Lack of Space: The decline of third spaces can be reversed by lowering prices and investing in public spaces

"There's nowhere fun around here," one of my friends whined, scrolling on her phone. We were sitting in my car after school, struggling to come up with even one entertaining, affordable place to hang out — a common occurrence for us.

Throughout the ages of side parts, poodle skirts and roller-rinks, teenagers have gathered in third spaces — such as drive-in movie theaters of the 50s to malls in the 80s and even pleasure gardens in the regency era, to socialize and make friends. 

​The concept of third spaces was first introduced by Ray Oldenburg in his 1989 book, "The Great Good Place." Oldenburg suggests that everyone needs three places where they spend most of their time: home, work or school and a “third space,” meant to be dedicated to socializing and community. 

Given the repeated presence of third spaces throughout history — like neighborhood diners, corner stores and recreation centers — why are there none now for modern teenagers?

In the modern age, both teenagers and governments have focused less on creating third spaces. According to a 2023 Pew Research study, nearly half of teenagers say they're online “almost constantly.” This leaves little time to socialize in person. This statistic is only worsened by the lack of maintained public or accessible private spaces available for teenagers.

Teenagers need to make an effort to find spaces that interest them and local governments and major corporations should work to create third spaces by prioritizing public infrastructure and making prices affordable.

According to Brookings.edu, third spaces are ideal for finding a sense of belonging, as they often revolve around shared interests and create common ground for socializing without barriers like social class. These places can be public parks, private businesses, or even social clubs, but they’ve recently become less common due to lack of use, high pricing and minimal funding.

Spots such as town centers and community gardens were once staples of any city or town. Ceremonies, markets and fairs were hosted in town centers. In community gardens, people could gather to cultivate crops.

Public areas such as community gardens still exist, but local governments don't direct significant funding towards them. Most public gardens are neglected, both due to a lack of funding and people not knowing of their presence.

Instead of public spaces, teenagers might look to restaurants or bookstores to spend their time. While privately owned spaces are usually better maintained, they aren't as accessible because of high prices.

Even with free refills and extra couches, a medium coffee costs upwards of $6. Most people, especially teenagers, can't justify spending that much on a 12-ounce beverage.

Starbucks CEO Brain Niccol has promoted the company's cafés as a "third space," remodeling interiors to include more seating, allowing free refills and offering customers traditional mugs rather than to-go cups. This is a step in the right direction, but like other corporations, the issue remains in their pricing.

From my experience, knowing you'll have to spend money going somewhere, an “invisible entrance fee,” is discouraging to teenagers seeking third places. Accessible third spaces like libraries and community centers have no entry requirements, welcome large groups and many focus on a common interest.

The drought of third spaces isn't entirely to blame on local governments. Teenagers must seek out spaces that interest them, like school clubs or youth groups.

Though it can be nerve-wracking to put yourself into a new environment, especially when you don't know anyone. But, teenagers need to seek human interaction, rather than having the majority of their social engagement be online.

School clubs are a good place to start. They often provide snacks and fun activities, cost no money to join and are full of people that share hobbies or passions — one that the club likely focuses on. 

Businesses need to work to offer affordable pricing, local governments need to fund community spaces and teenagers need to put in the effort to look for and join clubs, groups or teams that focus on their unique interests.

Third spaces have been a constant throughout history, but without a conscious effort to maintain their presence, they're dying out — and dragging our mental health down with it.