Nationwide, more and more entrepreneurs are committing themselves to creating and running "third places," also known as "great good places." In his landmark work, The Great Good Place, Ray Oldenburg identified, portrayed, and promoted those third places. Now, more than ten years after the original publication of that book, the time has come to celebrate the many third places that dot the American landscape and foster civic life. With 20 black-and-white photographs, Celebrating the Third Place brings together fifteen firsthand accounts by proprietors of third places, as well as appreciations by fans who have made spending time at these hangouts a regular part of their lives. Among the establishments profiled are a shopping center in Seattle, a three-hundred-year-old tavern in Washington, D.C., a garden shop in Amherst, Massachusetts, a coffeehouse in Raleigh, North Carolina, a bookstore in Traverse City, Michigan, and a restaurant in San Francisco.

The landmark survey that celebrates all the places where people hang out--and is helping to spawn their revival A New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice "Third places," or "great good places," are the many public places where people can gather, put aside the concerns of home and work (their first and second places), and hang out simply for the pleasures of good company and lively conversation. They are the heart of a community's social vitality and the grassroots of a democracy. Author Ray Oldenburg portrays, probes, and promotes th4ese great good places--coffee houses, cafes, bookstores, hair salons, bars, bistros, and many others both past and present--and offers a vision for their revitalization. Eloquent and visionary, this is a compelling argument for these settings of informal public life as essential for the health both of our communities and ourselves. And its message is being heard: Today, entrepreneurs from Seattle to Florida are heeding the call of The Great Good Place--opening coffee houses, bookstores, community centers, bars, and other establishments and proudly acknowledging their indebtedness to this book.

Ray Oldenburg’s concept of third place is re-visited in this book through contemporary approaches and new examples of third places. Third place is not your home (first place), not your work (second place), but those informal public places in which we interact with the people. Readers will come to understand the importance of third places and how they can be incorporated into urban design to offer places of interaction – promoting togetherness in an urbanised world of mobility and rapid change.

A look at informal gathering places--coffe shops, community centers, beauty parlors, general stores, bars and others. The author considers their importance to our communities and the reasons for their gradual disappearance.

Describes informal meeting places around the world, looks at how each reflects its culture, and argues that suburbs are leading to their decline.

From taverns to garden shops to town libraries to spas, this volume offers inspiring stories about the "great good places" at the heart of our communities. Oldenburg's "The Great Good Place" has helped to spawn the revival of local hangouts, and now this book provides firsthand stories about those leading the revival. 20 photos.

An exciting new look at the essential gathering spaces in our society where friendships are formed, relationships are nurtured, and the tapestry of community is woven. Do you have a third place? Your first place is home, your second place is work, and your third place is where you go to socialize and build friendships. Yet, for several reasons, many people today find themselves without a third place of their own. At a time when our nation is facing an epidemic of loneliness and communities are suffering from a loss of trust, low levels of engagement, despair, and political polarization, what if the answer to many of our problems lies in a simple idea? What if we just need to pay attention to the places where we find ourselves? Rick Kyte combines storytelling, social science, and philosophy to explore: What makes a third place Factors that create and support vibrant communities The role of hospitality in creating belonging and social connection How third places foster friendships and bind us to others in our community What it takes to find and create a third place of your own "Rick Kyte's insight into the vital human experience of connection and friendship is both scholarly and inspiring. The next time I visit my favorite coffee shop, I'm leaving my laptop at home. It's time to look outward and engage more fully with others in our third places." —Amy Dickinson, "Ask Amy" advice columnist and author of The Mighty Queens of Freeville FEATURED IN VOX AND THE "ASK AMY" COLUMN

Intends to advance knowledge and sense-making skills in interpreting cultural, organizational, and personal influences relating to tourism and hospitality behaviors. This title looks at how explicit tourism assessments are being conducted and how to go about accomplishing prescribing and applying advanced assessment metrics.

Today the Asian church ministers in a multi-religious and often multi-cultural environment and faces serious challenges. Thankfully we have a resource that offers guidance and encouragement – the ancient documents known as 1, 2 and 3 John. In this commentary Dr. Gilbert Soo Hoo provides careful textual analysis alongside contextual relevance in the hope that the reader will hear God’s voice, encouraging them to become disciples that live in fellowship with the Father and the Son and with one another. The fundamental christological truths presented serve as a template to help evaluate various teachings and to discern what is true and what is false, which is critical for believers living and serving in multi-religious Asia.

In The Soul of Place Michael Jones explores how our relationship with place aligns us with the underlying patterns of life. He does so through stories that ask: what is our experience of homecoming and how do we find our way there? What is our pattern of belonging - including our relationship with people and places - that we hold sacred? What are the conditions of regenerativity and craft that enable us to give birth to something new? How can our stewardship of what is alive within and around us awaken the mythic imagination? And how does this open a path for gathering together in a spirit of transformative celebration?