Corralling a chimera: a critical review of the term social infrastructure

Despite the growing recognition of social infrastructure’s pivotal role in fostering trust and cooperation, a precise definition remains elusive across various academic disciplines. This study addresses this lacuna by conducting a systematic review of approximately 150 articles published between 1960 and the present. The analysis, encompassing peer-reviewed journals, trade publications, corporate reports, and newspaper articles from diverse geographical contexts, reveals that references to social infrastructure primarily coalesce around five key domains: education, healthcare, housing, transportation, and, increasingly, networking spaces (both physical and virtual). A discernible shift in focus towards networking spaces underscores the escalating significance of infrastructure that facilitates trust-building and connection-enhancing processes. Employing these networking space approaches, we define social infrastructure as the virtual and real-world spaces that involve high stewardship and coproduction, cultivating trust, enhancing cooperation, and deepening social cohesion and social capital. This standardized definition of social infrastructure will bolster research endeavors and advance our understanding of how these facilities contribute to societal cohesion.