Published Online:July 2026
Product Name:The IUP Journal of Structural Engineering
Product Type:Article
Product Code:IJSE030726
DOI:10.71329/IUPJSE/2026.19.3.39-62
Author Name:Asfar Ayub and Muhammad Usman Farooqi
Availability:YES
Subject/Domain:Engineering
Download Format:PDF
Pages:39-62
The paper develops and validates a comprehensive social sustainability assessment framework specifically tailored to building construction projects in South Asian urban environments. For this purpose, an original mixed-methods investigation was conducted across the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan. Employing a threeround Delphi technique with industry experts, a structured Likert-scale survey administered to 50 experienced construction professionals, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using AMOS, the study identifies and statistically validates eighteen social sustainability indicators organized under five latent constructs. Reliability analysis returned a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.984, while the Relative Importance Index (RII) ranked project experience (SCL8, RII = 0.856), health, safety and environment at the site (SCL7, RII = 0.848), and project manager awareness (SCL12, RII = 0.828) as the most influential indicators. Kruskal-Wallis tests confirmed cross-group consensus. Crucially, the study finds that social sustainability is not merely a welfare afterthought, it is deeply interwoven with economic performance and environmental stewardship through measurable cross-pillar correlations. The resulting framework, the first of its kind, validated through expert consensus and inferential statistics within the Pakistan context, offers a practical decision-support tool for project managers, urban planners, and regulatory bodies.
There is a telling asymmetry in how the global construction industry speaks about sustainability. Walk through any major infrastructure conference, consult any green building standard, or scan the sustainability sections of a national building code, and you will find detailed provisions on energy consumption, carbon emissions, material sourcing, lifecycle cost analysis, and waste management.