Sociotechnical dimensions of the built environment: A sociological inquiry into urban development discourse

Abstract

The urbanisation of Sri Lanka is accelerating, with over 20% of the country’s population residing in cities. Although there has been further momentum towards the modernisation of infrastructure development by utilising new technology and policy systems, a significant sociological gap remains that critically examines how power, development discourse, with technological practice converge in the construction of built environments. The current study was conducted to comprehend the sociotechnical aspects that frame urban development in Sri Lanka by examining the power dynamics that influence the built environment, exploring the structural gaps impeding the development of the built environment, and assessing the current influence of digital communication technologies on stakeholders’ collaboration by using new urban sociology, political economy of space, and the network society as the theoretical frameworks of the study. Qualitative methodology was employed, with data collected via observation, key informant interviews, 20 semi-structured stakeholder interviews, and documentary analysis. Thematic analysis was conducted via NVivo software, following Dawson’s (2019) six-phase process. It was revealed that the built environment is a hybridised, imbalanced interaction mediating between governance systems, technocentric decisions, and limited stakeholder collaboration. 65% of coded data pointed to political meddling, often overriding technical merit in planning decisions. Institutional fragmentation and technocratic practices were revealed to marginalised community voices. Due to a lack of policy provisions, only 9% respondents revealed utilising integrated digital communication platforms, resulting in major inefficiencies and duplication. The study concludes that built environments result from an intricate combination of sociotechnical factors, with political influence, fragmented institutions, and limited digital coordination that hinder equitable development. To address these challenges, institutional reforms are necessary to promote participatory planning, legalise virtual communication spaces, and harmonise social and environmental analyses at the planning level, ultimately calling for a modern, technology-driven community participatory planning approach. These findings invoke policy reform, interdisciplinary academic research, and agendas for stakeholder collaboration, capturing the suitability of merging technology and sociological insight towards sustainable development outcomes in the built environment.