5.5. Social Performance Indicators

Engineers often incorporate social concerns in the design of products, infrastructure, and systems by considering the end user functions and interactions. But social impacts within the context of sustainability move well beyond end user functions to the fulfillment of human needs and improvement of the human condition. These needs and social conditions span a range of issues from fulfillment of basic nutritional, sanitation, and security requirements to higher-level human aspirations in areas of health, education, and the arts. But how can engineers incorporate elements of social sustainability into design in a formal fashion? This section will attempt to provide some preliminary answers to this question.