Upcoming SwatTalks
SwatTalk: Consider the Sidewalk
Public infrastructure is essential to our communities, yet easily overlooked. Just consider the sidewalk: always taken for granted, yet intrinsically linked to nearly every pressing issue of local governance in urban, suburban, and rural areas alike. From commerce, taxes, and property rights to policing, homelessness, and surveillance — and from free speech and socioeconomic equity to public health and climate resilience sidewalks are, surprisingly, at the core of many major debates.
Please join Michael as he speaks with Keith Benjamin ’09, former associate administrator of the Federal Highway Administration at the U.S. Department of Transportation, about this humble yet vital facet of our lives and politics.
Michael Pollack ’08, a professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo Law School, explores all this and more in his new book, Sidewalk Nation: The Life and Law of America’s Most Overlooked Resource. Offering a holistic vision for improving local infrastructure, Michael argues for reforms that ensure local governments have both the obligation and the funding to give sidewalks the attention they deserve.
Watch Recordings of Past SwatTalks
- Explore the full catalog of recorded SwatTalks.
- Watch recordings from the 2020–21 Racial Justice SwatTalks series.
- Looking for something shorter? Check out SwatTalk Shorts.
Accommodations & Questions
If you require accommodations to participate in this webinar, please contact alumni@swarthmore.edu at least 24 hours in advance for assistance.
If webinars are permitted to be recorded, they will be made available on the SwatTalks recordings page at a later time.
If you have any technical difficulties with Zoom, please contact help@swarthmore.edu.
Speaker Recommendations
To suggest a future panelist, please email swattalk@swarthmore.edu.
