Third Spaces: Lessons from African Cities

Earlier in the year, I travelled to Uganda and saw something I didn’t expect: cities there have vibrant, active Third Spaces - not work, not home. These are dynamic informal places for people to gather and socialize.

Photo by rory mcharg (Femme Electronic), CC BY-NC 2.0 DEED

I have been doing research on the public realm for a long time, but I have never witnessed first-hand how urban spaces can foster such vibrant and active communities. Many practitioners and professionals think of third spaces as semi-public or semi-private and what I saw on the streets of Kampala and Entebbe was just that mix - largely outdoors, on the stoops of buildings, on private ways, on sidewalks, a crush of joyful residents eating, drinking, singing, and dancing.

Listen to the latest episode of my Cognitive Urbanism podcast: how Western cities can learn from Africa about third spaces.

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Best,

Justin