Home is your first, work is your second. Where is your third space?
A third space is one that is imbued with meaning and purpose by the people who fill it. Libraries, stores, cafes, parks. It’s always been important to us to create a space that is imbued with meaning and purpose - the Wellington Apothecary has never just been a store, it is a third space for people, like you, to find sanctuary in the city.
The term coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg “third spaces” are the glue that holds communities together.
Libraries do the heavy lifting of being the glue that holds communities together. For some people it is the local church, for others it is the local pub. A third space is somewhere that you can go on a regular basis to connect with other like-minded folk and simply be. It is a space that asks nothing of you, other than the respect and conviviality that is core of a community.
“Third spaces are the heart of community’s social vitality and the foundation of a functioning democracy.” - Ray Oldenburg
They are also the thread that connects lonely hearts. For many people the home and work environment, our essential first and second spaces, are lonely places. It doesn’t matter if you are introverted or extroverted, we all need to feel that we belong, and if we don’t get that from our home or work, we can find it in third spaces. We all need a break from family, flat mates, and colleagues, we need the refuge of a third space.
Where is your third space?