Sociologist Ray Oldenburg describes third places as "community places on neutral ground where people can gather and interact, in contrast to first places (home) and second places (work)...informal gathering places, they make the citizen feel at home, they nourish relationships and diversity of human contact, they help create a sense of place and community, they invoke a sense of civic pride".
Sunday, 15 July 2007
Third places, libraries and the public realm...
Kevin Harris spoke about Third places, libraries and the public realmat the recent forum hosted by Caloundra City Libraries in Beerwah. Follow this link for a short summary of his session.
In my presentation I made reference to a report called People make places, by Melissa Mean and Charlie Timms, published by Demos. Here's the link: http://www.demos.co.uk/publications/peoplemakeplacesbook The authors put forward, somewhat playfully but I think very helpfully, a description of 'ten types of public space user' (see p28-37).
The concept of libraries as third place - community gathering places, points of connection within communities - will be explored through this blog. We welcome your contributions, thoughts, vignettes, links, and images that participate in and inform this dialogue.
1 comment:
In my presentation I made reference to a report called People make places, by Melissa Mean and Charlie Timms, published by Demos. Here's the link:
http://www.demos.co.uk/publications/peoplemakeplacesbook
The authors put forward, somewhat playfully but I think very helpfully, a description of 'ten types of public space user' (see p28-37).
kevin, kevin(at)local-level.org.uk
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