A concept originally coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg, a third place is a place separate from the home, your first place, and work or school, your second place. It is where you spend time in community, gather and foster relationships, and try new things. 

A place to just be. 

Some common examples include coffee shops, libraries, public parks, malls and community centers. 

Historically, these third places have been easy to come by. However, in today’s America, they are less and less commonplace. We seem to opt for individual and personalized experiences instead. 

Coffee shops allow you to mobile order, keeping social interaction to the bare minimum. Food delivery services allow you to forgo going somewhere completely. E-readers and cloud libraries make going to the library unnecessary. Online shopping makes malls and shopping centers feel outdated. Public parks and playgrounds have been replaced by the backyards of suburbia. Parents may see this as a safer option. 

We started bringing these services to us, rather than going to meet them. 

While none of these changes are inherently bad on their own, it is also important to acknowledge what we are giving up — our communities. 

The pandemic did not help the issue either, with many third places becoming unsafe for a period of time. 

Another key part of Oldenburg’s definition is that third places should have little to no barrier to entry. While gyms and restaurants can be great places to foster relationships and connection, membership costs and pricey meals can limit the demographics of people who can participate. 

To look at Dinkytown as an example, there are several inexpensive food options. However, not many of these places have ample seating for large numbers of people to stay and eat. Like many metropolitan neighborhoods, the grab-and-go restaurant style seems to be the most popular. 

Lingering is not an option. 

Nora Swingen, a third-year urban studies and sustainability studies student at the University of Minnesota, said she sees third places as something essential to physical and mental health. 

“I think our way of living is like no one ever takes a pause,” Swingen said. “And I think that’s just an unsustainable way of living. Third places are places where you can decompress from all that.” 

Swingen cited Van Cleve Park, a nearby campus park, as a third place she often enjoys. 

“I am obsessed with Van Cleve,” Swingen said. “That is always my example for perfect community engagement. They have a basketball court, and they host yoga classes every week that are free. They even have movies in the park. I go there all the time.” 

Swingen said routine-based third places are of great importance. 

“If you go somewhere multiple times a week, you start to see the same kind of people and build relationships,” Swingen said. “It’s good to have set times and dates as well.” 

The University quadball team (formerly quidditch) uses East River Flats Park weekly as their third place for both practices and community building, according to Anna Nelson, a fourth-year student and president of the group. Nelson spoke about how important this space is to the quadball team both practically and symbolically. 

“We have to have a certain amount of space to gather and play,” Nelson said. “The park is large enough so that we can have practices with a large number of people, and other groups can be there without any issue. On campus, our options are fairly limited for that.” 

Beyond logistics, Nelson said East River Flats Park has come to mean a lot more to the team than just an open space.

“I have a lot of fond college memories from being down at the flats and spending time there,” Nelson said. “I’ve met so many people and done so many things down there. It’s nice to be able to have that space to hold as a memory keepsake almost.” 

Not only does the space have an impact on the quadball community, but the community is able to impact the space too.

“We practice on the field all season long, and by the end, the ground is completely dilapidated,” Nelson said. “It’s interesting that we get to have an impact on the landscape too.” 

Nelson added that the team contributes to the East River Flats community, outside of their own, by utilizing that space. 

“There’s usually other people down there, and they will often stop and ask us what we are doing,” said Nelson. “It’s cool that we get to share our sport with them and chat for a second.” 

While loitering is typically frowned upon, it may be time that we change that narrative. Perhaps in the future, we should order and eat our food in person, we should browse amongst physical clothing racks instead of scrolling on a website and we should opt to spend time in outdoor areas that are publicly accessible. 

Simply put, let’s go to more places where we can all stay for a while.