Replication Data for: How Social Infrastructure Saves Lives: A Quantitative Analysis of Japan’s 3/11 Disasters

Observers have long debated how societies should invest resources to safeguard citizens and property, especially in the face of increasing shocks and crises. This article explores how social infrastructure -the spaces and places that help build and maintain social ties and trust, allowing societies to coordinate behavior -plays an important role in our communities, especially in mitigating and recovering from shocks. An analysis of quantitative data on more than 550 neighborhoods across the three Japanese prefectures most affected by the tsunami of 11 March 2011 shows that, controlling for relevant factors, community centers, libraries, parks, and other social infrastructure measurably and cheaply reduced mortality rates among the most vulnerable population. Investing in social infrastructure projects would, based on this data, save more lives during a natural hazard than putting the same money into standard, gray infrastructure such as seawalls.Decision makers at national, regional, and local levels should expand spending on facilities such as libraries, community centers, social businesses, and public parks to increase resilience to multiple types of shocks and to further enhance the quality of life for residents.

观察家们长期以来一直在争论，社会应如何配置资源以保护公民与财产安全，尤其是在冲击与危机日益频发的背景下。本文探讨了社会基础设施（social infrastructure）——即那些有助于构建和维系社会联系与信任、使社会能够协调行为的空间与场所——如何在社区中发挥重要作用，尤其是在缓解冲击及从冲击中恢复方面。对2011年3月11日海啸影响最严重的日本三个县内550多个社区的定量数据展开分析后发现，在控制相关变量的情况下，社区中心、图书馆、公园及其他社会基础设施可显著且低成本地降低最脆弱人群的死亡率。基于这些数据，投资社会基础设施项目在自然灾害期间挽救的生命数量，将超过将同等资金投入海堤等标准灰色基础设施（gray infrastructure）所挽救的生命数量。国家、区域及地方层面的决策者应增加对图书馆、社区中心、社会企业及公共公园等设施的投入，以增强对多种冲击的抵御能力，并进一步提升居民的生活质量。