This is 99% invisible. I'm Roman Mars.

Sometimes when I'm driving or walking around the Bay Area, I'm astounded by every park I see in a place where each parcel of land could be worth

millions of dollars there are these shared green spaces that are at least

theoretically meant for everyone.

I feel the same about libraries.

They're like miracles.

Take a kid to a library for the first time and you'll see.

It is a temple dedicated to the concept of sharing.

You know, books, sure, but also just sharing space.

Eric Kleenberg is a sociologist and best-selling author who makes a convincing case that a healthy community is not simply held together by shared values

but by shared spaces

physical real-world locations were people across all strata and ages and races and creeds

bump into each other and form connections.

He also makes a convincing case that we are neglecting our shared spaces, what he calls our social infrastructure.

And this is a shame because our social infrastructure could help solve or at least mitigate

some of our most pressing challenges like isolation,

polarization, education, crime, and even climate change.

He lays out his manifesto in a great book he wrote called Palaces for the People.

I think it's just brilliant, so I asked him to chat with me.

My name is Eric Kleinenberg.

I'm a professor of sociology at New York University and I'm also the

author of a book called Palaces for the People, how social infrastructure can help fight inequality, polarization, and the decline of civic life.

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