Social Infrastructure
Description
"Pointing to data from the Chicago heat wave of 1995, Klinenberg notes that Latinos in Chicago, who had high levels of poverty, faired better than other ethnic groups because they “lived in densely packed neighborhoods where dying alone is nearly impossible.” Another data point were two neighborhoods in Chicago’s South Side, another area of high poverty, where one neighborhood experienced a higher death rate than the other. The conclusion by researchers was that the neighborhood which had fewer deaths had more public space, more sidewalks, and more community organizations that brought “people into contact with friends and neighbors.” In the neighborhood with more public space, neighbors were actively involved in checking up on each other to make sure people were getting the resources they needed during the heat wave.
Social infrastructure as a concept is not uncommon to discussions of community resiliency. Studies and theories on urban disaster mitigation speak to the importance of building networks of social capital in neighborhoods so that people can support each other in times of need. In addition to being valuable for disaster mitigation, social infrastructure is valuable for ordinary times as well. The New Yorker article notes that the two neighborhoods previously mentioned had a disparity in life expectancy, with the residents in the neighborhood with more public space living an average of 5 more years.
Social infrastructure as a concept has real value to conversations about building community and realizing the latent assets of a community. In particular, when thinking about the role information communication technology (ICT), the concept of social infrastructure helps highlight the value of neighborhood social networking sites like Front Porch Forum in Burlington, VT or Neighbors for Neighbors in Boston, MA. For example, Neighbors for Neighbors has actively taken part in coordinating neighborhood efforts in meeting the needs of elderly residents after major snow storms in Boston. While the value of neighborhood social networking sites for creating mutual awareness of needs and resources is distinctly aligned with the concept of social infrastructure, social infrastructure as a design objective could better serve those interested in ICT for community development if it was further operationalized. For example, what are other examples of social infrastructure in action and in what ways could ICT complement these activities? Building the social capital networks of neighborhoods using technology is not a new concept, but it could perhaps be revived and infused with some much needed design innovation using the concept of social infrastructure." (http://buildingthecommons.org/2013/06/11/social-infrastructure-as-design-objective-for-neighborhood-ict/)