Special Edition Weekly Spark #53: Find Your Third Space by Brendan Wewer
An actionable message of reflection to start your week
To explore public spaces is to understand that something unlikely will occur; to face uncertainty is to embrace the spontaneous moments in life. There is strength in that. Some of the more inspiring types of public spaces include town squares (Church Street in Burlington, Vermont), big, leafy parks (Central Park in New York City), and European-style piazzas (Markt in Bruges, Belgium).
Church Street in Burlington, Vermont
Public spaces are a shared resource that provide opportunities for unstructured time. Unstructured time spent in public spaces allows us to choose our level of sociability: sit on a park bench alone and embrace your surroundings, venture to the thrift store and chat with the owner about new items, or invite your friends to the local bar to play pool or card games. The restorative quality to unstructured time is that you don’t need to worry about what comes next.
The extended isolation from Covid-19 paired with our increasing use of mobile technology has constructed a lonely and dangerous “two-space” mindset for many adults – the only two spaces many frequent are 1) the home and 2) the workplace. Many adults lack a third physical location to frequent and enjoy a sense of belonging and comfort. A February 2021 report by Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education suggests that 36% of all Americans feel “serious loneliness”, a significant uptick since the outbreak of the pandemic. To combat loneliness, each of us can actively participate in public life and find a Third Space to frequent. A Third Space is a physical, informal gathering place separate from the two usual environments of the home ("first space") and the workplace ("second space").
Common types of Third Spaces include local parks, town squares/plazas, cafés, bars, salons and barbershops, record stores, outdoor concert venues and amphitheaters, weekend markets, community gardens, skate parks, libraries, theatres, museums, corner grocery stores, university hangout spots, and bookstores.
The opposite of Third Spaces? Name-brand/quick-service/chain stores that prioritize convenience, status, and profit maximization over human experience. Third Spaces create environments that level the playing field for people of all ages and socioeconomic classes; there isn’t a fee for admission or an overwhelming desire to purchase a product or service. Rather, Third Spaces provide group life, unstructured time, and opportunities for conversation or solus. Where Third Spaces are absent, we find that people live in the same vicinity for years without ever getting to know one another. Third Spaces are the anchors of community life that facilitate genuine, spontaneous interaction between humans.
Finding a Third Space to frequent outside of work and home can be difficult; life is full of responsibilities that limit our free time. Third Spaces are often located in more pedestrian- and bike-friendly areas. Third Spaces are not limited to cities; arguably there is a Third Space in every single town and borough across America (population greater than 5,000). Third Spaces can be truly public settings (parks, government owned land) or privately owned (local) establishments.
How can you recognize a Third Space?
A unique space
Patrons or regulars are welcoming and funny
Wide range of ages and/or diverse groups of people
Strangers can feel welcome with the option to be left unbothered
People are engaged – in conversation, relaxation, reading, people-watching
A cheap product or service is available; expensive transactions are not the objective
In our overwhelmingly digital world, find a physical space that you feel comfortable in, a space you can call your own, a space to enjoy unstructured time.
Find your Third Space.
Mental Diet
Book the Week: The Great Good Place by Ray Oldenburg
Quote of the Week:
"What suburbia cries for are the means for people to gather easily, inexpensively, regularly, and pleasurably - a ‘place on the corner,’ real life alternatives to television and technology.” -Ray Oldenburg (1996)
This week’s Weekly Spark was very special as it was written by a good friend, Brendan Wewer. As I enter the second year of writing, I would really like to include more people to create a more dynamic conversation. Brendan and I have shared a lot of deep conversations on the topics he wrote about today, and thought it would be beneficial to share on a larger scale. If you want to continue the conversation or get to know Brendan, our first guest author, you can reach him via email at bwewer2@gmail.com or on LinkedIn. Please share this Weekly Spark with a friend and encourage them to sign up. If you would like to contribute to The Weekly Spark or be featured as a guest writer, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. Let’s stay positive and make it a great week for everyone around us!
Nathan