#eric klinenberg

Nearly 30% of households in the United States are now single-person homes. In this episode, Steve Burns talks with NYU sociologist Eric Klinenberg about why more people are living alone than ever before - and what that shift means for relationships, happiness, and society.

That was a quick and interesting read. Chock full of ideas, whilst never straying too far from the basic premise, we need a social infrastructure as it saves lives, and public infrastructure must support the social.

It supports these arguments with my evidence both empirical and anecdotal, and makes a compelling case.

Whilst I agree with the premise there is something I would like to add about the palace part. Eric Klinenberg talks of how Andrew Carnegie wanted his libraries to be grand spaces, and I think this is an important point. Living in Dunfermline where there is a magnificent Carnegie library that has just undergone a multi million pound redevelopment the place grand buildings have in the minds of its users is huge. Maybe it reinforces the message that all people are worth it. Maybe it also makes the spaces more permanent, harder to sweep away.

Source: http://twitter.com/99piorg/status/1108134235087556609

Palaces for the People https://t.co/9IdT3CuUok pic.twitter.com/JTPBoS956v

— 99 Percent Invisible (@99piorg) March 19, 2019

Social infrastructure is the glue that binds communities together, and it is just as real as the infrastructure for water, power, or communications, although it’s often harder to see. But Eric Klinenberg says that when we invest in social infrastructures such as libraries, parks, or schools, we reap all kinds of benefits. We become more likely to interact with people around us, and connected to the broader public. If we neglect social infrastructure, we tend to grow more isolated, which can have serious consequences.

The broken windows theory of policing and crime is a classic essay by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling. It said that when there are broken windows in a neighborhood, people perceive the broken windows as a sign that no one is organizing the neighborhood — meaning those intending to commit crimes would feel like they could get away with it there.

The broken windows theory was used as a justification for bringing lots more police into poor neighborhoods. It led to stop and frisk policing and zero tolerance policing because of the belief was that if there’s disorder, then you need to make sure that there’s extra help to keep criminals from committing crimes. This was a big reason for why we have a system of mass incarceration that has transformed the United States, especially poor neighborhoods.

Having spent a lot of time thinking about the power of social infrastructure and physical places, Klinenberg asked himself this question: what would have happened if we had responded to broken windows not by sending in so many police officers, but instead by fixing the windows?