Hållbarhet är ett ämne som är aktuellt i många länder i världen. Social hållbarhet har i relation till ekologisk och ekonomisk hållbarhet haft mindre fokus, men har växt alltmer de senaste åren. Social hållbarhet är särskilt viktig när det kommer till sjukhus med avseende på deras känsliga natur gentemot sjukhusets användare. I denna studie avgränsas sjukhusets användare främst till patienter och vårdpersonal, men även besökare. Sjukhusmiljön har en avgörande roll när det kommer till patientens läkningsprocess och vårdpersonalens arbetsplats. Sjukhus är även en plats där människor med olika bakgrund, förutsättningar och behov samlas vilket gör att social hållbarhet är en viktig aspekt att ta hänsyn till vid ombyggnad av sjukhus. I denna studie undersöks det hur projektledare uppfattar social hållbarhet och hur de arbetar med det vid ombyggnad av sjukhus med avseende på sjukhusets användare. För att besvara de frågeställningar som ställs i studien har intervjuer med sju projektledare och en hållbarhetsansvarig på ett landstingsägt fastighetsbolag utförts. Fastighetsbolaget förvaltar och utvecklar vårdfastigheter i ett av Sveriges större landsting. Vidare har även litteratur inom ämnet studerats för att i kombination med intervjuerna uppfylla studiens syfte och besvara studiens frågeställningar.  Resultatet av denna studie visar att projektledare har en relativt god uppfattning om vad social hållbarhet är, baserat på den teori som har studerats, men att de inte alltid arbetar med det i projekt på ett medvetet och strukturerat sätt. Begreppets breda omfattning och otydlighet är faktorer som projektledare tar upp som problem i arbetet med social hållbarhet vid ombyggnad av sjukhus. Vidare påvisar denna studie att projektledare arbetar med social hållbarhet, men inte med en systematisk syn på vad begreppet innebär. För att säkerställa att projektledare har goda förutsättningar i arbetet med social hållbarhet bör begreppet ha en tydlig definition. Kommunikationen kring begreppet bör också vara tydlig, både inom organisationen och inom projektet. Det finns även utrymme att förbättra de verktyg som projektledaren har till hands i projekt. / Sustainability is a subject that is relevant in many countries of the world. There has been less focus on social sustainability in relation to ecological and economic sustainability, but it has been growing more and more in recent years. Social sustainability is particularly important when it comes to hospitals in terms of their sensitive nature regarding the hospital users. In this study, ‘hospital users’ refer to patients, health care staff and visitors. The hospital environment plays a crucial role in the patient's healing process and the health care staff's work place. A hospital is also a place where people with different backgrounds, conditions and needs gather, which means that social sustainability is an important aspect to take into account in the rebuilding of hospitals. This study examines how project managers perceive social sustainability and how they work with it in rebuilding of hospitals with regard to hospital users. In order to answer the questions posed in the study, interviews with seven project managers and a sustainability manager at a county council owned real estate company have been conducted. The real estate company operates and develops health care properties in a larger county council in Sweden. Furthermore, literature within the subject has been studied in order to fulfill the study's purpose and to answer the questions, in combination with the interviews. The result of this study shows that project managers have a relatively good idea of what social sustainability is, but that they do not always work with it in projects in a conscious and structured way. The broad scope and the ambiguity of the concept are factors that are seen as problematic by the project managers when working with social sustainability in the rebuilding of hospitals. Furthermore, this study shows that project managers work with social sustainability, but not with a systematic view of what the concept means. In order to ensure that project managers have adequate prerequisites in the work with social sustainability, the concept should have a clear definition. Communication about the concept should also be clear, both within the organization and within the project. More over, the study shows that there is room for improvement of the tools that the project manager has at hand in projects.

