Eric Klinenberg

Like, no one cuts a ribbon for an HVAC system.

Well, no, they don't, but they absolutely should because if we look at the concept of, uh, civic infrastructure, which is something sociologist Eric Klinenberg often talks about in his work-

Right, about how physical spaces shape human interaction?

Exactly.

And I also loved her point there too about, uh, you know, sort of like her experience in the New York Public Library and this idea of using the civic infrastructure in different contexts, changing the context around the every day.

And I think that's an important theme that's come out of some recent work that the sociologist Eric Klinenberg did with the architect Gale.

They published a whole report on this about, you know, reinvesting in, in social and civic infrastructure.

And also it ties into a conversation I had at dinner with the Denver folks, in this case with Daisy McGowan, who's the executive director at, at the Rhino Arts District.

Let's go to the Thought Bubble to see why.

In 2002, American sociologist and urban studies expert Eric Klinenberg published a book comparing two neighborhoods impacted by the heat wave, North Lawndale and South Lawndale.

Both neighborhoods had similar populations of elderly people as well as similar levels of people living in poverty, which are factors associated with higher heat-related deaths.

But when Klinenberg looked at the heat-related deaths in the two neighborhoods, he found that North Lawndale experienced heat-related deaths at a rate 10 times higher than South Lawndale.