‘Third Spaces’ Critical To Community Health
When we look back at the early 1900s editions of the newspapers we publish, we find numerous photos and advertisements promoting local bands, singing groups, and theatre productions. Local talent came together to entertain but also for the fellowship that was part of the fabric of the community.
We remember the bridge club nights when it was our parents’ turn to host an evening of camaraderie and laughs. Bowls of candy and peanuts, and ashtrays, were set at every table. Respect and goodwill were nurtured during these gatherings.
At the same time, there were numerous places in the community where people gathered - churches, a bakery, bars, clubs, libraries, bookstores, front porches, and parks.
Then came television with dozens of channels to watch. People started spending more time inside, with family, or alone, and dropping out of their social groups or sports teams. Their turning inward and dropping out was accelerated and deepened by the internet.
Gathering places became fewer as stores closed, people traveled out of town more often to shop, and the rural population declined.
As a result, communities have suffered a loss of connection. People are lonelier. Mental health problems for adults and kids have increased. Communities are move divided and fewer people step up to participate when the community asks for their help.
We are told that to recreate the benefits of earlier days, we need to rejuvenate what are called “third spaces.”
University of Minnesota Sociologist Ray Oldenburg created the term “third spaces” to identify where we might want to hang out after a day at work, or when we need a break from sitting at home and crave time with friends in a social setting.
In his 1989 book The Great Good Place, he writes that these third spaces are essential to our mental health, sense of community, and the overall health of our community.
“Life without community has produced, for many, a lifestyle consisting mainly of a home-to-work-and-back-again shuttle,” Oldenburg says. “Social well-being and psychological health depend upon community. It is no coincidence that the ‘helping professions’ became a major industry in the United States as suburban planning helped destroy local public life and the community support it once lent.”
Sarina Otaibi, who works for the non-profit Department of Public Transformation, is looking for ways rural communities can create spaces that nurture the arts, bring residents closer together, and make a community more attractive and rewarding places to live.
She was instrumental in helping establish YES! House in Granite Falls after moving back there in 2013 and finding it lacking in third spaces for people to meet, Ava Kian reports for MinnPost.
Residents of the community came together to change the lack of third spaces and make their town a more vibrant and connected place to live. They reached out to the artists in the community to get their input.
“We heard, actually more so than the amenities that people wanted were program ideas. People really wanted a place to create,” Department of Public Transformation Chief Executive Ashley Hanson told Kian. “They wanted a place to connect. They wanted a place to take classes. They wanted a place to share their skills and talents. They wanted a place to do open mic, to see shows, to experience more arts events.”
To that end, YES! House now conducts a monthly “learn from your neighbor series, where locals share something about their interests and passions with a group,” Kian writes.
Otaibi is now the director of the Department of Public Transformation’s Activate Rural program. It focuses on “cultivating physical places of connection around creative gathering places for rural communities.”
These third spaces are places we gather as friends and acquaintances, putting aside, and maybe breaking down, political barriers that seem too prevalent today.
Kian writes that Otaibi sees the arts as a way of bringing people together. She describes what encompasses the arts very broadly. It can be anyone interested in enhancing the cultural depth and expression of a community. It is those who appreciate the arts.
“When you create a space in a rural community that is around the arts and creativity, it opens up possibilities more,” Otaibi told her.
“There’s a lot more openness and fluidity in those spaces, and openness to like innovative ideas and trying new things. And I think that’s what rural communities right now need the most, especially when they’re figuring out what change looks like for them,” Otaibi said.
With the growing diversity in our communities, we need these spaces more than ever to increase understanding and communicate that we are a welcoming place. We are a place where people of not just different political beliefs can gather in friendship but also those of different races, religions, and orientations can feel welcome.
Newcomers bring different perspectives and an entrepreneurial spirit that can mean new businesses on Main Street, families supporting our existing businesses, and children attending our schools.
Change has come to our community and will continue to shape our future.
“Even if some communities might be fighting against it, you can only do that for so long before your community has to change and evolve, and these spaces are providing those venues for that to happen,” Otaibi told Kian.
An economic development edge is what every small-town community in rural America seeks. But it can’t be one feature; it must be a range of attractions that sway a family to take a job and settle down in your community. Good schools, healthcare, affordable housing, and childcare create the foundation for attracting and retain residents.
But we need to be more than that if we are to have an edge over other communities with the same strong foundations. We need places that nurture spirituality, wellness, inclusion, recreational and artistic opportunities, and life-long learning.
And we need to do a better job of promoting these assets in our communities.