Tools for social sustainability into structural engineering

Large scale structures in urban spaces (for instance, a footbridge or more ephemeral structures) are expected to manifest a new urban space identity and, in this sense, address sustainability aspects. This study intends for decisions in structural design to be made based not only on engineering factors, but nourished on a number of criteria that lie beyond the scope of pure structural design and for such factors to be effectively translated into tools that help structural engineers carry out the complete design process, currently taken over by architects in a manner where the engineer is limited to decision in structural terms.At DTU, we have worked extensively with the connections between environmental sustainability and economic sustainability with structural design. Nevertheless, social sustainability represents a challenge for engineers because it is the least quantifiable. However, current trends in industry are pushing towards incorporating more social sustainability information in design decisions.This paper is based on a thorough literature review of evidence between the built environment and its impact on levels of social sustainability. The results were incorporated into a tool with criteria, indicators, generic solutions, and assessment methods. Based on this, a new design process that integrates social sustainability knowledge in a systematic way was developed and tested in a case study design process of a foot bridge.