Dying Alone: The Social Production of Urban Isolation
October 29, 2025Palaces for the people: How social infrastructure can help fight inequality, polarization, and the decline of civic life
October 29, 2025Research Article
Social infrastructure and the public life of cities: Studying urban sociality and public spaces
By Latham, A., & Layton, J.
Full Citation
Latham, A., & Layton, J. (2019). Social infrastructure and the public life of cities: Studying urban sociality and public spaces. Geography Compass, 13(7), e12444.
Key Findings
Drawing on the arguments of the sociologist Eric Klinenberg, this article develops the concept of “social infrastructure” as a way to research and value public spaces and their adjoining semi-private ones. An infrastructural approach to the topic of public space presents urbanists with productive tools for understanding and improving the public life of cities.