Scan barcode
A review by jwsg
Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life by Eric Klinenberg
4.0
When we think of infrastructure, we often think of so-called "hard infrastructure" - things like transport networks, sewage systems, water mains and less tangible things like finance infrastructure. In Palaces for the People, Klinenberg draws attention to the importance of social infrastructure, "the physical conditions that determine whether social capital [this refers to the relationships and interpersonal networks people have] develops" and, in turn, shapes how resilient a society is when it comes under stress. When hard infrastructure fails, the outcome is disastrous. But Klinenberg cautions that we ignore the importance of soft infrastructure at our own peril; when hard infrastructure fails, “it’s the softer, social infrastructure that determines our fate” as evidenced by how different communities fare during heat waves, hurricanes, floods and other events that knock out hard infrastructure.
Essentially, social infrastructure works by creating spaces where “all kinds of people can gather”. This would include places like libraries, sports facilities, schools, playgrounds, parks, places of worship, even commercial establishments like bookstores and cafes. The key phrase here is “all kinds of people”. By encountering others very different from ourselves, “people whose bodies are different, whose styles are different, who make different sounds, speak different languages”, we learn to “deal with these differences in a civil manner” and to engage with difference.
“Palaces for the People”, the title of this book, is the term Andrew Carnegie used to describe his vision for the 2,811 lending libraries he funded, or which 1,679 are in the US. Libraries were meant to inspire, to uplift, to provide some escape and relief from the daily pressures of life. Klinenberg therefore delves into some detail on the critical (albeit undervalued) role of libraries in our social infrastructure. The core mission of libraries is to “help people elevate themselves and improve their situation….principally, by providing free access to the widest possible variety of cultural materials to people of all ages, from all ethnicities and groups.” They serve the diverse needs of different groups – culture and companionship for the elderly, exposure and education for children and youths, a safe haven for teenagers and the homeless, a social space for parents and families, for instance.
Klinenberg argues that it is not about thinking in terms of dualities – funding and building hard infrastructure versus funding and building social infrastructure. Rather, it is about thinking about how the design of infrastructure, the programming of spaces, can support the gathering of different kinds of people and promote interaction between them. Could a levee built for flood prevention also serve as a park for people to gather at? Rather than designing spaces and processes for efficiency, might we design them for connection and engagement? (For instance, Klinenberg cites the example of childcare facilities, which can have drop-off and pick-up processes designed for efficiency, or processes that promote interactions between parents. Another example he uses is the effort in NYC to break up large schools into several smaller institutions where there is greater interaction and relationship building between students, teachers and parents.) When houses or plots of land are left vacant, can we transform them into spaces that draw the community in, like community gardens, versus turning them away?
Importantly, Klinenberg makes a distinction between infrastructure and spaces that build “bonding capital”, versus those that build “bridging capital”. Bonding capital deepens your sense of connection with those like you. Bridging capital builds connections with those different from you. Country clubs build bonding capital. Places of worship and organized sports teams, depending on how inclusive or homogenous they are, can build either bridging or bonding capital.
Accessibly written, Palaces for the People is an eye opening read that will make you take a closer look at how infrastructure and spaces are designed and programmed.
Essentially, social infrastructure works by creating spaces where “all kinds of people can gather”. This would include places like libraries, sports facilities, schools, playgrounds, parks, places of worship, even commercial establishments like bookstores and cafes. The key phrase here is “all kinds of people”. By encountering others very different from ourselves, “people whose bodies are different, whose styles are different, who make different sounds, speak different languages”, we learn to “deal with these differences in a civil manner” and to engage with difference.
“Palaces for the People”, the title of this book, is the term Andrew Carnegie used to describe his vision for the 2,811 lending libraries he funded, or which 1,679 are in the US. Libraries were meant to inspire, to uplift, to provide some escape and relief from the daily pressures of life. Klinenberg therefore delves into some detail on the critical (albeit undervalued) role of libraries in our social infrastructure. The core mission of libraries is to “help people elevate themselves and improve their situation….principally, by providing free access to the widest possible variety of cultural materials to people of all ages, from all ethnicities and groups.” They serve the diverse needs of different groups – culture and companionship for the elderly, exposure and education for children and youths, a safe haven for teenagers and the homeless, a social space for parents and families, for instance.
Klinenberg argues that it is not about thinking in terms of dualities – funding and building hard infrastructure versus funding and building social infrastructure. Rather, it is about thinking about how the design of infrastructure, the programming of spaces, can support the gathering of different kinds of people and promote interaction between them. Could a levee built for flood prevention also serve as a park for people to gather at? Rather than designing spaces and processes for efficiency, might we design them for connection and engagement? (For instance, Klinenberg cites the example of childcare facilities, which can have drop-off and pick-up processes designed for efficiency, or processes that promote interactions between parents. Another example he uses is the effort in NYC to break up large schools into several smaller institutions where there is greater interaction and relationship building between students, teachers and parents.) When houses or plots of land are left vacant, can we transform them into spaces that draw the community in, like community gardens, versus turning them away?
Importantly, Klinenberg makes a distinction between infrastructure and spaces that build “bonding capital”, versus those that build “bridging capital”. Bonding capital deepens your sense of connection with those like you. Bridging capital builds connections with those different from you. Country clubs build bonding capital. Places of worship and organized sports teams, depending on how inclusive or homogenous they are, can build either bridging or bonding capital.
Accessibly written, Palaces for the People is an eye opening read that will make you take a closer look at how infrastructure and spaces are designed and programmed.