Social Infrastructure

Havens, Hubs & Hangouts: Shaping and sustaining social infrastructure

Sector

Philanthropy

Region

Global

Timespan

2022-2024

SESC Pompéia is a dynamic hub of cultural, social, civic, and recreational facilities, connected by a set of informal public spaces. Credit: Gehl

As the U.S. emerged from COVID-19 and reckoned with racial injustice, many calls to action centered the power of social infrastructure. RWJF engaged Gehl and a team of practitioners to learn from four cities — Belfast, Cape Town, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo — on sustaining quality social infrastructure.

We interact with different types of social infrastructure in our everyday lives, but what these places are is less important than what they do — which tend to fall into three types: havens, hangouts, and hubs. Credit: Gehl

In Belfast, Forth Meadow Community Greenway stitches together once-divided communities through open spaces along a 12 km route. Credit: Gehl

A framework to spur social infrastructure

Social infrastructure is the network of physical and social structures that build relationships and foster thriving communities. The degree of social infrastructure we each experience can help or hinder our access to community, our sense of belonging, and the opportunities a city offers.

Gehl, together with Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Reimagining the Civic Commons, and Washington Housing Conservancy conducted three learning exchanges to Belfast, Cape Town, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo to uncover what social infrastructure looks like in action.

Through site visits and interviews, Gehl developed a framework for supporting a complete social infrastructure network, with: havens (spaces to gather around shared identity); hubs (spaces to connect across different backgrounds); and hangouts (spaces to just be). The framework defines key moves and considerations to spur social infrastructure, highlighting the need for further funding, diverse programming, and cross-sector coordination.

Gehl’s findings reveal that social infrastructure is essential for the health and well-being of societies. When done right, it does more than building relationships alone, it advances economic opportunities, climate resilience, and social and racial justice within communities.