First, we need to know what a third space is. Think about where you and your friends spent the most time together as teenagers outside of school. Maybe you hung out at the mall, or an arcade, or someone’s house. Wherever it was, you didn’t have to pay to be there, and there was no time limit on how long you could hang out. As long as the space was open, it was open to the public, or at least, your friend group. That’s what constitutes a third space, and they’ve completely disappeared from society.
And teenagers aren’t the only group of people that need spaces to chill that don’t cost to be there. Those in their 20s also aren’t trying to spend money every time they leave their house, and even if older generations have the expendable income, that doesn’t mean they want to spend it. However, in this economy, offering completely open spaces with no chance for the owner to make money is also unreasonable. So here are a few ideas for what we can do.
Reach out to people that also want to create third spaces. If no one in your circle has the space for people to just hang out, it may be time to widen your circle and start networking. Everyone wants to save money, and there are people out there that do have connections to spaces, you just have to find them.
Approach it like a business deal. Maybe instead of paying to use a space, you find a way to barter services. People these days need help getting themselves out there particularly on social media. If you’re tech savvy or if you simply know how to use Instagram for example, offer to help someone post to their pages and help them tap in.
Bite the bullet and pay to use a space, then open it up to everyone. Technically, this is a third space for your guests and not for you, so it may be less appealing, but if you and a few friends can get together to secure a space and invite people free of charge, people might see how important third spaces are when they show up and have fun without spending money. This option treats creating third spaces like a job and may be a goal to work towards instead of doing things immediately, but it has potential to have a high return.
Third spaces are important to a healthy society, as they allow people to come together and just be without the pressure of capitalism looming over their shoulders. With more third spaces we could see an uptick in community building and camaraderie between people who might not know each other without that space. Third spaces are the backbone of strong community, and we must work together to bring them back.
