Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Corresponding Author: Dr. In unassuming neighborhood locales, such as coffee shops, hair salons, and malls, people meet to socialize, express themselves, and support one another. Yet third places are closing across the United States. Americans may be losing access to key services, goods, and amenities, in addition to community sites that help buffer against loneliness, stress, and alienation.
The relevance of third places to health and quality life is under-researched. These sites may support wellbeing through mechanisms of stimulation, support, protection, and care. We call on researchers to investigate how third places contribute to wellbeing and consider the consequences that the disappearance of such places has for public health.
Future research on third places may be mobilized to innovatively reduce health disparities and improve quality of life. Keywords: third places, social infrastructure, neighborhood, place, public health, wellbeing.
With frostbite possible in eight minutes during the polar vortex, libraries, police stations, community centers, and churches across the Midwest opened their doors as emergency warming centers. Yet they can serve vital and life-saving roles in our communities. Their relevance to public health and quality of life is understated and under-researched, particularly among socioeconomically marginalized, vulnerable, and isolated individuals.
Furthermore, third places may be closing at an alarming rate. We draw attention to this trend and the potential consequences for the health and wellbeing of Americans. As a sub-category of the broad material foundation that supports and sustains social life, third places are, specifically, physical locations outside of the home first place or workplace second place that facilitate social interaction, community building, and social support.