To increase social sustainability in cities and communities, interactions between community members is a key factor. This has engaged a research project on social sustainability, connected to an emerging urban district in Sweden. This research was done in collaboration with local stakeholders being part of this research project. Qualitative methods were used, including semi-structured interviews, and thematic analysis. Design iterations has lead to a final design proposal for a public installation and technologically enhanced interaction, containing significant characteristics. The first characteristic is playful and exciting tiny-scale events happening in the everyday life that makes people in the same urban area to be aware of each other, giving opportunities for new relationships as well as enhancing their social and emotional connection to a place, what I call microevents. A second characteristic found is the loosely structured community, which entailed the focus on people of a community that has primarily the place in common, rather than a specific interest. Finally I identified the characteristic of villagescape that strives towards the village’s community in an urban environment. This concept contains a number of attributes, for example the acknowledgment of all people belonging to a specific urban place, the promotion of a welcoming, trustful and genuine feeling, and to keep thresholds low for meetings to occur between people.

Digitalization has posed challenges for individuals with mental health disorders, creating a digital divide that hinders their integration into the digital society. This case study delved into the experiences of members at the Fountain House in Lund, a group of people diagnosed with mental health disorders. The study aimed to uncover the digital barriers they faced, thus contributing to the discussion on digital inclusion and the divide. Through extensive research, the study examined the digital divide comprehensively, emphasizing the role of social sustainability in achieving digital inclusion. Barriers such as missing skills, technical, external, and individual were meticulously analyzed. Based on these findings, a prototype was developed to bridge the digital divide and foster digital inclusion. The study's efforts in addressing digital barriers at the intersection of digitalization and mental health disorders offer insights into the digital divide and practical strategies for achieving social sustainability in the digital age.

During 2022 the Swedish government announced a new strategy to combat homelessness. As the population is growing faster than housing construction there is a noticeable housing crisis in Sweden in terms of housing shortage. This means that more households risk ending up outside the housing market and becoming homeless. With the new strategy, the work of national and local authorities is expected to change. The aim of this study is to describe how national and local authorities manage acute homelessness within housing provision. Furthermore, the study intends to analyze and discuss challenges in dealing with acute homelessness in housing provision. To fulfil the aim, empirical material was collected through qualitative interview studies with people at national and local authorities in the capacity of their professional role. The results show that there are multiple difficulties in the work towards dealing with homelessness in housing provision in terms of strategies and cooperation between national and local authorities. This is partly a result of Sweden’s large multi-level system where responsibilities and duties are distributed across several different authorities. This is to some extent a consequence of unclearly formulated strategies, unclear division of responsibilities and small resources. Further, this makes it hard to get an overall picture of the extent of the problem and what can and should be done in the future. Some of these difficulties can be communicated and coordinated, while others are dependent of housing policy and market forces, which is difficult to influence. In the future, authorities and the population face great uncertainty. But there are clear ambitions with the strategy Bostad först being the foremost. This indicates a strong drive forward nationally and locally towards a more developed and socially sustainable housing provision.

