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A review by manaledi
Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life by Eric Klinenberg
3.0
I agree with the fundamental premise of this book and the importance of social infrastructure like libraries, public pools, gardens, athletic fields, youth centers to building community. However, for a book that talks about inequality in its very title, the white, male author fails to adequately address race, which is barely even mentioned, let alone the pernicious impacts of white supremacy, or poverty (he positions his inability to buy hardcover books as poverty).
I wanted a lot more actual research and a lot less of his anecdotes of that time I went to the library and aren't libraries great. He referenced some fascinating studies (eg on the impact of community gardens on crime), but they seemed like also rans to his own observations (again, with no interrogation of his privileges). I also wanted a lot more organization; it seems like every chapter ended up with aren't libraries great, but there was no thread that clarified why some library comments were in some chapters and some in others.
In the end, this book made me think about the spaces that I interact with and the social infrastructure of my day-to-day life. I read it at the public pool; I brought it to the athletic field, etc. And I love books that make me think about daily life through new lenses. But I ended up frustrated by the lack of organization, lack of data, and lack of awareness of privilege.
I wanted a lot more actual research and a lot less of his anecdotes of that time I went to the library and aren't libraries great. He referenced some fascinating studies (eg on the impact of community gardens on crime), but they seemed like also rans to his own observations (again, with no interrogation of his privileges). I also wanted a lot more organization; it seems like every chapter ended up with aren't libraries great, but there was no thread that clarified why some library comments were in some chapters and some in others.
In the end, this book made me think about the spaces that I interact with and the social infrastructure of my day-to-day life. I read it at the public pool; I brought it to the athletic field, etc. And I love books that make me think about daily life through new lenses. But I ended up frustrated by the lack of organization, lack of data, and lack of awareness of privilege.