The architect has always been interested in the social and cultural dimensions while creating architecture for people to last, with the help of building science and technology. Science could solve some problems, but is yet to solve many of the problems of urbanization in human history. Perhaps many of the problems can only be solved with careful understanding of human behavior, social intercourse, and economics in relation to the urban environments and organizations, and the natural environment simultaneously. There seemed to be a divide between the way an engineer and an architect think and practice in making a building and a piece of architecture, where the former is highly mathematical, and the latter deals with cultural poetics and a whole range of social and technical issues of which the physics of the environment is but one dimension (Bay and Ong 2006). It may appear natural in this age of environmental crisis and rapid urban development in many cities that the current Ecologically Sustaina...

With physical and social aspects being inseparable within urban environments, design for sustainability needs to include the link between the distance and sense of community. However, only a few studies examine residential suburbs and specifically focus on the physical and social interactions occurring within the streets and adjacent to them spaces, such as verges, sidewalks and front yards. Using a case study method, including observation and a perception-based survey in the inner-city suburb of Subiaco in Perth, Western Australia, this investigation opens up a new understanding of physical distance and social interaction. It develops a novel typology of physical distances and social closeness within a residential neighbourhood which allows better conceptualising the sense of community for achieving integrated sustainability.

The residential built form, including open space, provides the physical environment for social interaction. Understanding urban open space, including semi-public and public domains, through the lens of physical accessibility and visual permeability can potentially facilitate the building of a sense of community contributing to a better quality of life. Using an inner-city suburb in Perth, Western Australia as a case study, this research explores the importance of physical accessibility patterns and visual permeability for socialising in semi-public and public domains, such as the front yard and the residential streets. It argues that maintaining a balance between public and private inter-relationship in inner city residential neighbourhoods is important for creating and maintaining a sense of community.