A dense, cohesive, and mixed-use urban development is today often seen as an ideal to achieve sustainability in urban districts, where densification is described as a strategy for the development of Sweden's cities. However, densification is not problem-free, and brings with it several challenges, not least for social sustainability. Gentrification, social inequality, as well as reduced green areas and public spaces, are examples of possible consequences of densification. Furthermore, social sustainability is a difficult-to-define concept that lacks a general scientific foundation for analysis, creating challenges for how the sustainability dimension should be achieved in practice. The purpose of the study was to understand if it is possible to create densely built, mixed-use, and attractive urban districts without compromising social sustainability, and if so, how this can be done in the best possible way. The relationship between density and social sustainability was studied through a case study of the future Slakthusområdet, with the hope of generating guidelines for how cities can be densified attractively while promoting social sustainability. To answer the research question – "How is a densely built urban district created while simultaneously promoting the social sustainability of the district?" – calculations were made regarding the future outdoor environments of the Slakthusområdet, as well as semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders in the project. Clear connections were shown in the results between the calculations and the interviews. The measurement results revealed significant discrepancies regarding spaciousness, density, and the space of residential courtyards, which were also reflected in the respondents' answers during the interviews. Furthermore, the calculations showed positive results in terms of street width, intersection density, walking distance to public spaces, and mixed-use, which corresponded to the ambitions expressed in the interviews regarding proximity, good accessibility, sustainable mobility, and a functioning everyday life for all residents and visitors. According to the study's conclusion, urban districts should be densified based on the unique conditions and needs of the site in a way that promotes good habits, well-being, and a high quality of life for everyone in the area. All forms of density should be studied in development projects to create a supply of what is demanded in cities while protecting social values. A balance should be achieved between physical and non-physical factors based on the context of the urban district while strengthening important social values in the place being developed. Finally, densification should be carried out with an understanding of the urban structure’s impact on human behavior by creating an even distribution of functions that promote proximity in the district and align with the site's conditions and needs. In connection with the study, guidelines were developed regarding collaboration, the planning process, flexibility, measurement methods, and the development of infrastructure as support in the development of densely built and socially sustainable urban districts. / En tät, sammanhållen och funktionsblandad stadsutveckling ses idag som ett ideal för att uppnå hållbarhet i stadsdelar, där förtätning beskrivs som en strategi för Sveriges städers utveckling. Stadsförtätning är dock inte problemfritt utan för med sig en del utmaningar, inte minst för social hållbarhet. Gentrifiering, social ojämlikhet, samt minskad yta för grönområden och offentliga platser är exempel på möjliga följder av stadsförtätning. Social hållbarhet är dessutom ett svårdefinierat begrepp som saknar en allmänvetenskaplig grund för analys, vilket skapar utmaningar för hur hållbarhetsdimensionen ska uppfyllas i praktiken. Studiens syfte var att förstå om det är möjligt att skapa tätbebyggda, funktionsblandade och attraktiva stadsdelar utan att den sociala hållbarheten äventyras, och i så fall hur detta görs på bästa sätt. Sambandet mellan täthet och social hållbarhet studerades genom en fallstudie av utvecklingen av det framtida Slakthusområdet med hopp om att frambringa riktlinjer för hur städer kan förtätas attraktivt och samtidigt främja social hållbarhet. För att besvara studiens forskningsfråga – "Hur skapas en tätbebyggd stadsdel samtidigt som den sociala hållbarheten i stadsdelen främjas?" – utfördes beräkningar om Slakthusområdets framtida utemiljöer, samt semistrukturerade intervjuer med ansvariga aktörer i projektet. Resultaten om framtida Slakthusområdet visade tydliga samband mellan beräkningar och intervjuer. Mätresultaten redovisade stora avvikelser i fråga om rymlighet, täthet, och yta bostadsgårdar, vilket också speglades i intervjurespondenternas svar. Vidare visade beräkningarna goda resultat inom aspekterna gatubredd, korsningstäthet, gångavstånd till offentliga platser, och funktionsblandning, vilket stämde överens med de ambitioner som framfördes i intervjuerna om närhet, goda framkomlighetsmöjligheter, hållbar mobilitet, samt ett fungerande vardagsliv för alla invånare och besökare. Enligt studiens slutsats bör stadsdelar förtätas utifrån platsens unika förutsättningar och behov på ett sätt som leder till goda vanor, välmående, och hög livskvalitet för alla i stadsdelen. Alla former av täthet bör studeras vid utvecklingsprojekt för att skapa ett utbud av det som efterfrågas i städer samtidigt som det värnas om sociala värden. En balans bör uppnås mellan fysiska och icke-fysiska faktorer utifrån stadsdelens sammanhang samtidigt som betydelsefulla sociala värden stärks på platsen som utvecklas. Slutligen bör förtätning ske med förståelse för stadsstrukturens påverkan på det mänskliga beteendet genom att det skapas en jämn fördelning av funktioner som främjar närhet i området och som stämmer överens med platsens förutsättningar och behov. I samband med studien togs det slutligen fram riktlinjer i fråga om samarbete, planprocessen, flexibilitet, mätmetoder och utveckling av infrastruktur som stöd i utvecklingen av tätbebyggda och socialt hållbara stadsdelar.

