Re-Engaging the Social Potential of the Public Realm of Our Cities

Questions regarding place, the individual, and community in 21st century cities are encouraging new research as a result of the transformation of daily life around a barrage of data, entertainment, hyper communication, instant consumer satisfaction and more all constantly available at our side in our pocket or bag we carry.We compulsively interact with this barrage, directing our attention that previously, before the advent of the smartphone, may have meandered more in response to sensory stimuli from our environmental context or periodic shifts inward into a reflective state.When we allow our attention to be grabbed and held by this barrage, is one of the repercussions the diminishment of the importance of actual places we occupy together and pass through in our daily lives or come together in on special occasions?More specifically, are the cities of our nations doomed to be relicts of a former social condition, to be toured with curiosity rather than lived in and animated with intense, vital human energy?I posit here that cities will not only endure but will play a key role in helping us rebalance ourselves and our patterns of daily life as we seek meaning, beauty, camaraderie, connection, purpose.