The Erosion of Third Places

It’s market day in Andover, Mass., and everyone’s invited. Kids race between tents set up between the town’s offices and the public park. Neighbors chat with neighbors, carrying fresh produce and flowers home in their tote bags. Vendors talk excitedly about their wares, from artisanal woodworks to fresh croissants. 

Andover Farmer’s Market is a third place, to use the term coined by American sociologist Ray Oldenburg. The idea is that home is your first place, work is your second place, and third places are places where you go to interact with your community. 

Oldenburg viewed third places as central to public life and essential for “local democracy and community vitality.” 

Amy Ferraro Whitsett, who is in charge of social media and marketing for Andover Farmer’s Market, views it as an essential third space. In her work as the social media manager and a vendor herself, she meets new people and has different kinds of conversations every single week. 

“It’s a place to go to restore your hope in humanity a little bit,” Whitsett said. 

She also cited a study she read from ScienceDirect that said supermarket shoppers are typically alone, while farmers’ market shoppers generally are in the company of others. 

According to Whitsett, Andover Farmer’s Market has prioritized making a community space accessible for everyone, and a big part of that is ensuring the goods are affordable. It lists how they can provide food assistance on their website, clarifying that they accept SNAP, SUN Bucks, HIP, WIC, and Senior FMNP coupons. It also matches up to $25 additional dollars for their SNAP customers. 

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was signed into law by President Trump on July 4, poses serious threats to SNAP benefits. 

Currently, SNAP benefit costs are entirely federally funded. However, the bill would force states to pick up at least 5% of SNAP benefit costs. The bill also would raise the work requirement age from 54 to 64 and would force parents of children older than 6 years old to meet work requirements.

The market takes pride in supplying food assistance to its patrons.

“We believe everyone deserves access to healthy and fresh food regardless of personal circumstances,” reads a statement on its website.

The cutting of SNAP benefits in Trump’s budget bill is not expected to go into effect until 2028, according to ABC News. Still, the dread is anticipatory from constituents all over the country.

Andover Farmer’s Market backs up to The Park at Chestnut Street and Bartlet Street. It’s one of the most widely used third places in town, playing host to a yearly local carnival, arts and crafts, and regular concerts. 

It’s a widely popular green space. However, it appears the development of future green spaces in town may be done without oversight from Andover’s Permanent Town Building Advisory Committee. According to meeting minutes from March 13, 2024, a public forum would not be provided for the development of public parks, fields, or playgrounds, or any other horizontal construction. 

“Absent and established committee project management would largely be conducted outside of a public forum,” the meeting transcript reads. Horizontal construction appears to qualify, unless the town manager requests committee oversight.

In the meeting minutes, the committee made it clear that public input is a priority. Still, it’s discussed that the development of spaces like parks and fields does not, in their estimation, require the same oversight by committee or a forum as a major project like a new building. 

Just over 30 miles away from this more suburban setting is another green space with upcoming developments that the community is ferociously demanding more insight into. Franklin Park is a widely popular outdoor area in the city of Boston. This 485-acre park was designed in the 1890s and connects Boston neighborhoods such as Roxbury, Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, Mattapan, and Roslindale. Franklin Park has a zoo, trails, a golf course, multiple playgrounds, and more.

But, it's facing a risk of privatization, and many community members feel like their wishes aren’t being heard when it comes to the future of this particular third place. 

White Stadium is a cornerstone of Franklin Park, having around 10,000 seats, and was previously used for local athletics and community events. Now it is being revitalized by the city, with a “public-private partnership with Boston Legacy Football Club (BLFC),” according to the city website. This partnership is said to improve access, safety, and programming. 

Critics have railed against the plan, helmed by Mayor Michelle Wu, saying it would cost too much, sideline Boston Public Schools students, reduce green space, compromise the historical integrity of Franklin Park, and cause transportation problems, according to reporting from Boston.com. 

Primary critics of this project include the Franklin Park Defenders and the Emerald Necklace Conservancy. Both groups have joined together to propose an alternate solution to develop White Stadium in a way that they describe as a better alternative for the community. It’s also reportedly cheaper, with the Boston Globe reporting that the city would pay an estimated $91 million last December. The plan developed by Franklin Park and fellow conservation advocates estimates their total costs to be closer to $64 million, according to a breakdown available on their site. 

For Carlen Singmaster, head of marketing and communications for The Emerald Necklace Conservancy, the city’s current plan for White Stadium will compromise the integrity of the park and its original purpose. 

