Social sustainability means responding better to local communities; ensuring responses are tailored to local country contexts; and promoting social inclusion, cohesion and accountability (World Bank Group 2011). Housing development is a basic component of the built environment and therefore it has a clear role to play in striving for social sustainability. Today in India affordable housing acquires special significance in the light of growing shortages. Despite the best of efforts hundreds of families are struggling to survive from one day to the next without housing. The economically weaker sections either due to non-availability or inappropriate solutions wrt to housing have remained deprived and slums have mushroomed in cities especially in mega cities. Given this scenario there is a need to review affordable housing programs in India. Where does the problem lie? Are the housing programs socially sustainable? The paper titled Meeting the Challenge of Social Sustainability of Housing Development for Poor attempts to investigate how socially sustainable are affordable housing initiatives for poor in India. It further explores the methodological issues in the initiatives and brings out factors that would contribute towards achieving social sustainability of housing developments for the poor.

Today in India despite best of efforts hundreds of families are struggling to survive from one day to the next without adequate housing. The housing problem in cities has assumed alarming proportions where the demand outstrips the supply and approximately 99% of the shortage has been identified for the weaker sections, low income and disadvantaged groups. The total housing requirement during the 11th Five Year Period (2007-12) is estimated as 26.53 million with most of this shortage pertaining to EWS and the LIG. The housing shortage is normally calculated considering factors such as individual’s capacity to pay, tenure status, household size, congestion, obsolescence. What would be the estimates if criteria of social sustainability such as social inclusiveness, cohesion, sense of future amongst community, sense of belonging, economic stability and the like which directly impact the poor are considered ? Have the planners taken cognizance of this fact? Do the range of Government policies, programmes, projects and schemes aimed at addressing the housing requirements of the poor address these issues of social sustainability? These are certain questions that come to ones mind.

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