Recent Articles by Mas
FRESNO BEE 1/25/09
Third Places
Sunday, Jan. 25, 2009
by David Mas Masumoto
I search for Third Places. Coffee shops for farmers. Community centers, small
town cafes. Barber shops, beauty salons. Pubs, gardens, neighborhood restaurants.
Post offices, libraries, farmers markets, the place on the corner.
These are places where people gather, talk face-to-face, trade information, debate and engage. They're called Third Places, a term coined by Ray Oldenburg in his book, "The Great Good Place."
For most of us, we think of our home as the first place and the work setting as our second place. Third Places are those informal meeting sites where we are welcomed, food and drink often available, accessible to the public, comfortable and relaxing; places that bring people together in civic engagement, creative interaction... Read the complete article