Rethinking Third Places: Informal Public Spaces and Community Building

By: Caryl Bosman and Joanne Dolley

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Synopsis: The demise of community as a social construct is re-examined in this book using the lens of Ray Oldenburg’s concept of third place to view contemporary issues of alienation, loss, safety, mobility and sense of place. Third places are the spaces where we interact with people and society outside of home and work, and are vital in creating a sense of place and community. As an essential component of urban life, there is a need to understand the importance of third places and how they can be incorporated into urban design to offer places of interaction, promoting togetherness in an urbanised world of mobility and rapid change. Presenting the latest research on the evolution of third place thinking, this book explores new conceptual approaches and new ideas about what constitutes a third place: public transport, online places, music archives, sidewalks and community gardens. Rethinking the concept of third places from virtual and geographical perspectives, this book will prove an insightful read for researchers and planners in the fields of sociology and urban planning as well as urban, social and cultural geography.