Harvard Kennedy School Social Capital Toolkit,” (tiny.cc/socialcapitaltoolkit): A resource providing information about social capital and how it encourages development in communities. That said, the fundamental premise of this book, a defense of social infrastructure and its role in creating and cohering our society, in a way that doesn't just meet our most immediate needs but also connects us to each other and overcomes the sense of isolation that so many millions of us feel, is one I very passionately agree with. And several of the many sections of the book that focus on libraries had me near tears. Too often we take for granted and neglect our libraries, parks, markets, schools, playgrounds, gardens and communal spaces, but decades of research now shows that these places can have an extraordinary effect on our personal and collective wellbeing. Why? Because wherever people cross paths and linger, wherever we gather informally, strike up a conversation and get to know one another, relationships blossom and communities emerge – and where communities are strong, people are safer and healthier, crime drops and commerce thrives, and peace, tolerance and stability take root. I don’t know why Klinenberg bothers with a pretence of political neutrality. Yes, he wants to appeal to readers of every political persuasion, but come on – it’s pretty obvious who he votes for, and who most readers would vote for. He does a disservice to his subject and his readers by pretending that both Democrats and Republicans care equally about funding social infrastructure.

Klinenberg is a professor of sociology and the director of the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University. He coined the term “social infrastructure” to describe the libraries, day-care centers, bookstores, coffee shops, and community gardens that shape our face-to-face interactions, and he has been exploring it for decades—ever since his landmark study of Chicago during the 1995 heat wave. He was the research director for the Obama administration’s Rebuild by Design project, where he worked to integrate social infrastructure into post–Hurricane Sandy rebuilding plans. In PALACES FOR THE PEOPLE, he applies this deep knowledge, stemming from years of both research and application, to diverse communities and challenges around the globe—from Singapore to Brazil and from East New York to Silicon Valley—to show how interactive physical spaces are combating some of the most profound problems of our time. Libraries are not the kinds of institutions that most social scientists, policymakers, and community leaders usually bring up when they discuss social capital and how to build it. But they offer something for everyone, regardless of whether they’re a citizen, a permanent resident, or even a convicted felon – and all of it for free. A comprehensive, entertaining, and compelling argument for how rebuilding social infrastructure can help heal divisions in our society and move us forward.”—Jon Stewart We are living in a time of deep divisions. Americans are sorting themselves along racial, religious, and cultural lines, leading to a level of polarization that the country hasn't seen since the Civil War. Pundits and politicians are calling for us to come together, to find common purpose. But how, exactly, can this be done?

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He is the author of the wonderful book “Palaces For the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life”. If you’re like me, you may have been caught up on one tiny phrase in that title: what the hell is social infrastructure? NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR • “Engaging.”—Mayor Pete Buttigieg, The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)

