There is no doubt in my mind that these communal spaces are necessary. One of the missing 'third places' is the piazzas or plazas of Italy, Spain and Greece. Everyone living in a town in one of these countries, passes through a piazza at some point during the day. Around the perimeter of the piazza there will be some bars and restaurants. It's one of the great advantages of living in the warmer areas of Europe. And one of the great tragedies in the US that piazzas aren't prioritized. And that US liquor laws got all weird so that serving alcohol near a child would somehow lead to peridition instead of a healthy respect for not getting wasted.
And now, I'm off to our local bar to meet some friends.... it is the aperitivo hour.
This is a really interesting topic Jason, thanks for writing about it - I'd never heard of that book either. I think it's always evolving, a writer I follow on here spoke about fourth places as "communities for meaning-making", which I really liked. She's been running a type of fourth space 'community' and talks about it here
Thanks for reading Joseph! Yeah for sure, I was contemplating exploring the idea of the 4th space in this piece but felt like it had to be a stand alone piece. That said Patricia's thoughts are excellent and I mostly agree.
Is there a place you frequent that closely resembles a third place?
I don't think I have any one place that has all the characteristics of a third place to be honest!
But I think I get aspects from different places, perhaps not as intentionally as I'd like. I get a bit of energy and competition from 5 aside football every week. I go to a Toastmasters club and that provides a nice community where we challenge and support each other's growth, no matter what level or skill someone's at. I used to run men's groups virtually and they were open to men for free and provided valuable non-judgemental spaces. How about you?
Toastmasters sounds so epic! What got you interested in it?
Yeah, I was in a virtual men's group before but it quickly died after a few months. Being in that group and a few others that have died did make me wonder whether online communities could ever last.
There is no doubt in my mind that these communal spaces are necessary. One of the missing 'third places' is the piazzas or plazas of Italy, Spain and Greece. Everyone living in a town in one of these countries, passes through a piazza at some point during the day. Around the perimeter of the piazza there will be some bars and restaurants. It's one of the great advantages of living in the warmer areas of Europe. And one of the great tragedies in the US that piazzas aren't prioritized. And that US liquor laws got all weird so that serving alcohol near a child would somehow lead to peridition instead of a healthy respect for not getting wasted.
And now, I'm off to our local bar to meet some friends.... it is the aperitivo hour.
Ahh yes, europeans sure do know how to enjoy life.
Apertivo hour sounds excellent! Enjoy!
This is a really interesting topic Jason, thanks for writing about it - I'd never heard of that book either. I think it's always evolving, a writer I follow on here spoke about fourth places as "communities for meaning-making", which I really liked. She's been running a type of fourth space 'community' and talks about it here
https://www.wellnesswisdom.xyz/p/introducing-the-fourth-place-and
Thanks for reading Joseph! Yeah for sure, I was contemplating exploring the idea of the 4th space in this piece but felt like it had to be a stand alone piece. That said Patricia's thoughts are excellent and I mostly agree.
Is there a place you frequent that closely resembles a third place?
I don't think I have any one place that has all the characteristics of a third place to be honest!
But I think I get aspects from different places, perhaps not as intentionally as I'd like. I get a bit of energy and competition from 5 aside football every week. I go to a Toastmasters club and that provides a nice community where we challenge and support each other's growth, no matter what level or skill someone's at. I used to run men's groups virtually and they were open to men for free and provided valuable non-judgemental spaces. How about you?
Toastmasters sounds so epic! What got you interested in it?
Yeah, I was in a virtual men's group before but it quickly died after a few months. Being in that group and a few others that have died did make me wonder whether online communities could ever last.