Eric Klinenberg

"Today, as cities and suburbs reinvent themselves, and as cynics claim that government has nothing good to contribute to that process, it's important that institutions like libraries get the recognition they deserve. After all, the root of the word "library," liber; means both "book" and "free." Libraries stand for and exemplify something that needs defending: the public institutions that -- even in an age of atomization and inequality -- serve as bedrocks of civil society. Libraries are the kinds of places where ordinary people with different backgrounds, passions, and interests can take part in a living democratic culture. They are the kinds of places where the public, private, and philanthropic sectors can work together to reach for something higher than the bottom line.”… (mehr)

Too American for me. Though data from other countries is mentioned, the entire book is rife with " we Americans are used to being alone, look at Thoreau!" Honestly, if I read one more reference to Thoreau I am going to spit. This guy lived rent free in a friend's cottage on a tiny lake and wrote his best work "on Civil Disobedience" because he didn't want to pay tax.
So he lived alone, briefly.
As with this book, the lens is focused too tightly on the subject. Look outside the border or the lake or whatever and see how the rest of the world lives....… (mehr)

Vivimos en una época de profundas divisiones. Los estadounidenses se están clasificando por líneas raciales, religiosas y culturales, lo que lleva a un nivel de polarización nunca visto desde la guerra civil. Expertos y políticos nos piden que nos unamos y encontremos un propósito común. Pero ¿cómo, exactamente, se puede hacer esto? En Palacios del pueblo, el sociólogo Eric Klinenberg sugiere un camino. Cree que el futuro de las sociedades democráticas no se basa simplemente en valores compartidos, sino en espacios compartidos: las bibliotecas, las guarderías, las iglesias y los parques donde se forman conexiones cruciales. Entretejiendo su propia investigación con ejemplos de todo el mundo, Klinenberg muestra cómo la «infraestructura social» está ayudando a resolver algunos de nuestros desafíos sociales más urgentes. Ampliamente investigado y escrito de forma estimulante, Palacios del pueblo ofrece un plan para salvar nuestras divisiones aparentemente infranqueables.… (mehr)