The Great Good Place is the title of a book by Ray Oldenburg. Ray is an urban sociologist. He is interested in the places where people gather and create community, places where unrelated people relate. He thinks these “third places” – first is home, second is work – help us get through the day, make sense of things, relax, and find joy. Think barber shops, bodegas, community gardens, main streets, cafes, “the corner,” bars, hangouts – you’ve got your own third place, I’m sure. The list goes on and on. The problem, in my opinion, is that we are spending less and less time in our “great good places,” our third places. I, too, am very interested in how people relate and experience the magic of one another outside home and work.
Write and tell me about your favorite great good place, will ya?
The playground. On Fridays, I babysit a two-year old boy in Brooklyn. During the winter, just to get us out of the house, his family would give me $10 to go to an “indoor playground” for the day. It was such a relief to be around other adults, to watch spontaneous play and silliness happen among the children, and to overhear conversation. (Yes, I’m an eavesdropper). In short, it was a place that told me that the crazy tantrums and pandemonium of a two-year old were not my burden alone. And that the cherishing and adoring part could be shared as well. When it is above 40 degrees, we go outside to the playground, where there’s more running space and sky and fresh air. Still, there was an intimacy to the indoor playground — some might find it confining, I found it nurturing.
very cool theory. I always feel like there is something so particularly special about feeling a sense of community in odd little places (“3rd places” I can now call them), probably because of the centrality of Places 1 & 2 in American culture.
I don’t have a particular 3rd place myself; it’s more of a momentary phenomenon for me. Moments in time when I sense that special unexpected connection between people–even if I’m not a part of it–in public places or when I do share a brief connection with someone in a 3rd place. I definitely have a sort of fascination with this and always wish for a more widespread sense of community throughout our culture. So I do what I can to contribute to building community–in 1st, 2nd and 3rd places.
Thanks for sharing.