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Does your community need a coffee shop and other Third Places?
January 14th, 2009
During an economic development planning meeting in 2004, several high school students claimed our community (Howard, SD) needed a coffee shop. That statement confounded most of the adults in attendance. “What do you mean? We’ve already got two,” a community leader retorted, referring to the town’s two small cafés.
Beyond the obvious differences between a coffee shop and a small town café, most of the adults in the room missed the point the students were making: Younger people enjoyed going to larger communities to hang out in coffee shops. If we wanted our community to be a place for their generation, we needed a coffee shop.
To my disappointment, the coffee shop idea didn’t make the final cut on our prioritized list of projects, deferring instead to more traditional “job creation” strategies. At the time, I thought a coffee shop would serve as an excellent “amenity”, making our community more attractive to both Gen Y and newcomers. I’ve since learned that there’s a lot more going on in coffee houses than coffee and conversation. And I have sociologist Ray Oldenburg to thank for this discovery.
Coffee Houses are “Third Places”
It has been two decades since Oldenburg invented the name “third places” in his influential book The Great Good Place to describe informal gathering places like cafés, pubs, bookstores, community centers and main streets.
To Oldenburg, third places carry out important community building functions that cannot be fulfilled by “first places” (our homes) and “second places” (our places of work). They become the places where people develop personal relationships and a sense of community. Without them, families are left to sit at home and watch television by themselves.
Oldenburg goes into great depth explaining the community building functions carried out by third places. We’ll talk about them more in later posts, but for now I’d like to focus on helping readers recognize third places in their own communities– not all cafés, pubs, bookstores and community centers meet the qualifications of third places.
Characteristics of Third Places
Third places come in many forms, but Oldenburg identifies eight characteristics that third places share:
- Neutral ground: People are free to come and go as they chose at third places: no time requirements, no obligations, no invitations needed. Much of our lives in first places (home) and second places (work) are structured and mandated. Not in third places.
- Is a Leveler: Since everyone is welcome and there are no requirements for membership, people from all walks of life gather in third places. In this environment, people have an opportunity to get to know each other outside the confines of their work; which in turn helps them value each other as individuals - regardless of their social or economic status.
- Conversation is the Main Activity: Oldenburg describes this perfectly when he writes; “Nothing more clearly indicates a third place than that the talk there is good; that it is lively, scintillating, colorful, and engaging” (The Great Good Place - p. 25) Games like chess, darts, and dominos are often present as well because they contribute to the playful conversations Oldenburg describes. And loud music, for obvious reasons, is never present.
- Assessable and accommodating: Third places tend to be conveniently located, often within walking distance of one’s home. They are also open long hours enabling people to come and go as they please. After all, if third places are difficult to get to, people won’t go there as often and they won’t find their regular friends there either.
- The Regulars: When one walks into a third place, he or she easily recognizes that many patrons are regulars at the establishment. These regulars are often the main attraction and give the place its characteristic mood. But unlike other places, newcomers are welcomed into the group. All that is required is regular attendance.
- A Low Profile: “As a physical structure, the third place is typically plain,” writes Oldenburg (p. 36). Hominess takes precedence over pretense.
- The Mood is Playful: With food, drink, games, and conversation present, it’s not surprising that the mood of third places is light and playful. This mood encourages people to stay longer and to come back repeatedly.
- A Home away from Home: At their core, third places are spaces where people feel at home. They feel like they belong there, and they have a sense of ownership in the place. Sometimes, Oldenburg warns, third places feel more like home than home.
Howard’s new Third Place
Last summer (2008), three entrepreneurial ladies opened a coffee shop in Howard called Higher Grounds. I’ve been watching it ever since and have concluded that it is developing into an outstanding third place. It really seems to be filling the need people have to experience a sense of community, which may explain why it’s a success.
So, what about your rural community? Do you have any good examples that you can share? I’d really like to create a list of unique third places. Hopefully, these examples can serve as an inspiration to residents in rural communities that currently lack strong third places.
Other resources on coffee shops and third places
- “A new third place enhances a walkable space“ – Greater Greater Washington
- “The Downtown Coffee House Business“ - Downtown Economics (U. of Wisconsin Extension)
- COFFEE SHOP - Research Project for Dr. Gaffney’s Urban Social Geography at UNC
Note: Photo courtesy of Elisa Sand of the Madison Daily Leader
Tags: amenities, coffee shop, Howard SD, Ray Oldenburg, sense of place, social capital, third places
Posted in Community Development, Gen Y, Quality of Life, Rural | Comments (7)