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> The government slowed down its investment in and construction of third spaces—such as community centers, parks, and coffee shops—which has left fewer places f

> The government slowed down its investment in and construction of third spaces—such as community centers, parks, and coffee shops—which has left fewer places for organic social interactions. My anecdotal impression is that people don't really use those that are available very much and the drop in investment is because of that. I have organized a few events in community halls over the past few years and I have been struck by just how available the event spaces we looked at were. No conflicts, no competing priorities, nobody using any of the other rooms at the same time, etc. Some communities are no longer bothering to have community halls at all, as nobody really uses them. Where I live, the local community centres are not heavily used. Community social events have dwindled due to being poorly attended. The coffee shops, bars, and pubs have cut seating and replaced it with dedicated pickup areas for those who send in orders or are buying it through a delivery app. Schools have cut all manner of parent activities as the parents don't participate. Same thing for anything that isn't a flagship park or flagship sports facility. Sure, the top city parks are crowded, but most are pretty empty even on sunny days. So I have to ask, is there actually much demand for more social interaction? As it seems that the drop is mostly in demand, not supply.

redczar 1y ago
[flagged]
- barry-cotter 1y ago
  This reminds me of a tweet I saw in 2023, during the height of the Floyd Riots, that has since unfortunately been deleted, that said approximately that suburbanisation was a long term bet on the inability of the US State to keep order in urban areas. Basically, once a generation (last one before the Floyd riots were the Rodney King riots) the US has massive riots, everyone learns of remembers that if you don’t live in walking distance of an urban centre you’re safe from having your house burned down by a mob and after that there’s a durable uptick in desire for suburban rather than urban property.
  - redczar 1y ago
    [flagged]
- em-bee 1y ago
  you got cause and effect wrong. desegregation is not the cause. racism is. it takes a lot more than laws to root out racism.
  - redczar 1y ago
    I think it’s clear that the reason desegration was the starting point is racism.
    - em-bee 1y ago
      yes, but your wording made it sound like as we should simply have kept segregation and also women out of social life. you can see where not ending segregation would have lead to in south africa. i am sure in the US it would have lead to another civil war. so if we want to fix community life, we need to fix racism.
haswell 1y ago
I think this is less about demand, and more about habits. I’ve personally become aware of the fact that I need more social contact. I want to attend events, but never really built the habit of organizing. My ex was always the social instigator, and I didn’t realize how much I relied on that (we were together for most of my adult life). The more people I talk to about this, the more I hear them lamenting the lack of in-person gatherings. I think social media has kind of filled the need poorly, and this has changed habits. It’s not what people want, but it has them hooked, and IRL gatherings have suffered as a result. It reminds me of some of the comments from the younger crowd about TikTok. “I hate it, but I can’t stop using it, because everyone else is on it”. I really think people want real social interaction but have gotten caught in this social media habit that just barely meets the need. Junk food vs. a nutritious meal. I suppose at the end of the day you could still say this means demand is down, but I think there are more layers than that.
- intended 1y ago
  Junk food is the example I use for much of social media.
enaaem 1y ago
Third places have to be convenient for people to go there. It needs to be a walking distance away from your home. It's an extension of your living room. Rent also needs to be low so that beverages are cheap enough for people to drink daily. I have recently been to Vietnam and every neighbourhood is flooded coffee shops and tea carts.

redczar 1y ago

[flagged]

barry-cotter 1y ago
This reminds me of a tweet I saw in 2023, during the height of the Floyd Riots, that has since unfortunately been deleted, that said approximately that suburbanisation was a long term bet on the inability of the US State to keep order in urban areas. Basically, once a generation (last one before the Floyd riots were the Rodney King riots) the US has massive riots, everyone learns of remembers that if you don’t live in walking distance of an urban centre you’re safe from having your house burned down by a mob and after that there’s a durable uptick in desire for suburban rather than urban property.
- redczar 1y ago
  [flagged]
em-bee 1y ago
you got cause and effect wrong. desegregation is not the cause. racism is. it takes a lot more than laws to root out racism.
- redczar 1y ago
  I think it’s clear that the reason desegration was the starting point is racism.
  - em-bee 1y ago
    yes, but your wording made it sound like as we should simply have kept segregation and also women out of social life. you can see where not ending segregation would have lead to in south africa. i am sure in the US it would have lead to another civil war. so if we want to fix community life, we need to fix racism.

haswell 1y ago

I think this is less about demand, and more about habits. I’ve personally become aware of the fact that I need more social contact. I want to attend events, but never really built the habit of organizing. My ex was always the social instigator, and I didn’t realize how much I relied on that (we were together for most of my adult life). The more people I talk to about this, the more I hear them lamenting the lack of in-person gatherings. I think social media has kind of filled the need poorly, and this has changed habits. It’s not what people want, but it has them hooked, and IRL gatherings have suffered as a result. It reminds me of some of the comments from the younger crowd about TikTok. “I hate it, but I can’t stop using it, because everyone else is on it”. I really think people want real social interaction but have gotten caught in this social media habit that just barely meets the need. Junk food vs. a nutritious meal. I suppose at the end of the day you could still say this means demand is down, but I think there are more layers than that.

intended 1y ago
Junk food is the example I use for much of social media.

enaaem 1y ago

Third places have to be convenient for people to go there. It needs to be a walking distance away from your home. It's an extension of your living room. Rent also needs to be low so that beverages are cheap enough for people to drink daily. I have recently been to Vietnam and every neighbourhood is flooded coffee shops and tea carts.