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Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life

What counts as social infrastructure? I define it capaciously. Public institutions, such as libraries, schools, playgrounds, parks, athletic fields, and swimming pools, are vital parts of the social infrastructure. So too are sidewalks, courtyards, community gardens, and other green spaces that invite people into the public realm. Community organiz

Eric Klinenberg • Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life

Ersatz third places can also be expensive, so think Soho House. So people who can't afford to hang out in one of them have to make do with under maintained, bare minimum public places. Oldenburg notes men drinking beers outside convenience stores in the parking lot because there's no seating actually inside the stores or teens gathering in a local

Mina Le • Third Places, Stanley Cup Mania, and the Epidemic of Loneliness

According to Putnam, the more we prioritize our private bubbles over public life, the more we disconnect from our local surroundings. This has weakened American democracy. Fewer people are engaged in politics, and those who do are often at the political poles. With less social capital, our neighborhoods are connected by fewer informal, reciprocal t... See more

Well-run libraries are filled with people because what a good library offers cannot be easily found elsewhere: an indoor public space in which you do not have to buy anything in order to stay.

Paul Schmitt • Zadie Smith - Feel Free.pdf

Myself and people my age have been trained under the illusion that we can effectively eliminate any and all friction from our lives. We can work from home, Amazon prime everything we need, swipe through a limitless array of mediocre dates, text our therapist, and have a person go to the grocery store for us when we don’t feel like it, all while con... See more

Rosie Spinks • The Friendship Problem

Third Places, Stanley Cup Mania, and the Epidemic of Loneliness

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What – and who – is a city for?

policyoptions.irpp.org

Americans used to live within “place-based networks” of clubs, churches, schools, commerce, and recreation that overlapped, wrapping individuals in social support. Local networks protected individuals from isolation and loneliness.

Those networks have largely disappeared, replaced by networks based outside the local community. We shop and interact ... See more