Chapter 7: Social infrastructure
Notes, references, updates and links
Notes, references, updates and links
1. Klinenberg E. Palaces for the People: How to Build a More Equal and United Society.
Penguin Random House; 2020. ISBN 9781784707514
Social infrastructure refers to the services and structures underlying associational life, "spaces that invite people into the public realm".
2. Suttles GD. The Social Construction of Communities.
Univ. of Chicago Press; 1973.
A face-block community is one in which we recognise the same people without necessarily knowing them.
3. Gunaydin G, Oztekin H, Karabulut DH, Salman-Engin S. Minimal social interactions with strangers predict greater subjective well-being.
J Happiness Stud. 2021;22(4):1839-1853. doi:10.1007/s10902-020-00298-6
Even minimal positive social interactions with others (such as saying hello or thank you) is linked to greater wellbeing.
4. Yarker S. Creating Spaces for an Ageing Society: The Role of Critical Social Infrastructure.
Emerald Publishing; 2022. ISBN 9781839827396
Transitory zones are the places we pass though during daily life. Threshold spaces are those at the boundary between private and public life, such as front gardens or porches, which let us watch the world go by without having to engage.
5. Alexander M, Hamilton K. Recapturing place identification through community heritage marketing.
Eur J Mark. 2016;50(7/8):1118-1136. doi:10.1108/EJM-05-2013-0235
Promotion of local heritage offers a contrast to the consumption typically promoted by planners and marketers, and promotes uniqueness and sense of community to both locals and visitors.
6. Oldenburg R, Brissett D. The third place.
Qual Sociol. 1982;5(4):265-284. doi:10.1007/BF00986754
Third places are those that are neither work nor home, ranging from coffee shops and libraries to parks and public squares. These avoid the obligations of host, allowing people to come and go more freely. Being with others can increase feelings of connection and reflection on societal norms, even without interacting.
7. Fincher R, Iveson K. Planning and Diversity in the City: Redistribution, Recognition and Encounter.
Palgrave Macmillan; 2008. ISBN 9781403938107
Festivals were originally disruptive occasions which subverted usual hierarchies, but have been appropriated as spectacle. Celebrating minority cultures may actually reinforce the position of the majority as 'host'.
8. Camerados. Get through and get each other through tough times.
https://www.camerados.org/
9. Batty, Elaine, Bennett, Ellen, Devany, Chris, Harris, Cathy, Pearson, Sarah, Woodward, Abi. Friends and Purpose: Evaluation of Camerados Public Living Rooms.
Sheffield Hallam University Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research; 2020.
Public living rooms (PLRs) encourage connections, especially across different generations and communities, and bring a sense of satisfaction from being with and helping others. 92% of attendees felt more connected to others, 90% felt happier, 77% less alone and 62% more confident.
10. Jones, Dan, Jopling, Kate, Kharicha, Kalpa. Loneliness beyond Covid-19: Learning the Lessons of the Pandemic for a Less Lonely Future.
Campaign to End Loneliness; 2021.
Third places need only "a brew, a loo and something to do".
11. Campaign for Real Ale. Pub Closure Report 2021.
CAMRA; 2022.
6 pubs close each week in the UK.
12. Plunkett Foundation. Community Pubs: A Better Form of Business; 2020.
Community pubs are those owned by local community members, and seem to be more resilient, with no closures during 2019. Numbers went from 9 to 119 in the decade up to 2019. These often support smaller local providers, while offering community meeting spaces (81%) and a base for physical activities or NHS services (59%).
See also Plunkett Foundation, Community Shops: A better form of business 2021
13. Konijnendijk van den Bosch, Cecil. The 3-30-300 rule for urban forestry and greener cities.
Biophilic Cities J. 2021;4(2).
The 3-30-300 rule suggests there should be 3 trees visible from every home, 30% tree canopy coverage and greenspace within 300m. Trees reduce pollution, noise, flooding and improve air quality, while encouraging time outdoors leading to more physical activity and social interactions.
14. Kaźmierczak A. The contribution of local parks to neighbourhood social ties.
Landsc Urban Plan. 2013;109(1):31-44. doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2012.05.007
46% of adults in England visit a park at least weekly. Parents highlight how their children can act as ice-breakers in talking to others.
