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What if society could move past traditional "gray infrastructure" approaches like seawalls and prisons to address problems such as climate change, terrorism, and crime? In Beyond Common Ground, Daniel P. Aldrich argues that social infrastructure—physical and virtual spaces including parks, libraries, and radio programs—offers a more effective alternative by fostering coproduction and multiple benefits.
Drawing on qualitative and quantitative evidence from Africa, Asia, and North America, this book demonstrates how these systems build social capital and resilience and proposes practical policies for implementation. Beyond Common Ground positions social infrastructure as a "polysolution" for our interconnected crises, urging society to stop treating it as a Cinderella service and prioritize equitable distribution.
“Daniel Aldrich has single-handedly made disaster resilience one of social science’s fastest-growing fields. I have long argued that social capital—the networks of trust that bind communities—is among the most powerful forces shaping our well-being. Beyond Common Ground shows how the libraries, parks, and community centers we treat as amenities are in fact frontline infrastructure against disaster, crime, and extremism.”—Robert D. Putnam, Emeritus Professor, Harvard Kennedy School, and author of Bowling Alone
“A strong contribution to the scholarship on social infrastructure, with important new evidence on how physical and digital gathering places can help communities overcome many of the most difficult challenges of our time.”—Eric Klinenberg, author of Palaces for the People
“A compelling account of the importance of social infrastructure in creating healthier, safer, and more resilient societies. Through case studies of extreme weather events, crime reduction, and terrorism, Beyond Common Ground demonstrates how everyday gathering spaces like libraries, cafes, and community centers build resilience and social capital vital to addressing the intertwined crises of our contemporary world.”—Alan Latham, Professor of Human Geography, University College London
“A primary contribution of this book is the idea that the public good is something we produce together, with social infrastructure as the platform for that coproduction. Although all of us have responsibility for social infrastructure, this book has the original perspective of articulating the role of public policy in support of this infrastructure.”—Noah Lenstra, author of Healthy Living at the Library
“Beyond Common Ground is well conceived and organized, blending theoretical and applied insights. The author’s clear and concise writing style, exemplified by
straightforward explanations of oftentimes complex phenomena, is a highlight that should prove attractive to a large cohort of readers.”—Mikayla Novak, author of Inequality: An Entangled Political Economy Perspective