Within the realm of real estate, social value has gained prominence, driven by various factors such as Sustainable Development Goals, ethical consumerism, and a growing demand for transparency and accountability. The rise of the ‘Social' in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards has gained significant traction since the global pandemic of 2019. However, progress in framing and integrating the social aspect within different stages of the real estate development process remains limited and fragmented. Despite the increasing ambitions of real estate actors in navigating social value, I contend that its inherent complexity, coupled with the diverse motivations of stakeholders and the absence of clear objectives and goals, often results in the loss of social value creation in real estate development processes.

Using Amsterdam as a case study, this study sheds light on the intricacies of effectively harnessing social value creation within real estate development. Through the analysis of four real estate projects and engagement with public and private sector actors, the study focuses on understanding the depth of ambitions and the evaluation tools employed by mapping out the diverse approaches to perceiving and measuring social value. As such, identifying successes, shortcomings, and areas for improvement. The findings underscore that despite the increasing recognition of the importance of social value, implementation within planning and real estate development practices faces significant challenges. The lack of clarity surrounding assessment methods, coupled with the complex and diverse motivations of the actors involved, has led to an arbitrary application of social value objectives. Consequently, there exist several gaps between the aspirations for social value creation, its mobilization, and the methodologies employed to evaluate its impact.