Actualising social sustainability through adaptive reuse innovations within the context of sustainable development

Sustainable Development (SD) is characterised of social, economic, and environmental components; however, the social component of SD has received little attention from academics, but recently, this has changed as the notion that growth is incomplete without equity gained more traction. One way to achieve the UN Goal 16 of ‘Promoting peaceful, just, and inclusive societies’ is through the concept of adaptive reuse innovation. Therefore, this paper aims to identify how the adaptive reuse concept has promoted the social sustainability concept through a systematic literature review (SLR). The SLR is necessary to summarise available evidence on the social sustainability potential of the adaptive reuse (AR). It further serves to create awareness of the reuse of building as an inclusive innovation critical for sustainable development. Using SLR, 56 relevant studies were extracted from the web of science and Scopus databases. A content analysis of five identified themes from the studies showed that adaptive reuse contributed to social sustainability through provision of social infrastructure, social cohesion, enhancing social health/well-being. There is need to advance research in areas of human adaptability, social awareness, and education on adaptive reuse.