> [!tldr] Core Concept: > Facilities and systems serving citizens (housing, transport, education, health, culture, sports); which I believe can be digital; which enable civic life and fights inequality. # Definition --- > _Social infrastructure refers to facilities that serve the citizens within a city, including housing, public utilities, public transport, educational and health institutions, as well as cultural and sports facilities._ > - [Science Direct](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/social-infrastructure) ## Context --- I first encountered this term when I came across the pop-sociologist [Eric Klinenberg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Klinenberg). In his book, [Palaces for the People](https://www.ericklinenberg.com/books) he shows that social infrastructure can "…help fight inequality, polarization, and the decline of civic life." In a study that began with asking why particular neighbourhoods in Chicago experienced fewer fatalities during a heat-wave, he discovered that when there are places in communities that allow people to come together and naturally build community, a different kind of safety net emerged where people knew one another and checked on each other during this time of crisis. The previously inexplicable neighbourhoods who recorded fewer deaths during the heat wave were the ones with more libraries, community centres, etc.; Klinenberg refers to these kinds of spaces as the foundational systems that enable collective life. Importantly, however, many of these systems are now increasingly digital. I and many others, agree that digital infrastructure as it presently exists doesn't serve collective flourishing; moreover the internet favours extraction and has become increasingly hostile. In essays like [this one](https://henry.codes/writing/a-website-to-destroy-all-websites/) and with bold and passionate dreams for something better like the [Manifesto for a Humane Web](https://humanewebmanifesto.com) folks (largely in the dev and CS world) have started leading the way to a much brighter alternative. In the past couple of decades [the IndieWeb movement](https://indieweb.org/IndieWebCamps) has emerged to try to actively build spaces contrary to the present norm. --- ## Application --- Envisioning digital infrastructure that serves collective flourishing rather than extraction. What would it look like if our digital tools were designed like libraries, parks, and public transit—for everyone's benefit? ## Why It Matters --- Infrastructure shapes what's possible. ([[Systems are not neutral; every technical choice shapes what can be expressed.]])When infrastructure is privatized and extractive, it serves shareholders. When it's civic, it serves citizens. The same is true for digital systems. --- [[The Cognitive Conservatory]] is the vision I have for what this looks like at scale, digitally.