Do Yourself a Favor and Go Find a ‘Third Place’

We’ve lost gradients of intimacy, a concept from architecture, the ability to loiter and meander through a space, engaging when we want in varying levels of expression. We don’t have any peripheral vision on the internet. We have to be in one place or the other. Simultaneously, we’re never really in any place—we can always blame connection issues a... See more

Oldenburg contends the most important “first place” in a community is the home. The places where we work are our “second place” since work is required and serious and “reduces the individual to a single productive role.” Our “third place” is composed of those informal, neutral, public social spaces we visit voluntarily—where “conversation is the pr

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The disappearance of third places—a social space separate from work and home—has exacerbated the problem. Youth culture has a rich history in cafes, clubs, libraries and parks. But many young people now feel priced out of physical experiences. The virtual world has become a vessel for creativity and self-expression, otherwise inaccessible in the ph... See more

While bars will likely remain easier places to meet someone new, the pandemic seems to have proved that diners are craving alternatives for a variety of reasons. Restaurants are becoming spaces that are more than just about feeding hungry diners. Some have transformed into spaces where people can potentially meet someone new and feel the rush of be... See more