Why Our Third Places are Vanishing| ft.

[@obviouslymatt6452]

How on earth does this have 140 views right now? Incredibly high quality video, I’d expect at least a thousand times that.

[@studio.leonardo]

Thank you so much! I’m always happy to engage with everyone who does choose to watch. And thankful that you even thought to do so ❤ looking forward to seeing you around in the future!

[@lydiaschaffer659]

Ikr same it's such a good video

[@jnels2007]

9 days later and it hasn’t hit 500 😢

[@ericwright8592]

One thing that I'd love to learn more about is why there is no public realm anymore in the US. As in, the physical spaces. No Plazas, squares, large pedestrian avenues. Things like this exist but they're often part of a large outdoor mall or shopping center which is designed and operated by a private entity/corporation. Every new "town center" project is just an inside-out shopping mall run by a private company, often with tons of no loitering signs, or "customers only". We need smaller, piecemeal, organic spaces, not private mega projects.

[@ehoops31]

I think it's tied to our housing crisis. People don't have a place to live, so they sleep in our third places. Unfortunately, many people believe that the third places are why they have to see homeless people. So, rather than working toward more housing, many work toward fewer third places. A small, but noticeable, example of this in my city are bus stop benches with arms in the middle so people can't lay on them.

[@maxb306]

what was there before?

[@Jer_Schmidt]

I wonder if a true third place can exist in a city that isn’t addressing its homeless crisis? In places like Seattle, I suspect business owners are scared to allow people to hang out without paying, because that would attract unhoused Seattleites, which could drive away the paying customers. When your city is inhospitable to one group of people, it becomes inhospitable to all.

[@studio.leonardo]

Well said, that is a great point to bring up. I wonder what we could do to make that accessibility issue less divisive? I find place that only offer drinks and allow you to bring outside food is a nice way to break that barrier a bit. Thoughts?

[@Jer_Schmidt]

@@studio.leonardo That sounds like a good solution. Tbh I don’t have a third place, and a lot of places are not autism-friendly (that’s a whole other issue), so I don’t have examples of how to do it right. Of course the true solution is: house the people. Help those who are struggling, and this issue vanishes. Anything else is a bandaid imo.

[@user-gu9yq5sj7c]

Why shouldn't some homeless people enjoy third places? Why should they all be vilified? Autistic and asocial people are welcome. You don't need to social in crowds. There's other things to enjoy.

[@Jer_Schmidt]

@@user-gu9yq5sj7c​​⁠ In my opinion, they should be. But Seattle business owners will disagree. You’d have to take that up with them. About autistic people… I’m autistic and have never found a third place where I feel comfortable/welcome. On paper I’m welcome, but the environment & expectations say otherwise. So that’s still an area that needs a lot of work IMO

[@studio.leonardo]

This is a really interesting discussion, thanks for keeping it cordial and sharing your POVs. Im curious what you both would feel would be more inviting infrastructure for each of those two groups of people?

[@flurfdesign]

Once you actually experience the magic of a true third place, you never want to go back. I've met so many of my good friends simply because I hung out in the right spots. For most of my life though, I've only experienced the opposite: the only way to meet people is to make dedicated plans and after a while it gets very exhausting.

[@studio.leonardo]

So well said!

[@TheJamieRamone]

I'm a simple guy. I see a new Studio Leonardo video is up, I watch. 😁

[@kirkginoabolafia3650]

Still angry about the fact that my local mall implemented a rule that bans teenagers from entering the mall without an adult present. Being an American teenager right now is essentially years-long house arrest and it's infuriating.

[@gloofisearch]

LOL, yes. Sorry for that. When I am in Europe, I always sent images from cities full of live to my teenagers at home. Teenagers out in droves and having fun. US teenagers are living in a prison and we think it's good. Man, are we wrong!

[@PlaystationMasterPS3]

@@gloofisearch I had to endure that and it was hell. teens deserve better

[@FlyingOverTr0ut]

Woa! I lit up when I saw flurfdesign in the title! I've been watching you and him for a while now and am glad to see both your messages spread to larger audiences. The older I get and the more benefit I see from having a community here in LA, the more I regret that we barely have community spaces. We have a few retail spaces that I consider more like small Disney World's for expensive shopping, but not much in spaces where you don't have to spend money to be around people.

[@studio.leonardo]

So glad you enjoyed the collab! Flurf is a great guy. Hopefully as more of us come together we can start to see third places come back into our communities

[@DaJackCracker]

"I'm sure you can think of a third space that defined your childhood" Nope. The closest thing I've ever had was the bar my mom worked at. No kids, just the staff setting things up during the day while i messed around on the stage or in the office.

