The Revson Foundation is proud to support the publication of Eric Klinenberg’s new book, Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life. 

THE NEW YORK TIMES— September 14, 2018 — In “Palaces for the People,” Eric Klinenberg offers a new perspective on what people and places have to do with each other, by looking at the social side of our physical spaces. He is not the first to use the term “social infrastructure,” but he gives it a new and useful definition as “the physical conditions that determine whether social capital develops,” whether, that is, human connection and relationships are fostered. Then he presents examples intended to prove that social infrastructure represents the key to safety and prosperity in 21st-century urban America.

Read the full article here.

THE BRIAN LEHRER SHOW—  September 11, 2018 — Eric Klinenberg, professor of sociology and director of the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University and the author of Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life (Crown, 2018), argues that the future of democracy lies in shared spaces, like libraries and parks.

Listen to the interview here.

THE TAKEAWAY—  September 12, 2018 — Last week our host Tanzina Vega put out a call out on Twitter for people to name a beloved local haunt that’s shut down

Take the Seward Park Library in Manhattan’s Lower East Side for instance, where, on any given day, the three story building brims with people of all ages browsing for books, playing games, doing research, taking classes and more.

The Seward Park Library is one of the places sociologist and author Eric Klinenberg examines in his new book called, “Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life.”

Klinenberg makes the case that not only do these types of social infrastructure — libraries, schools, community gardens, parks and churches — improve our quality of life, they can also be an essential and creative way of attacking some of society’s most pressing issues, from the opioid epidemic to climate change.

Listen to the interview here.

To read more about Palaces for the People, see below:

Slate: The Secret Life of Libraries

The New York Times: 7 New Books We Recommend This Week

The Guardian- Palaces for the people: why libraries are more than just books