Out Of Place? Rebuilding Social Trust by Making Space for Everyone

Ryan Puzycki explores the decline in community engagement and social trust in America. This article highlights the lack of "third places" — public spaces like parks, libraries, or coffee shops — which has led to weaker social bonds and political discord. Puzycki argues that reviving social trust starts with local engagement: building more inclusive community spaces and changing our habits to reconnect with neighbors and friends. Creating more spaces for people through typical urbanist remedies is not enough. We need human connection.

If we want to see improvements on a national scale—less frustration, less fatigue, and less political discord—we must first focus on replenishing the bank of social capital in our everyday lives, by changing our habits. We will not be able to achieve anything resembling a national spirit if we are unable to find or create one in the neighborhoods and communities in which we live. National change doesn’t happen in a vacuum; it starts with what we build in our own neighborhoods and how we engage with the people around us.

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