Imagine if someone came up with the idea to build huge public buildings in every neighborhood, open every day, fully staffed, with free wifi and books for anyone regardless of age or social class to use and take home as well as  areas for communal discussion. According to Parker alumnus and sociologist Eric Klinenberg ‘89, the idea of a library without its modern-day title would be considered radical by everyone. This is the thought he posed to Parker parents and alumni midway through the Parker Parents Association’s Community Connects event on April 21.

As the attendees trickled into the evening Zoom event, they were joining not just a formal event, but a reunion of friends as well. Being a long-time member of the Parker community, Kleinenberg took part in swapping pandemic stories and reminiscing about high school experiences at Parker with the attendees, who ranged from old buddies to other well-known sociologist professors.

Parents Association (PA) Co-Chair and Parker parent Cat Adami ‘89 helped organize the event. According to Adami, this year’s PA members have had to “be very creative in finding more opportunities for engagement.” The potlucks and social get-togethers that they held in the past were no longer possible with the current social distancing guidelines.

“I think we’ve had great results because of these new events that we’ve offered,” Adami said in reference to the higher turnout of parents at Zoom events. Around 40 to 50 adults attended the most recent Community Connects Zoom centered around Kleinenberg’s most recent book, “Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life.” 

Moderated by Parker parent and Sociology Department Chair at DePaul University Tracy Ellison, the discussion covered a wide range of topics. In a time of extreme polarization in American society, “Palaces for the People” offers suggestions on how to move forward and rebuild through strengthening social infrastructure: the network of shared spaces to foster connection across and within different communities.

Many members noted the perfect timing of this event with the Biden Administration’s announcement of a $2 trillion infrastructure plan a month earlier. Discussion around Biden’s plan has caused many to expand their thinking about what counts as infrastructure. Kleinenberg’s “Palaces for the People” called for an even more expansive approach to not just improve roads and bridges, but more importantly to foster human interaction and participation in society. 

In recent interviews and in the Community Connect event, he also noted that American society hasn’t seen a push for public investment in infrastructure since FDR’s New Deal, which gave rise to much of the social infrastructure people now take for granted, such as libraries.

In previous talks at Parker, Kleinenberg has also addressed the role of equity within the realm of social infrastructure, particularly the segregation and privatization of space that comes with the existing system. In this most recent event, he again talked about those topics but with a timely twist. The forum of a Zoom meeting was the perfect context to mention the role that technology now plays in shaping society’s views on social life. While virtual meetings are efficient and make it easier for many to attend evening events, “there is a thickness and messiness that comes from the inefficient nature of social interaction,” he said. “Efficiency is detrimental to our social lives.”

While online communities such as Facebook encourage people to hang out in like-minded bubbles, social infrastructure helps bring together people with different viewpoints. As these conversations about the pros and cons of the new online lifestyle continued, the chat box came alive with parallel conversations. Parker Alum Matt Brown ‘89, a previous classmate of Kleinenbergs, touched on this point.

“In a community, we learn more from the people we don’t choose to be with than the people we choose to be with,” he wrote. “In a world where we’re so used to custom filtered choice of everything, how do we make people more willing to engage in un-intentional communities?”

Kleinenberg concluded the meeting with an overall sentiment that when it comes time to transition back to the pre-pandemic lifestyle, society shouldn’t resort to an all-virtual interface. “My sense is that we’re going to be anxious for a while about how to be together, but there’s an incredible longing for face to face, social interaction, and that’s not going to happen just naturally. We’re going to have to build places that make people feel comfortable.”