Why public spaces are our best hope for community and democracy

As we head into the final stretch of the election season, Americans are more polarized than ever. The ongoing pandemic and deep disagreements about economic and social issues have taken a toll on our country’s well-being and mental health. A recent poll highlighted one worrying area of agreement: Americans’ doubts about the future of democracy. 

It’s no wonder that trust between people and the government continues to decline. This harms our ability to work together and solve the pressing issues facing our country.

Several longstanding trends exacerbated our pandemic woes. We increasingly live our lives in private, residing in neighborhoods where people look like us, have similar incomes and believe the same things. Interactions with people who think differently than we do are declining. The increasing use of technology results in fewer human interactions, with millions of us experiencing an unprecedented level of isolation. 

The shrinking number of opportunities to interact with people who look and think differently from us is undermining our ability to empathize and trust one another, and these trends are a threat to the future of democracy. While increasing trust, cooperation and communication across differences requires fixes at every level of society, we believe civic infrastructure is a key piece of the puzzle.

Civic infrastructure — high-quality parks, libraries, community centers, and trails where everyone is welcome — provides the potential for people to connect across divisions of race, income and beliefs. These are places of gathering, belonging to everyone. For the most part, we haven’t invested in them for decades.

However, things are changing. At the national level, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Our Common Purpose Report called for building a Trust for Civic Infrastructure. Local communities across the country are also beginning to bring diverse people into public space in ways that will help build a vibrant, diverse democracy for generations to come.

Memphis bridges divides: Research by Harvard economist Edward Glaeser has found that “time spent face-to-face with people from different racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds engenders more trust, generosity and cooperation than any other sort of interaction,” while recent research from Opportunity Insights has shown that cross-class friendships bring all sorts of individual benefits, including increased economic mobility. Well-designed, managed and programmed public spaces can foster these connections and shared experiences to achieve “socioeconomic mixing,” the practice of intentionally fostering interactions across differences in income, race, belief and geography. When organizations in Memphis, Tenn., transformed an underused park into River Garden in 2018, they intentionally worked to attract diverse visitors with events, activities and staff that made the space welcoming and equitable — increasing visitors by 267 percent and welcoming people from over 40 different zip codes. This same model is being used to inform the city’s current renovation of Cossitt Library and the $61 million transformation of Tom Lee Park.

Akron builds trust: In cities, suburbs and small towns, Americans who live near public spaces like parks and libraries are happier with their neighborhoods and more trusting of others. Studies show that public spaces with good maintenance (clean, in good repair and with up-to-date equipment) have the potential to boost trust, promote feelings of safety and encourage community stewardship. In Akron, Ohio’s Summit Lake neighborhood, the co-creation of public space built trust in a previously disinvested community. Local residents worked together to create a gathering space with grills and porch swings at the water’s edge and a nature center with fishing and environmental programs, both of which became permanent. As this work has continued, Akron has decided to invest citywide, making a historic investment in parks and recreation, with a continued focus on building resiliency and trust in long-disinvested neighborhoods.

Kansas City brings people together: Across the country, communities are working to turn previously vacant lots into shared public spaces, leading to increased levels of civic engagement and improved health and safety in historically underinvested communities. Community-based investment projects have been linked to decreased rates of depression and gun violence. In Kansas City, Mo., community leaders came together to redevelop an abandoned railroad into a community green space and local orchard. That initial investment in the community led to the creation of a national network of civic leaders and community orchards, known as the Giving Grove. With 380 gardens in 10 cities, the Giving Grove inspires communities across the country to invest in public spaces and community gardens as a way to build civic power.

For too long, civic infrastructure that builds trust and connection among Americans has been considered “nice to have” rather than a necessary and vital investment. If we want national unity, we should prioritize places that bring us together and create common ground, like the civic infrastructure that will bolster a stronger democratic society.

Hollie Russon Gilman, Ph.D., is a senior fellow at New America’s Political Reform Program, an affiliate fellow at Harvard’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation and the co-author of “Civic Power: Rebuilding American Democracy in an Era of Inequality.”  Bridget Marquis is the director of the Reimagining the Civic Commons Learning Network, which is dedicated to demonstrating that transformative public spaces can connect people of all backgrounds, cultivate trust and create more resilient communities.