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For various reasons, I\u2019ve been thinking more about local issues than national politics these days \u2014 not so much because I think things are going swimmingly at the national level as because there is at least some degree to which it\u2019s possible to make a difference at the local level.\u00a0 And I\u2019ve been noticing that our local library has been sponsoring more community events lately \u2014 not just children\u2019s chess club but a board game night for adults, a trivia night at a local bar, and so on.\u00a0 And that had me thinking about \u201cthird places\u201d and, lo and behold, not even two weeks ago there was an article at Governing.com on the topic, \u201cAre Libraries the New \u2018Third Places\u2019 We\u2019re Looking For?<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n But allow me to back up first.<\/p>\n The label \u201cthird place\u201d was introduced in a 1989 book, The Great Good Place: Caf\u00e9s, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community<\/em><\/a> by Ray Oldenburg, which was subsequently republished in 1999, and I think it was the 1999 version I must have read because I\u2019m a bit too young for the 1989 one.\u00a0 (It is a bit ironic that, however much my local library is trying to create a \u201cthird place,\u201d neither the original book nor its reprinted versions are available in the library, having been removed for failure to be checked out often enough.)<\/p>\n And what is<\/em> a third place?\u00a0 Simply put, it\u2019s not home, and it\u2019s not work.\u00a0 Here\u2019s a three-sentence summary from Wikipedia<\/a>:<\/p>\n In sociology, the\u00a0third place<\/b>\u00a0refers to the social surroundings that are separate from the two usual social environments of\u00a0home<\/a>\u00a0(\u201cfirst place\u201d) and the\u00a0workplace<\/a>\u00a0(\u201csecond place\u201d). Examples of third places include\u00a0churches<\/a>,\u00a0cafes<\/a>,\u00a0bars<\/a>,\u00a0clubs<\/a>,\u00a0libraries<\/a>,\u00a0gyms<\/a>,\u00a0bookstores<\/a>,\u00a0hackerspaces<\/a>,\u00a0stoops<\/a>,\u00a0parks<\/a>, and\u00a0theaters<\/a>, among others. In his book\u00a0The Great Good Place<\/a><\/i>\u00a0(1989),\u00a0Ray Oldenburg<\/a>\u00a0argues that third places are important for\u00a0democracy<\/a>,\u00a0civic engagement<\/a>, and a\u00a0sense of place<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And here\u2019s the list of seven ideal characteristics of a third place:<\/p>\n Open and inviting.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/dt>\n You don\u2019t need an invitation or appointment, and you can come and go as you please.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/dd>\n Comfortable and informal.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/dt>\n You feel that you belong there.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/dd>\n Convenient.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/dt>\n It\u2019s close enough to visit often, ideally right in your own neighborhood.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/dd>\n Unpretentious.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/dt>\n Everyone is on the same level, there\u2019s nothing fancy or fragile, and it\u2019s not expensive.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/dd>\n There are regulars.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/dt>\n And often there\u2019s a host who greets people as they arrive.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/dd>\n Conversation is the main activity.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/dt>\n Discussion, debate, and gossip are part of the mix.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/dd>\n Laughter is frequent.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/dt>\n The mood is light-hearted and playful. Joking and witty banter are encouraged.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/dd>\n So I started doing a mental inventory of \u201cthird places.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s not typical of suburbia, but there are bars and coffee shops within walking distance from my home, but these aren\u2019t the sort of places that draw a crowd of \u201cregulars,\u201d let alone regulars who interact with each other rather than each group just talking to whoever they came in with.\u00a0 There are some places that are more old-timey, with names like Eddy\u2019s and Jimmy D\u2019s, though they seem to be a dying breed, but maybe these remain \u201ceverybody knows your name\u201d types of places.\u00a0 In other parts of town, there might be a restaurant at a strip mall that is within walking distance and decently accessible from the closest neighborhoods (though many others are unfortunately separated by major arteries without sidewalks) but I don\u2019t have a sense of people seeing these as a \u201cpart of the neighborhood.\u201d\u00a0 Many years ago there was a locally-owned coffeehouse (think \u201cCentral Perk\u201d with sandwiches) which had board games available to pick up and play, and my husband and I used to go there, back before we had kids \u2014 but then they closed down (I think they couldn\u2019t compete with the chains), and, in any case, I don\u2019t recall any sense that you could realistically turn to whoever was also there and say, \u201chey, do you want to join us?\u201d<\/p>\n So I don\u2019t know.\u00a0 Can a \u201cthird place\u201d be re-created?\u00a0 It would seem to me it would have to be more intentional \u2014 not just a Trivia Night when everyone plays individually but an organized Euchre night where an organizer assigns people to teams with others they don\u2019t know, or similar impromptu teams, and it would have to be oriented around the neighborhood rather than at a restaurant that pulls from a wide radius.\u00a0 But then, to be perfectly honest, I ask myself, if there were, within walking distance, a hang-out spot, would I even hang out there myself, or would I be too much of an introvert, and feel, in the end, that it\u2019s too much of a hassle, that I don\u2019t have enough in common with these people or can\u2019t make small talk sufficiently well to enjoy myself rather than thinking about what I could be doing at home?\u00a0 Or am I more attracted by the idea of it?\u00a0 And were \u201cthird place frequenters\u201d a small part of society in the first place, anyway?<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n For various reasons, I\u2019ve been thinking more about local issues than national politics these days \u2014 not so much because I think things are going swimmingly at the national level as because there is at least some degree to which it\u2019s possible to make a difference at the local level.\u00a0 And I\u2019ve been noticing that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":2704,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[111,1535,664,203],"class_list":["post-19055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-suburbs","tag-third-place","tag-urban-development","tag-urban-planning"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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