Has social sustainability been addressed in software architectures?

Research on sustainability in software engineering has gained importance as a result of the need to create better software and therefore avoid compromising future generations opportunities, whether in the social, economic, technical or environmental dimension. Social dimension encompasses the direct support of the software systems in any domain, as well as activities or processes that create benefits for social communities, such as health, education, and transportation. Although social aspects have been previously examined within the broader context of software engineering, the software systems design based on the notion of social sustainability is still poorly understood and practiced. This paper outline relevant points surrounding social sustainability as a concern in software architectures design. In particular, we discuss some issues in designing software systems that generate social values and have a positive impact on communities. We hope that this discussion will help broaden the concept of social sustainability in architectural design decisions and to bring awareness to the particular needs of software systems that have a direct impact on human well-being and contribute to sustainable development.