I loved this recent video from Vox on the decline of shopping malls and what that means for third places in our country. Between 1970 and 2017 the number of malls quadrupled, but as bricks-and-mortar retail growth has slowed, it's expected that 25 percent of malls that are still open could be closed by 2022. What does that mean for us?  

Human beings have an innate need for face-to-face contact and social interaction and often we find that in what are called third places (the other two places: home and work). With malls on the decline people are seeking out those good third places and we can in part fill that void. 

8 Qualities of a Good Third Place

 

Parks can often be this place. I think about Yard Park in my city of Washington,  D.C., a vibrant mix of open spaces, restaurants and activities that make you want to linger. Campus Martius in Detroit (cited in the video), Bryant Park and Millennium Park in Chicago are all some of the most iconic third places in America. But, you say, these are all expensive heavily programmed parks with the resources and the staffing to make them what they are. A park doesn't need a skating rink to be a third place, it doesn't need a Business Improvement district to manage its operations, it just needs people.

 

So where are the places in your community that could be a third place with a little love and affection? Where are the places in your community that don't have a third place and really need one? What tools do you need to create third places? Maybe we can try something new, say yes to a group who wants to help us program, bring in that farmers market, have those food trucks pull into your park. With a little imagination and sense of adventure we can help provide that space, or those spaces where on a beautiful spring day like today we gravitate to celebrate life's small things, because we just can't and shouldn't be alone.