15. Sallis JF, Spoon C, Cavill N, et al. Co-benefits of designing communities for active living: an exploration of literature.
Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2015;12(1):30. doi:10.1186/s12966-015-0188-2
Promotional events, good active transport links, lower traffic speeds and diverse land use all encourage use of parks and greenspace.
16. Taylor MS, Wheeler BW, White MP, Economou T, Osborne NJ. Research note: Urban street tree density and antidepressant prescription rates—A cross-sectional study in London, UK.
Landsc Urban Plan. 2015;136:174-179. doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2014.12.005
Antidepressant rates fall for every street tree per kilometer, even after adjusting for income and deprivation.
17. Donovan GH, Butry DT, Michael YL, et al. The relationship between trees and human health.
Am J Prev Med. 2013;44(2):139-145. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2012.09.066
The emerald ash borer pest killed tens of millions of ash trees across the USA. Mortality from cardiovascular and respiratory conditions in affected states rose by 23 extra deaths annually per 100,000 adults.
18. Mitchell L, Burton E. Designing dementia‐friendly neighbourhoods: helping people with dementia to get out and about.
J Integr Care. 2010;18(6):11-18. doi:10.5042/jic.2010.0647
Walking is an important way to cope with dementia, but is often considered as 'wandering' by others.
Exposure to natural light and being able to perceive the change of time of day and season reduces the prevalence of sundowning (agitation at dusk).
19. Mitchell L, Burton E. Neighbourhoods for life: Designing dementia‐friendly outdoor environments.
Qual Ageing Older Adults. 2006;7(1):26-33. doi:10.1108/14717794200600005
The built environment has traditionally been designed around the needs of fit young adults, which can be exclusionary to others. More informal outdoor spaces are considered more welcoming and safe by people who may not understand what is expected of them in particular environments.
Complex street layouts can lead to disorientation. Helpful landmarks are noticeable, memorable and easily recognised and understood, though too much clutter or excessive visual stimuli can cause confusion.
Red-orange colour schemes are eaiser to distinguish than those on the blue-green spectrum for people with colour agnosia.
To be dementia friendly, environments should be familiar, legible, distinctive, accessible, comfortable and safe.
20. Dröes RM, Breebaart E, Meiland FJM, van Tilburg W, Mellenbergh GJ. Effect of Meeting Centres Support Program on feelings of competence of family carers and delay of institutionalization of people with dementia.
Aging Ment Health. 2004;8(3):201-211. doi:10.1080/13607860410001669732
People with dementia attending meeting centres delayed entering residential care. Carers show increased feelings of competence.
21. Norton PD. Fighting Traffic: The Dawn of the Motor Age in the American City.
MIT Press; 2008. ISBN 9780262141000
It is notable how normalised car use has become in our societies. Both drivers and non-drivers display unconscious biases towards vehicle use. Walker et al [doi 10.31234/osf.io/egnmj] call this 'motornormativity', pointing out how little notice is taken of the toll from the triple epidemic of road deaths, inactivity and air pollution.
22. Ralph K, Iacobucci E, Thigpen CG, Goddard T. Editorial patterns in bicyclist and pedestrian crash reporting.
Transp Res Rec J Transp Res Board. 2019;2673(2):663-671. doi:10.1177/0361198119825637
Traffic deaths do not generate the same outrage as other public health crises. Crashes are treated as isolated rather than systemic problems.The term accident should be avoided as it downplays the preventability of the incident. Local news coverage tends to blame vulnerable road users (VRUs) rather than drivers, by using 'object-based' language for cars and 'human-based' language for victims. Typically it is 'the car' rather than driver that does something - in only 10% of reports are drivers given agency and focus. Victim-blaming is common, for instance by highlighting the VRU wearing dark clothing rather than the speed of the care.
23. Department for Transport. Reported road casualties Great Britain, provisional results: 2020. National statistics. Published June 24, 2021.
Motor cyclists (5,455 casualties per bn miles) and pedal cyclists (4,891) are at far higher risk than other vehicles: buses & coaches (1,278), cars (321) and goods vehicles (68). [2019 data, as 2020 was atypical due to the pandemic].
