For communities to thrive, residents need places where they can gather informally and without a set agenda, allowing them to interact and get to know each other in a relaxed and comfortable environment.
These types of spots aren’t always easy to come by. Their availability depends on the infrastructure available to the local populace.
They are called third places.
Coining the term in his 1999 book “The Great Good Place,” Ray Oldenburg explained that home and work or school constitute the first and second places people inhabit as part of their daily lives.
Third places, according to research by Jessica Finlay and her co-authors, “facilitate social interaction, community building, and social support. Public facilities and institutions, including libraries and parks, constitute third places; but so do [. . .] coffee shops and cafes, bars, beauty salons, barbershops, bowling alleys, gyms,” et cetera.
I’ve been encountering this idea a lot lately in my media diet and in conversations.
Perhaps this can be attributed to frequency illusion, or the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon.
According to Psychology Today, this is a cognitive bias where an idea or concept becomes “more salient because it has been recently observed.”
Or the idea is becoming more prevalent in societal discourse as the importance of in-person gathering instead of online connecting becomes clearer.
I first learned about third places during my doctoral studies, and, while discussing the upcoming Mastermind McPherson County public forum with McPherson County Community Foundation Director of Community Services Betsy Davis, the topic came up again.
Davis, who facilitates these talks with the aim of aligning the foundation’s grantmaking with community needs, said third places have been discussed frequently during the various meetings she has hosted throughout the county.
Interestingly, Davis said the desire for third places came from adults seeking locations where they can gather that aren’t bars.
Of course, having such space for our youth is important too, but I think it is fascinating that adults are seeking this, too.
I realize different towns have libraries, coffee shops and parks, which Moundridge has as well.
The problem is when these locations are available.
Most libraries and coffee shops close too early for working adults to utilize them as third places.
Parks aren’t always well-lit at night and are susceptible to the whims of the weather, so they aren’t as enticing a place to hang out, especially if the goal is to play cards or do some other sort of relaxing activity.
I’m sure numerous other ideas need to be addressed too.
We just need those ideas to become part of the public discourse.
Luckily, we all have the opportunity to do that.
The Moundridge Mastermind meeting was planned for 2 p.m. on Aug. 19 at the Moundridge Public Library.
I encourage everyone who can attend to do so.
Though I think third places should be kept in mind, there might be other issues that need to be addressed in our community.
Maybe affordable housing is a prime concern, as Davis said it is in other communities.
Maybe we need more retail businesses so we can shop locally for more of our necessities, while also giving people from other communities more reasons to spend the day in Moundridge and support our local economy.
Maybe it’s something else.
I don’t know what I don’t know.
I can only see things through my lived experiences, which is why contributing to public forums like the Mastermind meeting is so important for all of us.
For community connections to be built, there must be opportunities for residents to come together and dialogue about the future productively and positively.
