Thoughts on my Third Place

I live near a very large shopping mall, one that, amidst an era of dying malls, is actually doing rather well.

I suspect part of that reason is because it actually has seating. Not like the food court or benches; actual seating areas, with furniture I suspect was donated/purchased from a furniture store that used to exist here at the mall itself. The effect: tiny living rooms that can be taken up by groups or silently cohabitating individuals.

I see people working on laptops, working or studying in this shared space. I see groups coming together to talk, preserving community and friendships among the retail venues. I see parents chatting while their children play together nearby.

There's also the fact that, while the mall is doing well, there are large areas currently under renovation as they shuffle locations and make room for new restaurants or stores. That leaves space. Space for children to walk or run that isn't impeding traffic. Space for people to linger, loiter, enjoy the space.

I think this is why this place, among all others, thrives.

But the seating is shifting. One of my favorite places to sit got taken up by a new vendor stall, another by a coffee kiosk. Eventually the mall will fill the spaces that are currently vacant, and traffic will change how and where people can gather and children can play.

It's bittersweet, this liminal quality of the space. It is, first and foremost, a place for spending money more than time. The fact I barely came here between November and January, due to the holiday crowds, is testament enough of that. But I wish I could guarantee this atmosphere continues. It's half the reason I feel comfortable coming here to write, treating it as the same sort of "third place" people say we are losing.

Maybe it will stay. Maybe someone will realize this is the reason we come to this mall over others. Maybe they will leave room for it and not commoditize it out of existence. Maybe.