Future of Third Places
In the spring of 2024, the Center for Science and the Imagination hosted a collaborative imagination workshop to imagine possible futures for “third places”—social environments outside the home and the workplace, which can include public spaces like parks and libraries as well as markets, coffee shops and teahouses, pubs, and a variety of other spaces where people congregate, build relationships, learn and share ideas, relax, and enjoy leisure time. The term was coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg in his 1989 book The Great Good Place; Oldenburg argued that third places are important spaces for exploring our identities, promoting social equality, and nourishing a culture of democracy.
At the workshop, researchers, artists, and other creative thinkers used speculative fiction and previous research findings to imagine possible configurations of third places in the future, with the year 2057 as an point of reference. Following the workshop, fiction author Lee Derouen created three short science fiction stories highlighting the norms, rituals, communities, and social activities that bring people together, and artist Brian Miller created visual representations to accompany each story.
Generation Remediation
Written by Lee Derouen and illustration by Brian Miller
Learn to Emulate
Written by Lee Derouen and illustration by Brian Miller
SHIFT
Written by Lee Derouen and illustration by Brian Miller
This project is presented with support and collaboration from the ASU-Starbucks Center for the Future of People and the Planet.
Workshop Participants
Tanvir Ahmed, Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies
Nicole Bingham, Global Futures Laboratory, Arizona State University
Lee Derouen, speculative fiction author
Taylor Fernandes, Starbucks
Deirdre Fernandez, Office of University Affairs, Arizona State University
Jenna N. Hanchey, Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, Arizona State University
Nate Johnson, ASU-Starbucks Center for the Future of People and the Planet
Stacey Kuznetsov, School of Arts, Media and Engineering, Arizona State University
Bukky Makinde, School for the Future of Innovation in Society, Arizona State University
Ale Rodriguez Vega, School of Arts, Media and Engineering, Arizona State University
Christy Spackman, School for the Future of Innovation in Society, Arizona State University
Chris Wharton, College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University