Lecture by Prof. Daniel P. Aldrich - How Social Infrastructure Builds Resilience?
During his visit to the Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), Kyoto University, Uji Campus, Kyoto, Japan, Prof. Daniel Aldrich, Department of Political Science and School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, Director, Security and Resilience Studies Program, and Co-Director, Global Resilience Institute, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA, delivered a lecture to the students and faculty of DPRI on 3 August 2023.
Abstract:
Much of our policy process focuses on the role of physical infrastructure, that is, structures that hope to mitigate the impact of shocks and disasters such as floods, terrorism, and crime. But a growing body of evidence suggests that social infrastructure--the places and spaces that build and maintain connections, such as libraries, parks, and pubs - hold greater potential to blunt the impact of such events. Using qualitative and quantitative evidence from cases around the world, Aldrich pushes us to appreciate how
the modest and often underappreciated field of social infrastructure should be front and center as we confront wicked problems including polarization and disinformation.
Brief Biography:
An award winning author, Aldrich has published five books including Building Resilience and Black Wave, more than 90 peer-reviewed articles, and written op-eds for the New York Times, CNN, HuffPost, and many other media outlets. He has spent more than 5 years in India, Japan, and Africa carrying out fieldwork and his work has been funded by the Fulbright Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the Abe Foundation, the Rasmussen Foundation, and the Japan Foundation, among other institutions. In 2021 he was Klein Lecturer at Northeastern University.
