The Most Influential Infrastructure You've Never Heard Of

At PointNorth, we’re certainly familiar with physical infrastructure (hello, IBR project!) But recently, I was recommended a book about a completely different kind of infrastructure – and it changed the way I see both the world around us, and the work we do at PointNorth.

The book was called Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life, by Eric Klinenberg, and the concept of social infrastructure put words to something I’d thought a lot about, but hadn’t been able to articulate yet.

What is social infrastructure?

Klinenberg describes social infrastructure as the physical spaces, organizations, and systems that shape how people interact, build trust, and create resilient communities. This includes libraries, parks, community centers, and gathering spaces, but also less tangible structures like neighborhood networks and trusted institutions that help communities thrive.

The premise is simple but powerful — when we invest in places and systems that bring people together, we strengthen our capacity to solve problems, weather crises, and build belonging. When we neglect them, isolation, mistrust, and division grow.

Interesting – and so relevant to all of our work at PointNorth! We often see firsthand how physical spaces and strong networks create the conditions for trust and collaboration. Plus, we’ve all benefitted from our own workplace at PointNorth, the relationships, shared rituals or traditions and the design of our environments and how it shapes how we connect, collaborate and do our best work together.

Here are a few takeaways I had from the book:

• Social infrastructure is as vital as physical infrastructure.

  We know this! Libraries aren’t just for books – they’re essential hubs for connection and access to services. Parks and green spaces invite people from all walks of life to gather and build civic life.
  

• Strong social infrastructure reduces inequality and increases resilience.

  When we are connected to our communities and our neighbors, communities are better able to recover faster. Key examples from the book include the 1995 Chicago heat wave, where neighborhoods with active street life, community spaces, and connected residents had significantly lower mortality rates than similar neighborhoods without them.

• Social infrastructure thrives through both public and private investment.

  Healthy communities depend on a mix of publicly funded spaces — like libraries, parks, and schools — and privately supported places such as coffee shops, bookstores, and even well-designed residential common areas. The most resilient neighborhoods have a rich blend of both, creating multiple ways for people to connect. But when public infrastructure is underfunded, access and equity can suffer, leaving connection points only for those who can afford them.

So my question to you this month is, what social infrastructure do you have built into your organization and community? And how might you strengthen it, and be more intentional about it? 

Not sure where to start? We’d love to help. Find out more about how we help values-centered organizations build strong communities here.