Social sustainability indicators of public construction megaprojects in China

Abstract

The development of public construction megaprojects in China has been booming during the last decade, and projects of this type are expected to achieve sustainability economically, socially, and environmentally. Despite this, their social sustainability level is relatively low and is yet to be improved. A potentially important reason is the lack of a comprehensive evaluation mechanism to determine if public megaprojects are socially sustainable in the Chinese context. As a prelude to the development of such a mechanism, this paper provides a thorough and comprehensive analysis of the various social sustainability indicators (SSIs) involved from a multistakeholder perspective. Different research methods (e.g., literature review and questionnaire survey) are adopted to collect the relevant information, both locally and internationally. The data are then analyzed with various statistical techniques in terms of mean score ranking, tests of Kendall's coefficient of concordance, Spearman's rank correlation, and factor analysis. The results uncover six sets of SSIs: improved quality of daily life, appropriate macropolicies, harmonious connections with the surroundings, unique local identity, effective public participation, and others. The work is validated by interviews, and the comments raised by the interviewees are reported. The research findings are expected to benefit both the government and the construction industry at large for better addressing social concerns when delivering public megaprojects in China. © 2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.