#122: Coronavirus vs. the Urban Commons
One thing we\u2019re thinking about at the Scholar as we\u2019re all shut away, working from home, is how much we depend\u2014emotionally and logistically\u2014on contact with other people. As coming together in public parks, offices, arts hubs, and community spaces has become verboten in the age of social distancing, what will happen to the urban commons in cities? Amanda Huron, an associate professor of interdisciplinary social sciences at the University of the District of Columbia, was thinking about the urban commons long before we started longing for it. She joins us on the show for a conversation about what \u201cthe commons\u201d is and how we can protect it in the midst of a pandemic.
Go beyond the episode:
- Amanda Huron\u2019s Carving Out the Commons and her other research
- Read about the disappearance of our host\u2019s beloved punk rock houses
- \u201cOur Cities Are Designed for Loneliness,\u201d says Vice, while The Guardian asks, \u201cWhat\u2019s the world\u2019s loneliest city?\u201d
- There\u2019s even a Loneliness Lab working to fight the problem of alienation in cities
- In an earlier issue, we wondered whether coffeeshops encourage conversation or isolation
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