introducing "the fourth place" & why "third places" have fallen short on their promise

reflections from 1 year of building The Commons

the OG third place: The School of Athens I was once a “third space enthusiast”. However, if the original spirit of the phrase was that of a physical place, outside of home and work, where authentic community thrived and social fabric intertwined - than the majority of today’s third spaces have fallen short of this noble ideal. The spirit is not present in cafes brimmed with the clicking and clacking of laptops beneath hunched shoulders. Nor does it reside in a social or vocational club where favors are transacted and peacock feathers are unfurled. It is also not a bookstore, public space,…

saved by

• Joshua Hou

related reading

• A practice for meaning-making and belonging: fourth spacestypeshare.co
• The Rise of the Traveling Third Space - by Patrick Khothechow.net
• What are third places? How do I find one? | Voxvox.com
• why we're building The Commonsthesfcommons.substack.com
• a manifesto: the next era of third spaces as crucibles for meaning-makingthesfcommons.substack.com
• The Forgotten Joy of Hanging Out in ‘Third Places’ - The Atlantictheatlantic.com
• Homethesfcommons.com
• Your third place shouldn’t be an app - by Omika Jikariaomikajikaria.substack.com
• 🏛️ The next evolution of The Commonsjointhecommons.substack.com
• The cure for loneliness: hang out in bars and parks, work lessbusinessinsider.com
• Post-Luxury status symbols #5: Creating Communitysubstack.com
• Why the disappearance of digital third spaces mattersthedailystar.net