[@Bismvth]

I'd love to add to the accessibility argument. More than just age, it's also disability, immigration status, low-income, and usually an intersection of more than one of these things, that can disqualify someone from driving. As you'll hear from many cycling enthusiasts, it's not a choice they think of in terms of climate activism, or fitness--it's just a significantly better deal for many people, to travel unburdened by gas, maintainance, insurance, taxes, and the long term psycho/biological stress of driving everywhere. Especially in Canada and parts of the US, experiencing rapid population growth due to immigration, we need to really think about equity and community resilience as they correlate with the built environment. It's unfair to expect recent arrivals to just assimilate into our capitalist urban economies--their needs, perspectives, and desires are just as valid as ours.

[@studio.leonardo]

So well said! Thanks for adding your two cents!

[@reckonerwheel5336]

I think nature is hard to categorize other than under "seasonal third place". I'm from an area of Canada where the climate year-round gives you - 30 C dry cloudless days, snow-assaulting-your-face mild days, to rain, to humid 25 C to windless 35 C. The city I live in offers a lot of outdoor spaces you can access for free, however, it's a small group of people who are hardy and patient enough to be hanging out in them through all seasons. And in winter, people don't sit around, chatting in snowsuits -- they're walking; it's exercise. It's the spring/early fall where the parks and trails feel like third places.

[@studio.leonardo]

Interesting take! Thanks for sharing, temps are definitely a big factor in deciding how much time to spend in nature 😂

[@eskualerritar]

And then you have the west Edmonton mall! Would that be a third place?

[@gytan2221]

The No Loitering laws in America blows my mind! What’s wrong with just sitting there and socialising?

[@jandraelune1]

In the US, the further you get from the larger cities, the less places you can gather and the further things get spread out with no sidewalks and there are even bike bans. Where I live, the only social gathering is online :/ Yeah there are bars, but those areas are either for the drunks, or the sports nuts. There is also a sea of churches, but those are open like only 1 day a week and are very limited in the type of people. Parks, almost none, nature, if there isn't a building, there is a farm. No mass transit of any kind.

[@MichaelStrawn_I_am]

Collaboration?

[@gambit_toys6554]

Great video! We NEED MORE public social spaces in USA!

[@DJ_Fuji]

I think one of the most difficult concepts that we will face when trying to develop more social spaces in the US is the lack of experience that most suburbanites have. I have had the chance to spend several months living in Tokyo and the biggest thing I struggle to express to my suburban American friends is the idea talked about in this video regarding Spain: that in a proper city, it feels nice to just go walk and wander, to just visit with friends and family in public spaces. So many Americans only ever visit their cities for major events like concerts and sports games, and they never develop any sense of place for their downtowns, nor any curiosity to explore it. To a suburbanite, the city is just another place to drive to, except it's one that is both expensive and difficult to park in. So our challenge becomes finding a way to show suburban Americans true third places; that the neighborhood bar is a real thing, not just a set on their favorite sitcom. I don't know how we do that, and I don't know that the US can ever develop to the level of many other countries given the damage that's been done since WWII. But I hope we can find a way to help spread the understanding that life is about the time we spend with those we care about, not just about buying the biggest house we can afford somewhere far from others.

[@missZoey5387]

2:27 I didn't have a third space growing up

[@mavila1368]

Neither did I, I definitely relied on my parents driving me everywhere if I wanted to go anywhere

[@gregspecht3706]

My hoa has a pool that is used as a third place. Ive met most of my neighbors there unfortunately people only swim there for 1/3 the year. Obviously this is exclusive to people in the development which isnt great but its better than nothing.

[@studio.leonardo]

That is great to at least have that space open and active for some part of the year. Maybe there is a way to find alternative uses for part of the parking lot during the fall into winter so people can still activate that space outside of the spring/ summer months.

[@gregspecht3706]

@@studio.leonardo o there isn't a parking lot it's just walkable in the development.

[@gumerzambrano]

How was this recommended to me but only has 400 views?? This needs way more! Thanks for covering this interesting topic Kids and teens are so car dependent and results in just staying home on their phones instead of out and about

[@studio.leonardo]

Thanks for the love and support! I would also add that all Usonians and Canadians are pretty car dependent. When adults also feel they don't have to drive around as much you actually see how much more freedom you have to live a safer, more carefree lifestyle as well. Thoughts?

[@gumerzambrano]

@@studio.leonardo I agree. I remember when I was a freshman in highschool (2014) and the subway line connecting East Los Angeles to Santa Monica opened I rode it and I was in awe that I had gotten to the beach (about 23 miles away) without my parents driving me there. I was in a group of friends and we all had a great time walking around

[@christianchellis9057]

Top golf, escape rooms, and dave and busters are not bad third places but they lack the ability to meet new people.

