Social Sustainability in an Ageing Chinese Society: Towards an Integrative Conceptual Framework
1
Department of Human Geography and Planning, Utrecht University, 3584CS Utrecht, The Netherlands
2
The Center for Modern Chinese City Studies, School of Urban and Regional Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editors: Yosef Jabareen and Efrat Eizenberg
Sustainability 2017, 9(4), 658; https://doi.org/10.3390/su9040658
Received: 19 January 2017 / Revised: 18 April 2017 / Accepted: 19 April 2017 / Published: 21 April 2017
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Social Sustainability and Justice)
Social sustainability is a relatively underexposed dimension of the sustainability debate. Diversified and discipline-specific study perspectives and the lack of contextualization make it difficult to gain a comprehensive understanding of social sustainability in non-Western societies. In examining the problems facing a rapidly ageing Chinese society, this paper aims to construct an integrative conceptual framework of social sustainability, taking into account the Chinese contextual interpretations and elderly population in particular. This paper proposes an integrative conceptual framework composed of two key contextualized components: well-being and social justice. Well-being, according to Lindenberg, is the ultimate goal of life and is achieved by relevant themes organized in a hierarchical system. Social justice relating to the equal distribution of resources, opportunities, and rights is also significant for the achievement of well-being. Interpretations of social sustainability are explored within Chinese socio-cultural (Confucianism, collectivism), institutional (welfare regime, hukou system), and demographic (population ageing) contexts.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Liu, Y.; Dijst, M.; Geertman, S.; Cui, C. Social Sustainability in an Ageing Chinese Society: Towards an Integrative Conceptual Framework. Sustainability 2017, 9, 658. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9040658
AMA Style
Liu Y, Dijst M, Geertman S, Cui C. Social Sustainability in an Ageing Chinese Society: Towards an Integrative Conceptual Framework. Sustainability. 2017; 9(4):658. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9040658
Chicago/Turabian StyleLiu, Yafei; Dijst, Martin; Geertman, Stan; Cui, Can. 2017. "Social Sustainability in an Ageing Chinese Society: Towards an Integrative Conceptual Framework" Sustainability 9, no. 4: 658. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9040658
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