Palaces for the People by Eric Klinenberg

Richly reported, elegantly written, and ultimately uplifting, Palaces for the People urges us to acknowledge the crucial role these spaces play in civic life. Klinenberg takes us around the globe-from a floating school in Bangladesh to an arts incubator in Chicago, from a soccer pitch in Queens to an evangelical church in Houston-to show how social infrastructure is helping to solve some of our most pressing challenges: isolation, crime, education, addiction, political polarization, and even climate change. Klinenberg calls this the 'social infrastructure': When it is strong, neighborhoods flourish when it is neglected, as it has been in recent years, families and individuals must fend for themselves. These are places where people gather and linger, making friends across group lines and strengthening the entire community. He believes that the future of democratic societies rests not simply on shared values but on shared spaces: the libraries, childcare centers, bookstores, churches, synagogues, and parks where crucial, sometimes life-saving connections, are formed. But how, exactly, can this be done? In Palaces for the People, Eric Klinenberg suggests a way forward. Pundits and politicians are calling for us to come together, to find common purpose.

Americans are sorting themselves along racial, religious, and cultural lines, leading to a level of polarization that the country hasn't seen since the Civil War. We are living in a time of deep divisions. 'An eminent sociologist and bestselling author offers an inspiring blueprint for rebuilding our fractured society.'An eminent sociologist-and coauthor, with Aziz Ansari, of the #1 New York Times bestseller Modern Romance-makes the provocative case that the future of democratic societies rests not only on shared values but also on shared 'social infrastructure': the libraries, childcare centers, bookstores, coffee shops, pools, and parks that promote crucial, sometimes life-saving connections between people who might otherwise fail to find common cause'.

Palaces for the People by Eric Klinenberg