Our Community Spaces are Dying.
Our community spaces are dying. Who cares?
Where is a place that you can go and know that someone will know your name? Where can you go that you will see a familiar face? Where is somewhere that you can show up just as you are with nothing to hide?
Other than your home, and maybe your work, there may not be a place that fits this description. These spaces where we can go to feel seen and acknowledged fit within the Third Place Theory. The theory states that we spend our time in three main spaces. The first is our home. The second, our work, and the third is a community space where we share ideas and connect with others. This is the kind of space I am talking about, and is where our studio, Third Space Movement, got its name.
We can think of common Third Place examples from pop culture. Think of the coffee shop on the show Friends, or the local pub on shows like Cheers or even Ted Lasso. For many people in today's day and age, their third place has some sort of exercise or movement practice involved. Maybe it's a dance or martial arts studio, the local community center where you play soccer or volleyball, a gym or a yoga studio.
Third spaces are community spaces. They provide a place for people to hang out, have meaningful conversations, share stories, and be their authentic selves. They are a place where you can celebrate who you are, and what you accomplish. They are places you can go to share the news of your life. They have been described as “the living rooms of society”. We choose to spend time in third places. People of different socio-economic levels attend, the mood is playful, and laughter is often heard. They enrich the quality of life for many, and even provide safe spaces to those who may not experience safety in their other places.
Community spaces like this provide great benefit to the economy. Not only do they provide jobs for the local residents, but through providing space for people to move, play and connect, mental and physical wellness increases, preventing hospital and doctor visits. Being in community aids in cultivating more aware and self reflective humans, resulting in less violence and harm - meaning less stress on our police force. Third places strengthen our social networks, revive our neighborhoods and help us to reduce social problems. This reduces the cost of healthcare for the government. Maybe one day we will even see the benefits of this reflected in our taxes ;) The truth is, it doesn’t feel like our government cares, but I do. My community does. We often hear from our members how important our community space is to their quality of life.
In what ways have you noticed that our community spaces are dying? Maybe your favorite café no longer exists or spaces you once visited no longer feel familiar. There are many reasons contributing to this slow death, most resulting from a change in habits during the pandemic. Group fitness, gyms, restaurants, and more were vilified during the pandemic for being unsafe. With on and off closures, habits of attendance were lost. The financial repercussions of the closures, which lacked sufficient financial support from the government, are really now just starting to set in for small business owners. People have less disposable income so attendance is lower. People leave their houses less. Countless small businesses have closed over the past few years in Victoria alone, many of them were community spaces.
When I was young, the community center was where we went to be known, to connect to ourselves, and to others, to find greater health, and a sense of play. Where do you go for this now?
Many people have forgotten what it feels like to be in community. To be seen and heard. To feel valued by the people around you. For people to know your name, and to hold space for you to simply be yourself. Humans are hardwired for connection. Between the media, being glued to our phones, and forced isolation, our habits are causing us to be hard wired to fear, money, judgment and striving for unattainable aesthetics.
We have so much more potential. We can choose to be a connected, joyous and loving community. We can choose to be healthier, happier, and less lonely. We can choose to support our community spaces, because they support us and the wellbeing of society.
Our community spaces need your help. They need you to show up. Many community spaces have accessible offerings for all income levels. Many community spaces have accessible offerings for all genders. Many community spaces have services that will improve your mental and physical health. You are worth it. Don’t wait any longer, because these spaces are dying.
Bring to mind a place that made you feel connected to community. Remember what that felt like? It is accessible for you now. Visit your local community center. Get back to the gym. Try a class at a new studio. Sit and drink your coffee at a new café. Help ensure that these spaces can continue to stick around. Our city is a better place because of these spaces. The benefits are vast. The downfall of not having these spaces? I hope we don’t get to that point.