24. Marmot, Michael, Allen, Jessica, Goldblatt, Peter, et al. Fair Society, Healthy Lives: The Marmot Review.
UCL; 2010.
20mph zones reduce death and injury by 40%, cyclist injuries by 17% and pedestrian injuries by a third (compared with 30mph) [ref 413]
25. Yiu, Yuen. How much damage do heavy trucks do to our roads?
Inside Science. Published October 12, 2020.
Road damage is related to the fourth power of vehicle weight, meaning the damage to road surfaces from a car is a hundred and sixty thousand times that of a bicycle, and a lorry the same again compared to a car.
26. Soni N, Soni N. Benefits of pedestrianization and warrants to pedestrianize an area.
Land Use Policy. 2016;57:139-150. doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.05.009
Pedestrianisation reduces injury, air pollution and noise, improves fitness, physical activity and social interactions, increases sense of belonging, footfall and sales in local shops and increases employment.
27. see note 18, Mitchell 2010
Primary services (shops, transport hubs) should be within 500m of homes, secondary services (health centres, places of worship) within 800m.
28. Peñalosa, Enrique. Why buses represent democracy in action. (youtube) September 2013.
Public transport 'so good that even the wealthy use it'.
29. Jacobsen PL, Racioppi F, Rutter H. Who owns the roads? How motorised traffic discourages walking and bicycling.
Inj Prev. 2009;15(6):369-373. doi:10.1136/ip.2009.022566
Four times as many people walk when pavements are safe. Volume and speeds of traffic are the strongest factors reducing walking and cycling levels. Traffic volumes in the US increased by 63% between 1980 and 1997, almost three times faster than population growth.
Men cycle more than women, though this difference disappears as numbers cycling increase.
30. Aldred R, Goodman A. Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, car use, and active travel: Evidence from the people and places survey of Outer London active travel interventions.
Findings. Published online September 2020. doi:10.32866/001c.17128
People living in LTNs are less likely to own or use a car and more likely to engage in active travel.
31. Laverty AA, Goodman A, Aldred R. Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and population health.
BMJ. 2021;372. doi:10.1136/bmj.n443
LTNs did not increase emergency response times, but showed an 18% reduction in street crime and 75% reduction in traffic collision injury.
32. Dajnak D, Walton H, Stewart G, Smith JD, Beevers S. Air Quality: Concentrations, Exposure and Attitudes in Waltham Forest.
Kings College London; 2018.
Road calming measures in Waltham Forest reduced air pollution levels enough for residents to gain an average of 6 weeks extra life expectancy.
33. Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, Department for Transport. Clean Air Zone Framework: Principles for Setting up Clean Air Zones in England.
UK Government; 2020.
Clean Air Zones are areas with targeted action to improve air quality. These can be advisory or chargable. As well as leading to better air quality around schools and health facilities, Clean Air Zones highlight the impact of vehicle-induced air pollution.
34. Walker I. Drivers overtaking bicyclists: objective data on the effects of riding position, helmet use, vehicle type and apparent gender.
Accid Anal Prev. 2007;39(2):417-425. doi:10.1016/j.aap.2006.08.010
Drivers pass closer to male cyclists and those wearing helmets.
35. Gleave, James. Cycle Helmets: The Impacts of Compulsory Cycle Helmet Legislation on Cyclist Fatalities and Premature Deaths in the UK.
Transport Planning Society; 2012:25.
Making cycle helmets mandatory would reduce cycling, lessening the health benefits of activity and increasing deaths as a result (by 441 to 883 extra deaths annually). This more than makes up for the increase in lives lost from head injury (helmets reduce cycling fatalities, saving between 12 and 19 lives a year). Currently, cycling prevents around 2,216 deaths each year, but making helmets mandatory would reduce the uptake of cycling leading to an increase of between 422 and 871 deaths annually.
36. Open Streets Project. The movement for open streets.
https://openstreetsproject.org/
37. Adams T, Aldred R. Cycling injury risk in London: impacts of road characteristics and infrastructure.
Findings. Published online December 14, 2020. doi:10.32866/001c.18226
Protected cycle infrastructure reduces the chance of injury by 40-65%, but painted advisory lanes with no physical separation actually increase the risk of collision by 34%
38. World Health Organization. Community Engagement: A Health Promotion Guide for Universal Health Coverage in the Hands of the People.
