One of the many pet principles in the urbanist sphere is “Third Places.” Originally defined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg, Third Places are the spaces we spend time in outside of work and home.
Third Places are critical to the success of urban communities. They are the physical spaces where we interact with friends, strangers, and acquaintances. Communities need common spaces in order to build common ground with one another.
Effective construction of third places in our towns makes them more enjoyable, tolerant, and liveable places.
For much of history, the greatest provider of third places has been religious institutions. Places of worship existed to provide space for congregation and the resources for a religious community to grow.
I recently came across this article from Congress for the New Urbanism (A great urbanism NGO for anyone unfamiliar) highlighting a purpose-built church community in Pike Road, Alabama.
In an era of long-declining church attendance, Century Church of Pike Road is taking a uniquely focused community approach to their new church campus.
The multi-purpose church plan includes individual buildings for early childhood care, community theater, culinary instruction, and a YMCA. By concentrating a variety of uses in one central church campus, Century hopes to encourage people to use the space all week long, rather than only during weekend services.
Unlike other church expansion projects, Century’s masterplan takes an incremental strategy to the development. By developing new spaces one at a time, the church can start construction faster, allowing people to use the space earlier.
Local governments can take a page from this book— downtown or neighborhood revitalization projects can repurpose underused urban spaces one at a time, allowing new economic activity to bloom consequently with real estate development.
Similarly, municipalities can encourage diversification of uses in main street districts to attract people all week long, rather than specific days or business hours, keeping neighborhoods vibrant and lively.
Century Church, through its multi-use buildings and flexible development pattern, has designed a Third Place than can be appreciated by a wide spectrum of the Pike Road community and will evolve in use and depth over time.
Third Places connect us to our city communities. In a time of increasing loneliness, we need Third Places to form those lasting relationships with our neighbors. Incremental design and diverse development ensures that Third Spaces in our towns are both well-used and economically feasible.