Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy Of Disaster In Chicago

Eric Klinenberg, assistant professor of sociology at New York University (formally of Northwestern University), wrote "Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago" in order to further investigate the devastating Chicago heat wave of 1995. From July 13h to July 20th, the heat led to over 700 deaths and thousands being hospitalized due to heat related illness. Following the catastrophe, there have been numerous medical, meteorological, and epidemiological studies done examining the reasons for the historic mortality rate, but none seemed to focus on the on underlying issues such as social etiology. In "Heat Wave", Klinenberg, a Chicago native, takes his fascination with the social possibilities surrounding the event to greater depths. Above all, Klinenberg focuses on two major concerns; first, what are the social conditions that made it possible for hundreds of Chicago residents-most of them old, alone, and impoverished- to die during the one week heat spell? (Klinenberg, pg 18) And second, to "analyze the symbolic construction of the heat wave as a public event and experience....to impose as universally applicable a common set of standards and categories, such as natural disaster, that become legitimate frames for making sense of an unexpected situation." (Klinenberg, pg 23)

Chapter 1, "Dying Alone," examines the aging population of urban residents who live alone, often without proximate or reliable sources of routine contact and social support. During 16 months of fieldwork, Klinenberg spent ample time conversing with over forty seniors, which helped him to better understand and convey ideas on how living alone had affected heat wave deaths. Because so many elderly had died alone in their houses, only to be found due to the stench of their decaying bodies as Klinenberg had vividly described, this research was imperative. Through these interviews, he was able to describe in detail the lives of many of the elderly who had survived the heat as well as the probable causes for that. The elderly, especially isolated men and those who outlive their friends or become homebound and ill, often suffer from social deprivation and role displacement in later years. Overwhelmed with pressing anxieties about making ends meet, avoiding proximate dangers (burglaries, violence), and maintaining liveliness in unhealthy environments, they are likely to express stress in their relationships and pull away from very important social ties.

Chapter 2 is entitled "Race, Place, and Vulnerability", and examines the conditions of specific areas that either help or hinder the residents in terms of deprivation and isolation. To do this, Klinenberg did a case study involving two communities with similar risk factors, but very different mortality rates. This sixth month long study included the predominantly African American neighborhood of North Lawndale, which experienced the highest death rates, and the Latino neighborhood of Little Village that experienced the lowest. This chapter also focuses on the increasing spatial concentration and social separation of the affluent and the impoverished who cluster in certain parts of the city. While the affluent benefit from their exclusive environment, the poor experience more crime, disease, violence, and isolation.

Chapter 3, "The State of Disaster" discusses how government agencies have actually done little to help the most vulnerable people in times of need, such as the heat wave emergency. This is evident in the city's failure to implement its own heat emergency plan until after hundreds had already died. Klinenberg points out the work of, and does interviews with, the police department, fire department, and paramedics. He studies the compatibility between these city government services and the human abilities and social resources of the poor elderly residents.

"Governing by Public Relations" is the title of chapter 4, which shows the how city officials often resolve criticisms towards themselves by pushing it onto others. Klinenberg defends this argument by using evidence from Stanley Cohen's typology of the methods government agencies use to deflect negativity. Here, the key health and support services of the governmental organization, the police and fire departments, include officers who are rarely committed to "soft service" work.

And lastly, in chapter 5 "The Spectacular City," Klinenberg speaks about media's involvement during that time. He investigates and interviews journalists, editors, and news companies, discussing the angles at which the disaster was portrayed and why this may be. More importantly, this chapter focuses on the cultural "reframing" of the actually news and information of the heat wave. He says that Chicago used its public relations tools to deny there was a disaster and then to claim it was a natural and unpreventable one. They defended the government's role while masking the social roots of the high mortality rates during the heat wave.

I originally chose this book because the brief summary given to us in class had caused me to become more interested Klinenberg's findings throughout his extensive research. This book proved to correlate directly with many of the ideas we discussed in class. Through this close examination of being a certain age (elderly), of being part of a certain race/ethnicity, and of being part of a certain social class (poor), I was able to see the web of causation in action as it applied to Chicago's heat wave. I especially applied the ideas in Chapter 5 "Social Organization, Health, and Illness" of our text to the topics of inquiry in "Heat Wave". I noticed the dramaturgical stress faced by the elderly as some refused to lose their independence and socially succumb to their illness. I also saw the lack of social support from friends or family take its toll on these individuals. Klinenberg's coverage of these examples and many more allowed me to better link the book with this course, as well as declare "Heat Wave" a success.

Lee Clarke of Rutgers University published his review, "Using Disaster to See Society," in the March 2003 issue of Contemporary Sociology. This review begins by stating the facts and statistics surrounding the heat wave, and agrees with Klinenberg's key ideas. It goes on to point out the effects of removing oneself from social networks due to dangerous neighborhoods and poverty, of the media hiding the painful truth from the public, and of the neglectful government basically letting