Third place
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The third place (also known as third space) is a term used in the concept of community building to refer to social surroundings separate from the two usual social environments of home and the workplace. In his influential book The Great Good Place, Ray Oldenburg (1989, 1991) argues that third places are important for civil society, democracy, civic engagement, and establishing feelings of a sense of place.
Oldenburg calls one's "first place" the home and those that one lives with. The "second place" is the workplace — where people may actually spend most of their time. Third places, then, are "anchors" of community life and facilitate and foster broader, more creative interaction. All societies already have informal meeting places; what is new in modern times is the intentionality of seeking them out as vital to current societal needs. Oldenburg suggests the following hallmarks of a true "third place":
- Free or inexpensive
- Food and drink, while not essential, are important
- Highly accessible: proximate for many (walking distance)
- Involve regulars – those who habitually congregate there
- Welcoming and comfortable
- Both new friends and old should be found there.
Robert Putnam addressed issues related to third place in Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital (1995, 2000).
See also
- Urban sociology
- Community building
- Fiscal localism
- Urban planning
- Public space (urban design)
- Public house (pub)
- General store
- Coffeehouse
- Coffeehouse (event)
- Social center (activism)
- Robert Putnam, author, Bowling Alone
- Ray Oldenburg, author, The Great Good Place
