third place

Any source of identity and community outside of the home (the “first place”) and workplace (the “second place”). Some examples of third places are pubs (in their European more than American instantiations), cafes, churches, libraries, social clubs, barbershops, etc. The term was coined by Ray Oldenburg in his sociological work The Great Good Place.

Robert Putnam in 2000 book Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital points out that third places are on the decline in the Unites States. A contributing factor may be Manufactured time scarcity, with people no longer having much time to spend outside of work and the home. I certainly feel this, especially after becoming a parent: work and childcare consume my every weekday hour, and on the weekends I’m not sure what options there are to just go and meet people. I envy churchgoers for this, but as a secular humanist I can’t spare the price of admission.

Loss of third places leads to a rise in far-right extremism

In France, tabacs are convenience stores that also serve as community hubs. This study analyzing the closure of 18,000 tabacs over twenty years compared with voting patterns found that the closure of these community hubs correlated strongly with a rise in the far-right vote, and the opening of tabacs with a decrease in the same. The effect was three times stronger in rural areas where the local tabac might be the only community hub in a town. The study suggests a mechanism: people deprived of a place to be sociable with their neighbors are more easily turned against them by politics of division and domination.

Further Reading

• “Do Yourself a Favor and Go Find a ‘Third Place’” in The Atlantic