(cont)

“Social justice is a movement based on fair treatment of all people and a just share of the benefits of society” (www.wikipedia.org). This statement poignantly addresses the uneven distribution of wealth in today’s world and naturally demands that sustainability standards meet social requirements that include all citizens. A pattern in today’s society shows that city planning efforts heavily weigh the economic impact of possible uses for land. We have recently seen a housing boom that has concentrated on middle and upper class housing, and new urbanism developments are no different. New urbanism needs to remain loyal to the ideals of social justice to be considered a sustainable model of development that will be a viable option for planning future urban sites. I do not intend to dismiss new urbanism whatsoever, on the contrary, I am only analyzing this method to better understand the role of sustainable development in social organization. A major force influencing the role of new urbanism in a sustainable society is property values in the area of development. A problem with this is that these communities “offer no mechanism to ensure any stock - never mind an adequate, permanent stock - of affordable housing” (Roseland 143). If we wish to advertise the benefits of new urbanism to everyone we must be able to provide access to these developments for people of all income levels.