“Everybody wants third spaces until a homeless guy shows up”. Christina Murphy comments on how we can make third spaces work.
The primary issue with third spaces seems to be that very few people actually know what they are. “Third Spaces” was a term originally coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg in the 1980s and it refers to a social environment beyond the home and the work place (these are first and second spaces). These can be areas like parks, cafes, or museums, the main aspect of them is that they are supposed to be accessible for everyone.
There has been a recent surge of popularity surrounding the idea of third spaces on social media, with a lot of back and forth on whether they can work or not. Considering Dublin, the city has become overflown in the past years with houses upon empty houses and business buildings that are amounting to nothing. With the government threatening to turn what was once a luscious green country into a concrete city, there has never been a more important time for third spaces.
The best known third spaces in Dublin range from the dozens of cafes that cover the city, to popular museums of art and literature, and the well known parks like St. Stephen’s Green or Merrion Square. However, there is an interesting phrase, originally said by content creator Claire [@_glassmuseum], “Everybody wants third spaces until a homeless guy shows up”. This begs the question of who is allowed to be a part of these communal spaces. The idea of a third space insinuates that these are spaces open to the public, so why are people so angry when the public actually shows up?
One of the most common examples of making “third spaces” inaccessible is installations around the city centre, particularly on side walks and park benches, that make it impossible, if not just very uncomfortable, for anyone to lie down. This is done with the intention of preventing homeless people from taking refuge in these areas. This does not fix the homeless issue though, it only dissipates the problem elsewhere.
This new trend of third spaces on TikTok seems to imply the privilege that those who get to use these third spaces should already be in the position to possess a first and second space. There is a self-inflicted hierarchy, which is exactly why third spaces are failing.
Using the example of public parks again - parks were created with the intent of being a place where everyone can go. There is room for children to play, for people to take long strolls, for friends to catch up, and for people to sit down and gaze at the sky. These parks are not gated communities that you need to pay to get into, yet they become desolate places the second there is a sign of unsocial behaviour.
“The idea of a third space insinuates that these are spaces open to the public, so why are people so angry when the public actually shows up?”
Unsocial behaviour is a spectrum that can range from violence, which should obviously be avoided, to someone who just doesn’t look the part of what society has come to deem as “acceptable”. When the latter is the case, we create a stereotyped view of other groups, which ends up actually destroying our community as a whole. When we refuse to integrate and share the spaces we have been given with others, we either push those who need it into unsafe situations, or end up pushing everyone out instead. Either way, the result is the third space in question becoming deserted, or simply being ignored by the public due the the activity surrounding it, and we are back at square one of wanting third spaces again.
In the same way that you shouldn’t get a black cat for Halloween, or a puppy for the sake of Christmas, third spaces cannot exist without existing for everyone. They are not intended to be a TikTok trend, or a way of flaunting social status, they are a place for people to gather informally and comfortably.
While in an ideal world the problem with third spaces would be fixed by first tackling the issue with first spaces, by giving everyone a place to live, this is an unrealistic idea. Instead of waiting for a miracle that involves lots of affordable housing overnight, communities can start by making life more enjoyable by breaking the judgemental cycle that is destroying places of safety.
The cliche phrase “treat others how you want to be treated” really sticks in this case: if no one takes too much from what we are given, then there will always be enough. This will build a stronger community that is rooted in culture and kindness, rather than stereotypes and cruelty.