World Health Organization; 2020.
There are four main strands to developing the health aspects of our communities:
building community capacity
building individual capabilities
improving collaboration
connecting to community resources
39. O’Mara-Eves A, Brunton G, McDaid D, et al. Community engagement to reduce inequalities in health: a systematic review, meta-analysis and economic analysis.
Public Health Res. 2013;1(4):1-526. doi:10.3310/phr01040
Very detailed and comprehensive systematic review of the evidence for community engagement to improve health and reduce health inequalities, which finds a positive impact from community engagement interventions on health behaviours, outcomes, self-efficacy and perceived social support outcomes. No one model was found to be more effective.
40. Stokes, Gillian, Richardson, Michelle, Brunton, Ginny, Khatwa, Meena, Thomas, James. Review 3: Community Engagement for Health via Coalitions, Collaborations and Partnerships (on-Line Social Media and Social Networks). A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
UCL Institute of Education, University College London; 2015.
This systematic review of online community engagement found little co-creation of knowledge, focusing mainly on peer interactions. Health practitioners mainly use social media for disseminating information rather than engaging in 'true multi-way conversations and interactions'.
41. see note 38, WHO 2020
Principles of community engagement: trust, accessibility, context, equity, transparency and autonomy.
42. Cornwall A, Jewkes R. What is participatory research?
Soc Sci Med. 1995;41(12):1667-1676. doi:10.1016/0277-9536(95)00127-S
Participatory action research (PAR) emphasises 'bottom-up' approaches focusing on locally defined priorities and persepctives, locating power in communities.
43. Oliver SR, Rees RW, Clarke-Jones L, et al. A multidimensional conceptual framework for analysing public involvement in health services research.
Health Expect. 2008;11(1):72-84. doi:10.1111/j.1369-7625.2007.00476.x
'Consumer or public uses of evidence invoke a fundamental question about the nature of the evidence: who decides what evidence to seek and how to seek it?' Consultation is quick to gain lay views but without a commitment to act on them; collaboration takes more time but gives ownership to participants; lay-controlled research can reach marginalised groups and ask questions that researchers may not consider important, while spreading skills, but needs handing over ownership to others.
44. Piachaud, David, Bennett, Fran, Nazroo, James, Popay, Jennie. Social Inclusion and Social Mobility.
Institute of Health Equity; 2009.
Barriers to community engagement (p52) include lack of community capacity, inadequate engagement, misuse of professional power, cultural and attitudinal constraints, differential access to resources and knowledge and personal transaction costs for participants, which are rarely reimbursed. Empowerment requires long-term commitment, as too often a focus on 'quick wins' breaks the contract with local people.
45. Kahn, Si. Organizing, a Guide for Grassroots Leaders.
NASW Press; 1992. ISBN 9780871011978
Mobilisation builds power and leads to organising structures which persist, bringing efficiencies and skills.
46. Arnstein SR. A ladder of citizen participation.
J Am Inst Plann. 1969;35(4):216-224. doi:10.1080/01944366908977225
Sherry Arnstein's ladder of participation:
Citizen control
Delegated power
Partnership
Placation
Consultation
Informing
Therapy
Manipulation
47. White SC. Depoliticising development: the uses and abuses of participation.
Dev Pract. 1996;6(1):142-155. doi:10.1080/0961452961000157564
Similar to Arnstein's ladder, Sarah White describes nominal, instrumental, representative and transformative participation:
Form Top-down Bottom-up Function
Nominal Legitimation Inclusion Display
Instrumental Efficiency Cost Means
Representative Sustainability Leverage Voice
Transformative Empowerment Empowerment Means/End
48. Katz R. Empowerment and synergy.
Prev Hum Serv. 1984;3(2-3):201-226. doi:10.1300/J293v03n02_10
'Zero-sum' power can only be lost or gained. This is built around a 'scarcity' paradigm, but power can also be synergistic, not zero-sum; a teacher gains directly and indirectly from imparting knowledge.
49. Laverack G. Public Health: Power, Empowerment and Professional Practice.
Palgrave; 2005. ISBN 9781352005295
'Power-over' others is dominant when enforced by threats; hegemonic when using persuasion; or indirect via economic control.