Kista kontorsområde är ett etablerat Tech-arbetsplatsområde i norra Stockholm som upplevde sin storhetstid under 90-talet. Idag ser fastighetsägarna anledning att undersöka hur området kan utvecklas för att möta förändrade behov. Det finns flera aktörer som vill vara med i en socialt hållbar utveckling av stadsdelen.  Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka vilka visionerna för Kistas kontorsområde är, hur de större aktörerna arbetar för att förverkliga visionen samt hur förändringar för att främja social hållbarhet bidrar till att uppnå visionen. De metoder som används för att undersöka detta är intervjuer och dokumentstudier. Processerna bakom visionsframtagandet och stadsutvecklingen analyseras med hjälp av Janes Jacobs och Jan Gehls teorier kring stadsutveckling, teorier inom social hållbarhet och framtidsstudier. Den socialt hållbara stadsutvecklingen i Kista kontorsområde analyseras utifrån fem nyckelteman inom social hållbarhet: identitet, kontext, tillgänglighet, inkludering, och variation. Resultatet visar att det finns ett samarbete mellan de privata fastighetsaktörerna i syfte att skapa och kommunicera en gemensam vision för området, samt att samla och effektivisera resursanvändningen i stadsutvecklingen. Kommunen pekas ut som en viktig samarbetsaktör av de privata aktörerna i detta arbete. Aktörernas gemensamma vision av Kista är en levande och attraktiv stadsdel med blandstadskaraktär, men det saknas en konkretisering av hur denna vision skall uppnås. / Kista business district is an established tech-cluster in northern Stockholm which experienced its peak during the 90’s. Today, the real estate owners see a need to explore how the area can be developed to meet a change in needs. There are many actors who want to be part of a socially sustainable urban development of the area. The aim of the essay is to examine which visions exists for Kista business district, what challenges there are to achieve these, how the prominent real estate actors and Stockholm municipality act in order to pursue the vision, and what socially sustainable urban development in Kista business district is. The methods that have been used to research this are interviews and a document analysis. The processes behind the production of the vision and the urban development are analysed with the theoretical frameworks of urban development by Jane Jacobs and Jan Gehl, and theories within social sustainability and futures studies. The socially sustainable development of Kista business district is analysed through five key themes within social sustainability: identity, context, accessibility, inclusion, and variation. The result shows that there is a collaboration between the private real estate actors with the aim to create and communicate a united vision for the area, as well as to concentrate and make the use of resources more efficient within the urban development. In this collaboration, the municipality has been distinguished as an important actor by the real estate actors. A liveable and attractive district with mixed-use characteristics, is the shared vision of Kista business district by the actors. However, how this vision is to be accomplished has not been concretised.

When looking at shopping online there is a large amount of waste and mass consumption associated with it, therefore the topic of sustainability within e-commerce is a rising. There is research within shopping more sustainably for fashion and beauty, however there is a gap in the market when looking at the electronic goods sector. This thesis aims to add to the existing literature by showing shopping platforms how consumers interact with different sustainability indicators and whether they understand the value of sustainability indicators when looking at electronic goods. Thus, the purpose is to understand further the potential for shopping platforms to change the way consumers shop when given the opportunity to see sustainability indicators that are checked externally, in the electronic industry. An online survey took place to ask 160 respondents their opinions on sustainability and electronic e-commerce. The results showed that both social and environmental indicators were important. However, the working conditions of workers ranked higher than issues such as female-owned businesses, whereas environmental indicators were closer in their rankings. Furthermore, the results highlighted that the importance is not as much on whether the indicators are rankings or stand-alone indicators, but more that they are validated and transparent. People want to shop more sustainably and therefore if the information from this thesis is used by shopping platforms to showcase what companies do to be more sustainable, the hope it that brands will start to make those changes too.