According to Singmaster, due to the proposed transportation plan for the BLFC in the spring and summer months, “parkgoers will not be able to drive to the area and park without special permits. Picnics, cookouts, family outings, and even beloved annual events like BAMS Fest and the Puerto Rican Festival could be impacted or rescheduled due to soccer games and concerts at the new complex.”

The latest version of the transportation plan released by the city does mention a limitation of on-site parking, stating its intent to use shuttles and encourage different forms of transportation. However, they cite this as an attempt to increase sustainability for the park and prioritize limited parking for other attractions, like the Franklin Park Zoo. 

“If residents can’t get to the park, or have to dodge shuttle buses containing thousands of spectators from outside the neighborhood, or can’t enjoy a quiet picnic without the din of a professional-scale soccer match, many neighbors and parkgoers will not be able to use Franklin Park as they do now,” added Singmaster. 

Asked how the development of White Stadium relates to larger patterns of public disinvestment and gentrification in Boston, Singmaster said Franklin Park has served as a hub for many predominantly Black and brown neighborhoods, and that it has been eroded over the years, with less and less land readily available to the public. This appears to fly in the face of designer Frederick Law Olmsted’s wishes and vision, she added. 

“Olmsted was passionate about the importance of free public space where people from all walks of life would be united, away from ‘the bustle and jar of the streets,”’ Singmaster said. 

She does point to a path forward, citing options she’s deemed both less expensive and catered towards the high school students for whom the stadium was originally intended. 

“There is absolutely a way to renovate White Stadium as the public amenity it was meant to be,” she said. 

The privatization of public lands appears to be a prominent threat to outdoor third places. 

For Richnie Pin, 26, a resident of Lunenburg, walking trails near her home gives her an excuse to get more fresh air. Pin is referring to Peabody Conservation Area, which is a part of the North County Land Trust.

When asked what is valuable to her about having that area as a part of her community, Pin recalled a special aspect of one of the trails where older adults can leave toy dinosaurs and ducks for kids that frequent the area, to encourage them to spend more time outside.

“Sometimes I take them too,” Pin confessed with a giggle. 

For Annie Barron, 27,  another Massachusetts native who just relocated to Jackson Hole, Wyo., exploring outdoor third places and public lands is a great way to introduce yourself to a new place. 

“It’s so important,” said Barron. “Especially in your twenties, so you can meet people and be in community, with low commitment.” 

Barron frequents swimming holes and public trails with her dog Linus. For her and Pin, public lands are an ultimate priority. 

That doesn’t appear to be a similar priority for the current administration, as President Trump has spoken out in support of selling public lands. U.S. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah pushed for a massive federal land sale in the One Big Beautiful Bill, which would have significantly impacted outdoor recreational spaces. Public land has great bipartisan support, according to a poll released by Colorado College, which surveyed voters across different political parties and determined that only 14% of those surveyed were interested in selling public lands to solve the housing crisis. 

Taylor Rogers, the Grasstops Advocacy Director of Outdoor Alliance, a public lands advocacy group, called the removal of public land sell-offs from the bill “a win for Americans everywhere.”

She added that “ensuring these public lands remain in public hands safeguards spaces for communities to come together to find solace and connection outside through recreation of all kinds.” 

Third places are being challenged, reshaped, eroded, but not entirely vanquished. For Kristen Tepper, a Hollywood writer, podcast host, and film industry professional, our third places are the key to connection. 

“I think when we stop prioritizing third spaces and community in general, it just exacerbates America’s already troubling hyperfixation on individualism,” Tepper said. 

She has a large presence on TikTok where she creates videos and offers takes, mainly on the film industry. Occasionally, she offers critiques of capitalism and the importance of third places and walkable communities. 

“I guarantee in today’s day and age that we would not be able to get a public library funded in this country,” she exclaimed in one video. 

She’s big on the idea that third places need to be easily accessible, like cafes, libraries, parks, and local clubs. Without access to these places, she thinks people’s mental health can be compromised. 

“Society fosters a more self-absorbed populace than one capable of understanding or empathizing with others,” she explained. 

The National Library of Medicine backs up Tepper’s claim, with research that expands on how living in neighborhoods with limited access to resources can have detrimental impacts on not only your mental health, but also your physical health. 

Ultimately, many of our third places are still here. People frequent public libraries, walk hiking trails, and get their work done in coffee shops. However, issues like privatization of public land, whether urban or rural, gentrification, and funding cuts to libraries are just a few of the things that could threaten community strongholds that people hold dear. 

Written by Katherine Burns, for NYU’s AJO program.