Max Weber defined power as "the probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his own will despite resistance, regardless of the basis on which this probability rests".
Suzanne Alleyne describes how people with power are less empathetic, while those without are more tentative and aware of potential threats, in this paper on the neuroscience of power.
50. Lerner M. Surplus Powerlessness: The Psychodynamics of Everyday Life - and the Psychology of Individual and Social Transformation.
Institute for Labor & Mental Health; 1986. ISBN 9780935933017
Suplus powerlessness occurs when the belief that things cannot change becomes pervasive.
51. Langford J, Clance PR. The imposter phenomenon: Recent research findings regarding dynamics, personality and family patterns and their implications for treatment.
Psychother Theory Res Pract Train. 1993;30(3):495-501. doi:10.1037/0033-3204.30.3.495
Impostor phenomenon is a better term than impostor syndrome, as these are common feelings. This describes the feeling of incompetence that some people experience, which is associated with introversion, lack of family support and a propensity to shame.
52. Labonte, Ronald. Health promotion and empowerment: reflections on professional practice.
Health Educ Q. 1994;21(2):253-268. doi:10.1177/109019819402100209
"If you are here to help me, then you are wasting your time. But if you come because your liberation is bound up in mine, than let us begin". The quote comes from Lily Walker, an Australian Aboriginal woman.
53. Berne E. Games People Play: The Psychology of Human Relationships.
Grove Pr; 1996. ISBN 978-0241257470
This book popularised transactional analysis, a branch of psychology looking at the interactions between parent-adult-child ego states and how these influence behaviour. This parallels but does not map onto Freud's description of the super-ego, ego and id.
54. Kieffer CH. Citizen empowerment: a developmental perspective.
Prev Hum Serv. 1984;3(2-3):9-36. doi:10.1300/J293v03n02_03
Kieffer looked at the development and empowerment of citizen leaders in grassroots organisations. Initial participation starts when our sense of integrity is violated, rather than through education or consciousness-raising. This 'era of entry' consists of reactive engagement, which moves on to an 'era of advancement' as relationships with authority are reoriented. Organising brings about more effective strategies for action, honed by reflection and peer support. Critical understanding of power structures leads to an 'era of incorporation' with maturation of confidence and skills, entering into an 'era of commitment' as values are integrated across all aspects of life.
Parks: ROI for investing in parks is 34, due to more physical activity, better mental health, reductions in crime, carbon storage and better air quality. £111mn is saved by parks in reduced GP visits, with an overall wellbeing benefit from frequent use of parks and greenspace of £34bn.
Access to greenspace: Minimum recommended distance to greenspaces is that everyone should have at least 2 hectares of natural greenspace within 500m of their home, and at least one 100 hectare site within 5km. (A hectare is 100m x 100m)
3-30-300 rule: 3 trees visible from each home, 30% tree canopy coverage and nearest greenspace within 300m
Trees: The 8.4mn trees in London bring £132mn of benefit annually by removing pollution, storing carbon, slowing stormwater and reducing the energy cost of buildings. Greater vegetation cover is associated with a lower risk of schizophrenia and dementia. Trees slow drivign speeds and reduce crime rates. Street trees save £16mn yearly in antidepressant costs.
a. Eis, Jason. The economics of urban parks.
Presented at: Prosperous Cities Conference; September 27, 2016; London.
ROI of £34 for every £1 spent on parks! Benefits come through activity, better mental health, better air quality, reduced crime and carbon storage.
b. Fields in Trust. Revaluing Parks and Green Spaces: Measuring Their Economic and Wellbeing Value to Individuals; 2018.
£34bn overall wellbeing benefit from use of parks, £111mn reduction in GP costs.
c. Box, John, Harrison, Carolyn. Natural spaces in urban places.
Town Ctry Plan. 1993;62(9):231-235.
Greenspace minimum standards: 2 hectares of greenspace within 500m,100 hectares within 5km.
d. see note 13, Konijnendijk van der Bosch 2021
e. Rogers K, Sacre K, Goodenough J, Doick KJ. Valuing London’s Urban Forest: Results of the London i-Tree Eco Project.
