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Digital place making - strengthening social fabric connecting people, places and spaces
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2024-05-23
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Abstract
Using ‘digital place making’ as the conceptual framework, I propose that digital space can
strengthen social connections as a digital social infrastructure. With a conceptual discussion on
space, place and people interacting within them as well as a review of existing evidence, I offer
three policy insights on digital place making as below:
First, digital place as a social infrastructure can act as a bridge between different physical spaces
improving inclusivity and strengthening the social fabric tying together diverse groups within
communities. For example, community apps such as NextDoor help to facilitate interactions in
physical spaces. Policies on digital social infrastructure building should focus on its constructive
role in creating bridges between physical spaces instead of substituting digital for physical space.
Secondly, for digital infrastructure to be a social infrastructure to strengthen social cohesion,
it should bridge people within the spaces. The increasing salience of digitalisation has created
problems of exclusivity. Rural communities or older people, for example, may be less likely to
find digital social infrastructure accessible. Policymakers should tackle the ‘digital divide’ that
makes some community members less able to access digital tools and services to utilise digital
social infrastructure to strengthen communities and places. Lastly, policymaking on digital
social infrastructure needs to consider how to bridge different levels of resources for a shared
goal and learning. National level of policy strategy can focus on combining evidence and good
practice at local level with provision of appropriate resources such as guidance, toolkit and
platforms for knowledge sharing.
Citation
Godwin, E.S. (2024) Digital place making - strengthening social fabric connecting people, places and spaces, in Social and cultural infrastructure for people and policy: discussion papers. London: The British Academy, pp. 120-130.
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en
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This is a chapter from a research report: Social and cultural infrastructure for people and policy: discussion papers published by The British Academy under a Creative Commons licence. The full report can be accessed on the British Academy website: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/publications/social-and-cultural-infrastructure-for-people-and-policy-discussion-papers/