification of aspects influencing social sustainability is created, to be used for evaluating the results from the case study in the second part of the thesis. The case study is performed in six suburbs in the Stockholm region, being new developments during the Million homes program. Social sustainability in each area is evaluated using the aspects defined in the first part of the study, and measures to improve social sustainability in the areas, and their effect on the intangible cultural heritage, are discussed. The work is valid for goal number 11 of the Sustainable Development Goals Sustainable cities and communities, in particular target number 11.3 Inclusive and sustainable urbanisations, as well as goal number 5 Gender equality and goal number 10 Reduced inequalities

Placemaking is a collaborative approach to redesigning spaces into places that improve their community value. Placemaking practices claim to be quick and easy to implement which is true in comparison to government level plans and policies but do not appear quick at an individual level. Tactical urbanism tackles the problem of slow change with a bottom up process that allows for fast changes to urban environments that can be conducted at an individual level. The spaces addressed by tactical urbanism are spaces that do not work to their intended use; they are underused, empty, or unmaintained. These spaces can vary in size and type. They can exist within a timeframe that is shorter than a change can occur from a quick placemaking practice hence why tactical urbanism becomes the appropriate response. Many of these places require responsive and swift action if they are sought to be improved. The spaces and designs that are tandem often have lasting positive effects in their communities. Concepts from cosmopolitics will be tied with placemaking principles to see if they are able to enhance and bring another element to tactical urbanism. The combination of these elements will aim to create care in relationships between humans and place. This report will explore how placemaking principles, cosmopolitics and tactical urbanismcan be used to create meaning and sustainabilityin spaces making them great places. Experimental interventions are used to put these concepts into practice. The interventions are focused at several locations around Linnaeus University campus.

Bikes and cycling infrastructure have a relationship with social justice. As a transportation mode they are often viewed as democratic due to their relatively low cost and barrier of entry. However, other factors such as family size, socio-economic disparities, and cultural barriers also exist. These often-overlooked social factors disproportionately affect immigrants. In Sweden there is no official responsibility placed on governing bodies or schools to provide cycling lessons which leaves it up to individuals themselves or the civil sector to do so. In the rational planning ideal ‘soft’ interventions have been deprioritised by Malmö municipality (Malmö stad) even though they previously excelled at such social measures. This thesis has triangulated multiple sources of information/data using several methods: a document study, a semi-structured interview study, a GIS study, and a field study. From the gathered data and reference literature we analysed our findings through a social justice perspective. Though many definitions of social justice exist, we operated from a geographic lens, placing an emphasis on who has access to what and where, while also focusing on the removal of obstacles for people to reach their full potential (Mayhew, 2015). Our findings show that the rational planning ideal in its goal to avoid racism by a ‘colour blind’ approach instead manages to render certain disadvantaged groups invisible, namely foreign-born residents of low socio-economic status.

Historically, citizen dialogue primarily took place through face-to-face meetings with a limited representation of the target group. However, societal changes have sparked interest in exploring alternative forms of citizen involvement. This study highlights the presence of barriers to inclusion and transparency in citizen engagement and identifies challenges in ensuring social sustainability within Swedish municipalities' efforts to engage citizens, particularly in the context of detailed planning processes. Overcoming these challenges is crucial for improving the relationship and collaboration among politicians, civil servants, and citizens.   The aim of this study is to investigate how Swedish municipalities can enhance citizen involvement in planning processes, with the goal of reducing appeals, minimizing time consumption, and fostering transparency and understanding. To achieve this aim, the study employed semi-structured interviews, with case selection guided by the growing political pressure on Swedish municipalities to enhance citizen involvement. The study's theoretical framework is built upon an extensive literature review, while empirical evidence is derived from 16 interviews. Through qualitative analysis and discussion, the study explores how local authorities can develop their practices regarding citizen involvement.  The study sheds light on the current practices and working methods employed by the interviewed local authorities, revealing the need to address existing barriers, such as digital exclusion, communication gaps, and empowerment issues. Previous research emphasizes the necessity for innovative and revised approaches to citizen involvement. Increasing the participation of citizens is crucial for ensuring representative democracy and leveraging digitalization can be a means to enhance involvement.