Try for Third Place

How “Third Spaces” help keep communities running

Photo from Pexels, by Pixabay

In sociology, a “Third Place” or “Third Space” refers to places outside of Home and one's Work or School. It's a place we can foster community and find friends and network. Plenty of these places exist – libraries, social clubs, local events, places like bookstores or maker-spaces, and more – yet they are often ignored or overlooked. But these places, places where communities build and strengthen ties, are necessary.

Today's age of social media, polarizing political climates, and division makes existing, well, lonely. It's isolating. You feel the world is against you, and words on a screen lack the nuance and emotional connection of in person conversations. People easily forget the humanity in each other. It's easy to feel like nobody sees, understands, or cares about you. And the best cure for that, I think, is going to places where you see each other as human, community, and find your similarities first.

And I'm not alone in this belief.

Photo from Pexels, by Viktoria Alipatova

Third Places as a term was coined in 1989, but the idea of them goes as far back as the 1800s and even before! Cafes, called 'penny universities', were hubs of local gossip and grand ideas alike. People from all walks of life could sit and talk about anything and everything, all over a common connection. That combination – human connection over shared experience, allowing in turn for the civil conversations and exchange of ideas – has been lost since the Covid-19 pandemic. Community gathering places were barred or shuttered, rightfully at the time, to try to stop the spread of death.

But now that we've (mostly) recovered – at least becoming 'the new flu' – means that the lack of those spaces is taking its toll on our society. Division and polarization are worse than ever. It gets harder and harder to see the person on the other side of a conversation – even ones where people mostly agree! Even smaller topics, like favorite dog breeds, I've seen spiral into chaos and contention.

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Third Places offer a calm, public space where we can connect. Where mutual interests can offer a place to see the humanity in each other, and even make new friends! Third Places ideally are cheap or free to access, and finding one in your area is easier than you'd think. Clubs, social outings and events, block parties, libraries, and local businesses are great areas to just mutually exist. Asking to be a running partner at the gym, asking for supply suggestions for projects at a local shop, or even just saying 'I'll try what they just ordered' at a coffee shop can provide openings to make new friends, and meet your neighbors, in a low-risk setting.

We need to reach out over common ground again. Shared activities, shared pastimes, even just shared food... They all lend a sense of calm and companionship to interactions. Seeing the human in each other is the balm our society needs, now more than ever. But it starts small. It starts local. And it starts with us.

Photo from Pexels, by Darrel Und