Third places and neighborhood entrepreneurship (2024)

At least in the US, SBUX was the primary 3rd place until they decided to remove themselves in lieu of drivethru and mobile orders... And removing chairs and tables.

To be fair, a proper 3rd place really can't be a company proper, since there's always the pressure of 'buy or leave'.

Even malls aren't sufficient, since many of them are incredibly hostile to under-18. I instead look at public libraries as the gold standard here.

It makes much more sense for cities to run the actual 3rd place, and businesses rent around the 3rd place. That way, coffee shops, restaurants, and the like can comingle as can the people.

Outside the USA, we see more of that in various areas. But folks here would likely howl socialism with a 3rd place run by the city. One can wish for better community, but alas.

> folks here would likely howl socialism with a 3rd place run by the city.

It is not socialism, the problem is the lack of that.

My city does a good job of running a 3rd place as part of their library, it is right outside the library in a big seating area meant for phone calls & talking in general.

But they have 3 full-time security staff, the police station is across the street and the social case workers have an office in the same building.

Outside of a decent coffee, the place has everything for me to walk in with my kids in the summer and work while they roam the hallways as if it was their own, meeting other kids from the same school district. There's even a no-cars allowed trail connecting the place for kids to cycle safely to.

However, take away the constant enforcement by security + social case worker hovering, this falls apart because it'll have the etiquette of a subway car.

The homeless are there btw, but they tend to be non-disruptive and mostly there to get help with something (like a cancelled EBT card).