The need for third places is growing.

Let’s dive into why.

"The drive for maximal efficiency and convenience has impoverished the fabric of our daily lives. As we forget the value of place, we occupy increasingly thin, homogenized, placeless environments. The role we can play in these sterile settings is only one of consumption, not citizenship. That is why we must turn to third places: they help us form close friendships and increase our civic involvement, and they compose the social infrastructure of a community."

Iain Bernhoft and Bruno V. Manno, Public Discourse

Community

Individuals are in need of connection and community. In many cities, there is space for new places of gathering to open and foster engagement and support. Opening a business can be a meaningful way to contribute to the type of city you want to live in, if done with intention and care.

Accessibility

For your place, be it an cafe, a social club, a recreation space, an open public space, or something totally new, to function as a third place, it needs to be inviting and accessible to a broad range of people. This means that there should be low barriers to entry and people should be able to have some agency in how they use a space. All spaces will need a way to be financially viable and will have some structure, but a high-value third place will balance those needs in a way that is still inviting and flexible.

Variety

Potential owners should be aware of what their area has plenty of (maybe in your area it’s coffee shops and bars) and what is lacking (maybe that’s community centers or dance halls). A lasting third place will also keep in mind the value of being nimble and adapting to changing needs.

Demand

Now is a moment in which the need for third places is being explicitly addressed in the cultural zeitgeist. There are many areas with few, or lessening, places to relax and to meet your fellow human being without the focus of the place being about productivity and consumption.

For more about third places, you can view signals of change, themes of change, and ideas in this research collection.

We see a future in which spaces for gathering and serendipity are diverse and plentiful.

But opening a new third place can be intimidating. Financial sustainability of such a place can be a challenge. So, we’ve synthesized our knowledge about the practical aspects of the event business side, which almost any space can grow into, so you can focus on creativity and community.

If you open a place that functions at least part of time as public space, we want to see you thrive and be financially sustainable. If you want to open up a revenue stream to support public use of your third place, email a description of your place to info@cookhousesf.com, from the domain representing the venue, to receive a 50% discount on The Event Space Playbook.

In the future, we aim to make a collection of helpful resources available to anyone opening or operating a third space. To follow along as it develops, sign up for our newsletter, using the form at the bottom of the homepage.