Third places

[mellowtigger]

This guy makes a compelling argument in favor of designing cities with a Third Place in mind, where home is the First and work is the Second.  TikTok's embed code isn't working on DreamWidth, so here's the direct link to the 3-minute video.  (If you prefer Twitter, it's making the rounds there too.)  Of course, air quality simply must be a priority for any such effort.

The sociable people out there may appreciate this message about community more than I do. I understand and agree with it, but my socialization needs are quite low.  I think cities should be more walkable for LOTS of reasons, but human social behavior is probably another good one to add to the list.  Imagine if we designed cities for that instead of using anti-homeless facades as our main goal.

I quibble with him on one minor point, though.  Gay bars in the past were isolated Third Places for a sub-unit of the community.  Valuable lifelines in a hostile environment.  They could provide that useful service today, although I admit they no longer really do.

EDIT:  Someone points out that George Floyd Square in south Minneapolis has served this purpose for the last 2 years.