#third places

But that's not true. Where on the planet are you where there isn't a park? Lol. But really. There is always a park. Yes, you can just be a random adult and take a book to the park and sit on a bench and exist in a place that is neither home nor work. Yes, kids can still go to parks where they can play basketball and run around screaming like banchees and climb on jungle gyms. Yesterday, there was hardly any room under the cherry trees in Central Park, so many families and groups were having picnics. Recently, I was struck by how many middle and high school-aged kids I saw at ice skating rinks over the winter, just hanging out in groups on a Friday night, often being very silly, but still, not just sitting at home communicating only in virtual space.

We also often confuse things like malls and movie theaters being past their peak with them disappearing entirely. They're still around, and you're still allowed to go lol.

Coffee shops are also thriving. And many of them serve as prime "third places." They're upbeat. They're comfortable. They're inviting. You can sit in them for two hours, talking or eavesdropping or reading or writing or drawing, and nobody will bother you. I'm not just thinking of one special place that I'm really lucky to have access to because most people will never get the chance to visit it, I could rattle off a list.

Bookstores are also increasingly becoming a "third place" - Barnes & Noble is particular good at this, with ample space to peruse books at your leisure and seating to hang out for a while, but it's certainly not just Barnes & Noble.

Another example of a very common third place I can think of is a farmers' market. This is somewhere you can meet new people, talk, and exchange ideas (or not), try new things, and be outside in the sunshine. And oh my goodness, spare me the excuses. I've shopped at a variety of farmers' markets in different parts of the country. I've seen people shopping with EBT at the farmers' market in the Bronx. There are Wednesday markets, Saturday markets, and Sunday markets. Before I had a car, I walked two miles to the farmers' market that was open in the summer and took the train to the farmers' market I liked that was open in the winter. Spending time at the farmers' market is a feasible solution for a lot of people who might be looking for a third place.

Tangentially related, I saw an article several weeks ago about the "disappearance of the Sunday drive." Meaning, you can't just go drive around the countryside for pleasure anymore. Well, er, you can. Case in point, I do it all the time. Its "disappearance" is a choice.

This could all be an excuse to sit at home and rot on your phone, but it could also be more significant; pushing this negative message about third places to the masses (which doesn't seem to be working too well yet given the hoardes of people I find in parks and coffee shops) leads people to spend more time in front of screens, making more money for tech companies and also getting them slowly more comfortable with the concept of cramming into smart cities and traveling via virtual reality.

[Video Description: An Instagram video by user _glassmuseum, in which they are sitting in front of the camera and speaking. They say, "Everybody wants third spaces... Until a homeless guy shows up. Now, there's a lot of talk about third spaces for a reason." Examples of posts expressing a desire for third spaces show on the screen. "We need places to form community beyond just home and work. But that begs the question of, who gets to be a part of our communities? You want more parks, more libraries," Posts in which people praise parks and libraries show on the screen. "But then you complain when these public infrastructures are, well, public." Posts of people complaining about homeless people in public spaces are shown. "For the unhoused, the importance of public spaces isn't just a matter of wanting somewhere to chill with friends. It's a matter of existence and freedom. In his landmark essay, 'Homelessness And The Issue Of Freedom'," A screenshot of the first page of the essay appears on screen, then a picture of the author. "Jeremy Waldron argues that the freedoms of the poor are disproportionately restricted under the law, since their material conditions coerce them into a state in which they must choose between survival and the violation of the law. He writes that freedom exists for the homeless 'only to the extent that our society is communist'. Now before you're red scare ass starts to hemorrhage over the C word," Memes of people disregarding and making fun of communism are shown. "Let me explain. But first, let's define our terms. Specifically, let's distinguish between positive and negative freedoms. While positive freedom is the capacity to act according to one's free will," The Wikipedia page for Positive Liberty is shown. "Negative freedom is the capacity to act free from the coercion of others." The Wikipedia page for Negative Liberty is shown. "So, things like loitering laws, public indecency violations." Pictures of signs enforcing these laws are shown. "Though they apply to the rich and poor alike, they apply disproportionately to those who possess no private property of their own and thus who exist soley in the collective space. And so while a homeless person may posses the positive freedom to, say, physically lay down in a park," A picture of someone laying on a bench, using a backpack as a pillow. "They have their negative freedom restricted, since they'll be forcibly removed for doing so." A stock photo of police standing over someone sleeping on a bench. "Because of the regulations placed on public spaces that prohibit certain actions that are typically relegated to the private, like sleeping, pissing, showering. All these actions are natural and necessary, and yet they're prohibited in the public space. And this limitation is no problem for owners of private property, since the public is conceived of as being complementary to the private. However, as Waldron notes," An excerpt from the essay is shown on screen, along with the text "Waldron 32". "'This complementarity works only for those who have the benefit of both sorts of places.' So, if you're homeless, you're stuck in a situation where you're forced to violate the law in order to survive. Because in order to exist, one needs somewhere they can exist. There's oftentimes a contradiction with how people consider the homeless, if they even consider them at all. People don't want them pissing in the streets but they also don't want them pissing in the McDonald's bathroom. People don't want encampments," An article about an anti-encampment law in Ontario is shown. "But they also oppose the construction of affordable public hosing." The Wikipedia article for NIMBY, or Not In My Back Yard, is shown. "There seems to be a desire for increased public life, but only a certain kind of public. But if you want to advocate for community building, then we need to reconsider who gets to be a part of our community." /End I.D.]

I was... astonished. What the fuck are kids supposed to do these days? They can't go outside to play because there's no easily accessible public spaces (especially not without a car) and climate change is completely ruining the ability to enjoy the outdoors. They can't go to malls without being accused of loitering and causing trouble. They can't go to any store, restaurant, or business in general without having money to spend on something there.

I am sitting in the fucking hospital right now. You know why? Because it was the one place I could think of that has an AC, has seating, and will likely not throw me out for loitering. I tried the library first. But I was not the only person who had that idea, so there was no chair left. So... yeah, I am spending my weekend sitting in the hospital corridor because it is 38°C out there, and I know that if I do not sit here, I will end up here either way because... you know, being brought in on a stretcher.

loitering shouldnt be a crime because it criminalizes the existence of people simply for existing??? outside of their houses??? when we are literally animals not only that but large apex predators specifically who require lots of rest to digest food and lots of sunlight to stay healthy being outside relaxing is something that is literally a requirement for the health of the species

not to mention the fact that a large part of why we have no third spaces anymore is because of the way our infrastructure exists roads are giant barrier to free roaming and every plot of land is an island and the beach of every island is designed to encourage actively getting off of it at threat of criminal fines and imprisonment!!! every sidewalk is a beach that makes you old

but if we were all allowed to just relax outside if the infrastructure was designed to create spaces for people to meet and gather and relax outside it would not only be a boon to community and creating third spaces itd likely INCREASE business in areas around it

AND it would provide cover for homeless people

why is it a good thing when cia people use pronouns and straight ppl call their partner their partner??? bc it normalizes these things and as a result trans and queer people arent singled out for the same behaviors it provides us all cover similarly the number of times ive sat down on the concrete to eat and had ppl assume i was homeless is only dwarfed by the number of times i KNOW FOR A FACT that other people have wished they could do the same but didnt for fear of being perceived that very way

but the thing is!!! if more people did it!!! if the infrastructure ENCOURAGED it then homeless people would be granted a huge amount of plausible deniability and theyd be able to participate in community bc the community would be outside with them!!!