Social sustainability is rapidly becoming a more established concept in the real estate industry. Social Sustainability is a vibrant concept that will transform over time in an establishment and can stand for different things. However, the lack of a uniform definition creates challenges for companies on how they should work with and evaluate social sustainability. In this thesis, we aim to specify how real estate companies work with social sustainability and understand the development of social sustainability and how to continue learning. We use a questionnaire analyzed quantitatively using descriptive and inferential statistics and in-depth interviews to achieve the purpose. We find that real estate companies work with social sustainability in different ways. We can conclude that a company’s size and demand will drive the likelihood of working with social sustainability. We also find that companies use evaluation methods that are easy to handle and follow up, such as customer satisfaction indexes. Finally, we found that when it comes to how companies learn, the results from the survey indicate that there is no one way of learning but several. Learning from previous experience is the most used evaluation method, followed by learning from other companies. / Social hållbarhet håller snabbt på att bli ett mer etablerat begrepp inom fastighetsbranschen. Koncept är levande och som förvandlas över tid i en etablering och kan stå för olika saker. Avsaknaden av en enhetlig definition skapar dock utmaningar för företagen om hur de ska arbeta med och utvärdera social hållbarhet. Detta examensarbete syftar vi till att specificera hur fastighetsbolag arbetar med social hållbarhet och förstå utvecklingen av social hållbarhet och hur man kan fortsätta lära sig. Vi använder oss av ett frågeformulär analyserat kvantitativt med hjälp av beskrivande och inferentiell statistik och djupintervjuer för att uppnå syftet. Vi finner att fastighetsbolag arbetar med social hållbarhet på olika sätt och vi kan dra slutsatsen att ett företags storlek och efterfrågan kommer att driva på sannolikheten att arbeta med social hållbarhet. Vi ser också att företag använder utvärderingsmetoder som är lätta att hantera och följa upp, såsom kundnöjdhetsindex. Slutligen fann vi att när det kommer till hur företag lär sig, tyder resultaten från undersökningen på att det inte finns ett sätt att lära utan flera. Att lära av tidigare erfarenheter är den mest använda utvärderingsmetoden följt av lärande från andra företag.

This thesis aims to investigate the relationship between social sustainability and financial performance in Nordic large and mid-cap firms. Lately, there has been an increasing focus on ESG factors, however previous studies of the ESG factors’ relationship to financial performance have given mixed results. Moreover, in previous studies, the focus on social sustainability has fallen behind compared to the environmental and governance pillars. Therefore, the study analyses the relationship between the social pillar of ESG and financial performance, as well as the 4 social subcategories making up the social pillar. Thereby making the study a multi-ESG level study during the period 2018-2022. The study relies on a sample of 136 Nordic firms (123 for the ROE models) extracted from the LSEG database and tests the relationship between social sustainability and financial performance using nine panel regression models. Our findings are mixed, some showcasing negative, positive, and insignificant results. We find the social pillar of ESG to be a negative predictor of ROE, the social category of product responsibility was found to be a positive predictor of Tobin’s Q, and finally, the category of human rights was found to be a negative predictor of ROE. The other ESG variables were found to be insignificant as predictors of financial performance. The study thereby contributes to the research by investigating the under-researched pillar of sustainability, i.e. social sustainability, as well as shedding a light on the relationship in a Nordic context.

The project focuses on the center of Tensta. The municipality of Stockholm has identified multiple developing areas in Stockholm, one of them being Tensta and especially Tensta centrum.  The main focus of this project is to think about and implement social and environmental sustainability through architecture. A big garage complex sits quite empty in the center of Tensta today, taking up valuable place of the center. In this project the garage complex is disassembled and its parts re- and upcycled to fit a new building in the site. The building's program consists of Järva stadsdelsförvatlning (Järva city administration office), Tensta library and a restaurant. A new square is also designed to make the center of Tensta a more welcoming place.