Rethinking Third Places: Informal Public Spaces and Community Building

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-space thinking, this book explores new conceptual approaches and new ideas about what constitutes a third place: public art locations, cyberspace, music archives, public transport 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. Contributors include: S. Alidoust, S. Baker, D. Beynon, C. Bosman, J. Cilliers, J. Dolley, S. Driessen, L.M. Farahani, S. Fullagar, G. Holden, L. Istvandity, D. Kim, K. Lloyd, W. O'Brien, D. O'Hare, C. Strong, D. Williams, S. Woolcock

Table of Contents:
Contents: Foreword by Ray Oldenburg 1. Rethinking Third Places and Community Building Caryl Bosman and Joanne Dolley 2. Feminist perspectives on third places Simone Fullagar, Wendy O’Brien and Kathy Lloyd 3. Planning for healthy ageing: How the use of third places contributes to the social health of older populations Sara Alidoust and Caryl Bosman 4. Child-friendly third places Geoff Woolcock 5. Planning for third places through evidence-based urban development Elizelle Juaneé Cilliers 6. Eyes on the Street: The role of ‘Third Places’ in improving perceived neighbourhood safety Gordon Holden 7. Understanding popular music heritage practice through the lens of ‘Third Place’ Lauren Istvandity, Sarah Baker, Jez Collins, Simone Driessen, and Catherine Strong 8. Third places and social capital – Case study community gardens Joanne Dolley 9. Third Places in the Ether Around Us: Layers on the Real World Dmitri Williams and Do Own Kim 10. Third place in transit: public transport as a third place of mobility Daniel O’Hare 11. Third places and their contribution to the street life Leila Mahmoudi Farahani and David Beynon   Index

About the Author :
Edited by Joanne Dolley, Cities Research Institute and Caryl Bosman, Griffith School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia

Review :
'This is a brilliant book for insight into the meaning and relevance of the informal public gathering places in modern societies. If you want to understand the spatiality of third places, and how and why we interact in informal public places, this edited book with 11 bright chapters is worthwhile for sure.' --Jens Troelsen, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark'The exponential growth of third places is symptomatic of a crisis of public space in our urban societies. What Rethinking Third Places reveals is that they are also places open to hope with the possible realization of the commons and the right to the city.' --Raphaël Besson, Villes Innovation, France and PACTE, Spain