Palaces for the People— the title is taken from the Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie’s description of the hundreds of libraries he funded—is essentially a calm, lucid exposition of a centuries-old idea, which is really a furious call to action.” — New Statesman Eric Klinenberg believes that social life can be designed well, just as good buildings are.His book is full of hope, which is all the more striking because Klinenberg is a realist.He is a major social thinker, and this is a beautifully written, major book.” —Richard Sennett, Professor of Sociology, London School of Economics Klinenberg writes, “In coming decades, the world’s most affluent societies will invest trillions of dollars on new infrastructure—seawalls, smart grids, basins for capturing rainwater—that can withstand twenty-first century challenges, including megastorms like Harvey and Irma” (187). What opportunities arise for the development of social infrastructure alongside increased spending on physical infrastructure? How did the winning projects in the Rebuild by Design competition following Hurricane Sandy, for which Klinenberg served as research director, integrate social infrastructure? In what ways does the incorporation of social infrastructure into these projects potentially affect the community before, during, and after megastorms and natural disasters? In Bangladesh, the “floating schools and libraries” program was implemented by a nonprofit. What level of responsibility for innovative programs such as this falls to the government, to citizens, or to nonprofits? What are the best means by which to affect innovative changes in one’s community? Reading Palaces for the People is an amazing experience. As an architect, I know very well the importance of building civic places: concert halls, libraries, museums, universities, public parks, all places open and accessible, where people can get together and share experiences. To create good places for people is essential, and this is what I share with Klinenberg: We both believe that beauty, this kind of beauty, can save the world.”Public institutions, such as libraries, schools, playgrounds, parks, athletic fields, and swimming pools are all vital parts of social infrastructure. So are churches and synagogues, flea markets, and corner diners. Places where people can gather and linger encourage the formation of social bonds and promote interaction across group lines, and if our democracy is going to thrive, we need more of them. Investing in social infrastructure is just as urgent as investing in conventional hard infrastructure like bridges, levees, and airports. Often, we can strengthen both simultaneously, establishing vital social arteries that are also “palaces for the people,” to borrow the phrase Andrew Carnegie used to describe the 2,500 grand libraries that he built around the world. Too often, we hear about how he was visiting this or that other city while writing another book, making you wonder just how rigorous his research was. Chera Kowalski’s TED Talk, “The Critical Role That Libraries Play in the Opioid Crisis,” (tiny.cc/libraryopioids): Kowalski discusses the importance of libraries in general as well as her personal experience working to improve health and safety in her own community. At a time when polarization is weakening our democracy, Eric Klinenberg takes us on a tour of the physical spaces that bind us together and form the basis of civic life. We care about each other because we bump up against one another in a community garden or on the playground or at the library. These are not virtual experiences; they’re real ones, and they’re essential to our future. This wonderful book shows us how democracies thrive.” —Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, authors of How Democracies Die

The aim of this sweeping work is to popularize the notion of ‘social infrastructure’—the ‘physical places and organizations that shape the way people interact’. . . . Here, drawing on research in urban planning, behavioral economics, and environmental psychology, as well as on his own fieldwork from around the world, [Eric Klinenberg] posits that a community’s resilience correlates strongly with the robustness of its social infrastructure. The numerous case studies add up to a plea for more investment in the spaces and institutions (parks, libraries, childcare centers) that foster mutual support in civic life.” — The New Yorker This wonderful book shows us how democracies thrive' Steven Levitsky & Daniel Ziblatt, authors of How Democracies DieAs a career public librarian, I often had this thought. Traditional conservatism of the kind that favored localism over centralization has morphed into an antipathy to government at all levels. This radical anti-civic ideology is what the "Reagan revolution" accomplished: spreading the belief that "government can do no good" at any level whatsoever. Even more odd are the couple of times he uses the plot from *novels* to make a point. It’s just bizarre – how am I supposed to be convinced by that?

Eric Klinenberg offers a new perspective on what people and places have to do with each other…. In case after case, we learn how socially-minded design matters…. Anyone interested in cities will find this book an engaging survey that trains you to view any shared physical system as, among other things, a kind of social network.”— The New York Times Book Review Place-based interventions are far more likely to succeed than people-based ones. What if vacant property received the attention that, for decades, has been showered on petty crime? He describes an initiative in Brooklyn where older people can play in virtual bowling leagues as a way of meeting people Like many readers, I'm obsessed with libraries. They are one of my favorite to work and study and at this point in my life, having had to move several times, I'd much rather just get books at the library rather than own them. This book shows how libraries and other public spaces can be important for things beyond their described purpose. Good social infrastructure can be crucial for reducing crime and bring together people who normally wouldn't interact. I have person experience with this. I go to college at the University of Minnesota. The campus comes right up to the edge of downtown Minneapolis, a city that's been in the news a lot recently for obvious and important reasons. One of my favorite places to go was Minneapolis Central library. This library is in the heart of the city and draws in every type of person who lives in the city. Even though my campus is very close to downtown, it's still very separate. It is the public library that gives me my best connection to the people that live in the city around me.

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Fine reading for community activists seeking to expand the social infrastructure of their own home places.”