[@eskualerritar]

Lovely to hear advocacy for the philosophy of "dolce fare niente" as my sister would say. It's a shame there are so many barriers to third spaces; one that I can think for where I live is how bloody cold it gets in winter. It's true that back home it sometimes got almost as cold and we just coped with it but I can see how that's a barrier. Also, loving the term usonian

[@studio.leonardo]

A beautiful saying indeed! Whether definitely plays a factor in being able to hang out outside but I think that makes the coffee shops, social houses and pubs just as important in the winter months for people to get together without freezing their buns off XD

[@benallen2854]

Flurf and Leonardo! I discovered both of you independently, and I’m so happy you’re contributing to this topic together. Keep going!

[@tomsisson660]

Another factor to consider is that I am 52 (born in 1972), and I am a part of Generation X, and I am just too old for a third place, and so many of us from the 1990’s and Generation X are too old and tired for third places. Tom Sisson

[@gloofisearch]

LOL, tell that to the 70+ year olds in Spain, going to third places every day🤣

[@UntitledPlanning]

This is such a great video Rachel! 🔥

[@michaeldoerr5810]

What is an accountability circle? The word accountability has been a loaded term. And for good reason.

[@studio.leonardo]

Great question and valid point. I think this is something that would be decided upon community by community. However, there should be some incentive/ benefit attached to it that is quantifiable. That could be something like gathering data on the average life expectancy before starting accountability circles for walking/ homesteading/ etc. Then, gathering the same data after implementing the practice (say a year later) to see if ave. life expectancy goes up.

[@micosstar]

awesome video!

[@lydiaschaffer659]

I have been trying to point this out to my parnts(and others) forever and looking for videos about it. Thanks sm for this vid❤

[@studio.leonardo]

So happy you found it helpful! Please feel free to reach out if you or your family have any questions or skepticism, I think it's important we debate to try and develop these ideas/ solutions more :)

[@gloofisearch]

Yeah, if I try to explain this to my family, they brush it off and say "we need more lanes on the highway....way more important". Nothing I can add to that.

[@nuntius1]

فيديو اسطوري كالعادة🙌

[@studio.leonardo]

If I've translated this properly, I appreciate it man! Thanks for the support :)

[@tyleralberico9340]

"Shop like you mean it" That's incredible

[@tyleralberico9340]

Also the background of this subject goes WAY deeper than I thought! This is incredible

[@studio.leonardo]

Wild right? It's all so fascinating

[@christao408]

Very well articulated. I hope more and more North Americans recognize the need to rethink how we organize our spaces.

[@NateHatch]

Such a great explainer.

[@studio.leonardo]

Appreciate that, Nate! 😊

[@MrStrickland90]

This is video is really well done - I would have expected it to have a lot more views

[@danielchristiansen9324]

My third place is the gym👍

[@user-gu9yq5sj7c]

A third place can't be behind a paywall, like most gyms, or pressure people to have to buy things to stay, or forbid loitering. It also preferably shouldn't have to be driven to otherwise it feels like a chore and is only accessible to drivers. But be a place people can casually walk and drop by on and stay as long as people want for free. Like your home but in public and with community.

[@vickileonardo1820]

Great video! I see the value in having third in the US as a gathering space for all, including seniors. I met an 80+ year old on a bus who shared she can’t drive anymore and says it’s such a shame that rides the bus just get out of her home.

[@studio.leonardo]

Incredible story, it goes to show how important inclusive design strategies will continue to become more important in the coming years.

[@applenaught6768]

I remember showing a German friend my hometown and when I got to the mall there was a Spirit Halloween sign on it where the Belk used to be.

[@studio.leonardo]

Wow 😮 I’d love to know what both of your reactions were

[@yuliaxgon]

I love this video!! I've been watching a lot of videos about this subject and you summarized so much of what I'm learning in one video! I will show this video to my social media class, thank you!! Quick question, when you say Usonians do you mean Americans? I was a little bit confused by the term.

[@studio.leonardo]

That means so much! Thanks for taking the time to watch! I like to try and use the term Usonion to talk about people from the US since I personally feel we are all Americans whether from the north or south! 😊

[@yuliaxgon]

OOOOH I LOVE THAT!! I'm going to use that from now on too. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us!!!@@studio.leonardo

[@user-gu9yq5sj7c]

@@studio.leonardo Saying American isn't excluding south America and Canada. I use American cause it's convenient and a established term. Canada and the countries in south America already have terms which is the name of their counties. If people wanted to talk about south America then they can say South America or North American when talking about Canada and America.

[@arnomrnym6329]

Thx for using Usonians. 👍🏾😎

[@benjamincarter6095]

I won't go anywhere I can't park for free out front, and I avoid both malls and urban centers like the plague. I still want to enjoy third places. Modern city planners COMPLETELY ignore my needs, and I'm not alone on this.