Palaces for the People

We are living in a time of deep divisions. 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. Pundits and politicians are calling for us to come together, to find common purpose. But how, exactly, can this be done?

In Palaces for the People, Eric Klinenberg suggests a way forward. 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. These are places where people gather and linger, making friends across group lines and strengthening the entire community. 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.

Speaker

Eric Klinenberg, Professor of Sociology, New York University

Respondents

Bruce Robbins, Old Dominion Foundation Professor in the Humanities, Columbia University

Shamus Khan, Professor of Sociology, Columbia University

Kate Orff, Associate Professor and Director, Urban Design Program, Columbia GSAPP

Free and open to the public. Sponsored by The Society of Fellows and Heyman Center for the Humanities; Public Books; Columbia University Libraries; Department of English and Comparative Language; Department of Sociology; The Urban Design Program; and the Center for Spatial Research.