Episode #23
A Public Space Isn’t Social Until Someone Makes the Invitation - Dr. Leigh Graham of the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation
Bringing diverse people together in a public space is important, but recent research indicates that proximity alone does not create new connections. In this episode of Closer, Dr. Leigh Graham, senior advisor for innovation research at the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University shares early insights from research and pilots in parks across the country. Dr. Graham has been working with Carol on exploring how public spaces can become engines of social interaction across race, class, age, and other differences. What transforms strangers sharing a space into people who actually engage with one another? And how can public-space leaders make that happen intentionally, affordably, and at scale? The conversation explores the power of simple prompts, welcoming gestures, and staff who see themselves as hosts. It also examines why weak ties matter, how practitioners can use research without becoming academics, and why creating social connection may require little more than giving people permission to say hello. Closer is a conversation hosted by Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace about the strategies that make cities more social, and why that is the smartest investment in the urban toolkit.