Treeconomics; 2015.
f. Engemann K, Pedersen CB, Arge L, Tsirogiannis C, Mortensen PB, Svenning JC. Childhood exposure to green space – A novel risk-decreasing mechanism for schizophrenia?
Schizophr Res. 2018;199:142-148. doi:10.1016/j.schres.2018.03.026
g. Mmako NJ, Courtney-Pratt H, Marsh P. Green spaces, dementia and a meaningful life in the community: A mixed studies review.
Health Place. 2020;63:102344.
doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2020.102344
h. Hastie, Chris. The Benefits of Urban Trees.
Warwick District Council; 2003.
i. Saraev, Vadim, O’Brien, Liz, Valatin, Gregory, Bursnell, Matthew. Valuing the Mental Health Benefits of Woodlands.
Forest Research; 2021.
Road deaths: there were 1,752 road deaths in Britain in 2019, losing more than 60,000 years of life at an average of 35 life years lost for each death.
Vehicle speed: the risk of pedestrian injury increases significantly with speed: 5% at 20mph, 45% at 30mph, 85% at 40mph.
20mph zones prevent 1,000 casualties in London each year and would save a further 700 if rolled out across all of London.
LTNs reduce road traffic injuries by 75%.
Roads and vehicles take up large areas of civic space. Parked cars in London take up 14 sq km of land (2%). (The designers of the game The Sims felt it would have been "really boring if it was proportional in terms of parking lots", so vehicles are all parked underground.)
The new roads budget could fund a thousand new parks saving 74,000 tCO2 each year.
Better bus services reduce the impact of local deprivation, with a ROI of 3.62.
Poor air quality in the UK leads to 29,000 early deaths losing 340,000 years of life at a cost of up to 3.5% of GDP
a. see note 23, DfT 2021
b. Grundy, Chris, Steinbach, Rebecca, Edwards, Phil, Wilkinson, Paul, Green, Judith. The Effect of 20mph Zones on Inequalities in Road Casualties in London: A Report to the London Road Safety Unit.
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; 2008.
c. see note 31, Laverty 2021
d. see note 24, Marmot 2010
e. KPMG. A Study of the Value of Local Bus Services to Society: A Report for Greener Journeys.
University of Leeds; 2016.
A 10% improvement in local bus connections is associated with a 3.6% reduction in deprivation (IMD).
f. Yim SHL, Barrett SRH. Public health impacts of combustion emissions in the United Kingdom.
Environ Sci Technol. 2012;46(8):4291-4296. doi:10.1021/es2040416
a. World Health Organization. Community Engagement: A Health Promotion Guide for Universal Health Coverage in the Hands of the People.
World Health Organization; 2020.
Community engagement
Community-oriented doing to the community is informed
Community-based doing for the community is consulted and involved
Community-managed doing with collaboration with community leaders
Community-owned doing by empowerment of the community to develop systems and assets
a. Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Rapid Evidence Review of Community Initiatives.
UK Government; 2022.
Evidence for community initiatives
(Strength of evidence: very strong ++++, strong +++, medium ++, limited +)
Economic outcomes
+ Employment, directly within community infrastructure or by increasing skills and encouraging new business
++ Higher social capital adds economic value
Health outcomes
++ Reduced mortality and improved quality of life due to social networks
++ Better mental health and lower healthcare usage
+ Health enabling behaviour
Social outcomes
+++ Networks provide resilience
++++ Wellbeing through public spaces, greenspacem connectedness and volunteering
+ Less loneliness, increased opportunities for interactions
+ Reductions in crime
Civic outcomes
++ Social cohesion
+ Social inclusion
++ Stronger sense of belonging, ownership and pride
a. Arnstein SR. A ladder of citizen participation.
J Am Inst Plann. 1969;35(4):216-224. doi:10.1080/01944366908977225
see ref 46
a. French JRP, Raven B. The bases of social power.
In: Cartwright D, ed. Studies in Social Power.; 1959:150-167.
Types of power
Reward - Power reinforced by reward
Coercive - Power enforced by negative consequences for nonconformity
Legitimate - Structurally conferred power
Expert - Power derived from superior knowledge
Informational - Data which can influence or persuade a course of action
Referent - Influence through respect or admiration (known as transference within healthcare)