What is a "third place"? Where is yours? According to a 1990 book (and CoolTown Studios) the third place exists in the realm between home and work. It is a hangout--the "living room" of the community. They are the glue that helps form a coherent and vivid sense of place, and their design plays a key role in fomenting this. Images of them are often what immediately come to mind when trying to describe a place. Third places exist in the form of public plazas, neighborhood landmarks, sports venues, libraries, coffeeshops, supermarkets, and bars:
The UK has long had the concept of the third place down pat. While staying with a friend in the small town of Streatley-Goring in England, I'd usually find him at "The Bull", a small pub across the street (literally). There he was, laughing it up with his good friends or playing a game of darts amid philosophic discussion. This was available to him whenever he felt like walking 50 yards. In fact, during my stay there it was available to me as well, as they made me feel right at home. Now that's what a third place is all about.
A survey of "third places" in Pittsburgh demonstrates the kinds of roles these spaces fill:
"It fills a social void."
"I get all my information here."
"After 15 days on the road, no way I want to go home. I want to see who's here."
"It's like a magnet. You want this group to be part of your life, so you change your schedule if you have to so you can be here."
"We talk about everything."
"It's the neighborhood's living room."
"This is almost a place to go home to."
"Whenever I walk through the door, I feel a quiet elation. Here tonight, I feel my well of enthusiasm being refilled."
CoolTown Studios has a wealth of articles relating to third places, all worth checking out. Here is an article on why Ireland's pubs constitute a key set of third places.
The prototypical college town often becomes the regional version of a third place, no? No wonder they are centers of growth. (Below: downtown Athens, GA.)
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