The Doughnuttery at Broadway Bites. Photo courtesy of New York by Design.

Charles Bohl is the author of “Placemaking,” and an associate professor and director of the Master of Real Estate Development + Urbanism program at the University of Miami School of Architecture.

Sociologist Ray Oldenberg coined the term “third place” to describe the important places in our lives other than home or work where people can go to relax, meet and mingle with people from all walks of life, and feel part of the community. These are the cafes, taverns, public markets, plazas and main streets where people from many backgrounds come together in the purest form of social and civic life. Oldenburg’s third place thesis resonates strongly with the Knight Foundation’s Soul of the Community study, which “found that three main qualities attach people to place: social offerings, such as entertainment venues and places to meet, openness (how welcoming a place is) and the area’s aesthetics (its physical beauty and green spaces).” RELATED LINKS

“University of Miami School of Architecture to expand entrepreneurial activity,  propel neighborhood revitalization with $650,000 from Knight Foundation“– press release, 04/16/15

In poorer, ethnically distinct neighborhoods—the traditional Little Italy, Chinatown, Little Havana neighborhoods of cities—third places have provided opportunities for local entrepreneurs to start small businesses that celebrate the unique art, culture, cuisine, crafts and commerce of their culture and heritage. As this unique mix of food, goods and a sense of place evolve, it can attract people from throughout a city and beyond to visit and support the economic life of the neighborhood.

The best type of third place for creating inexpensive startup opportunities for entrepreneurs are public markets, which could be indoor or outdoor assemblages of dozens of individual vendors selling all types of produce, prepared foods, crafts and merchandise. Many historic cities were essentially founded on the basis of public markets that became centers of economic, social and cultural exchange. The 2015 International Public Markets Conference was held in Barcelona, Spain, a city with 40 public markets providing third places with inexpensive space for startup businesses in neighborhoods throughout the city.

Unfortunately cities in the United States, particularly Sunbelt cities such as Miami, developed much later and typically lack historic market buildings and public market traditions. As a result, the barriers to entry for entrepreneurs are high, requiring long-term leases for commercial space in buildings, the cost of building improvements and equipment, plus utility and insurance costs that typically require a substantial loan and saddle startup businesses with considerable debt before they make their first sale. In contrast, startup costs for businesses in public markets, occupying simple stalls, tables, and kiosks with shared management, overhead and marketing, are often less than $1,000 and require no long-term commitments. The opportunity to provide inexpensive incubator space, artfully designed and organized, and activated with entertainment and events to create a community gathering place is at the heart of the Third Place Project.

The University of Miami School of Architecture has performed outreach work in South Florida communities for three decades through community workshops, studios and design charrettes. Some concepts generated by the school’s workshops, such as Pelican Square in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, are funded and implemented through public and private investment. But many neighborhoods lack the resources to invest in establishing a third place, including the design and construction of inexpensive incubator space for startups, and the business training needed to help entrepreneurs and to prepare nonprofits to manage places that can grow and succeed.

By providing funding to meet these needs, Knight support is helping launch third place projects in two South Florida communities, although we’re still exploring the specific locations. The Third Place Project will blend the School of Architecture’s expertise in architecture and placemaking for the design and layout of incubator space and public markets with the School of Business Administration’s expertise in business startup training and entrepreneurship.

In addition to physically mingling people from different economic backgrounds and neighborhoods in a public market place setting, the Third Place Project also taps into the strong desire that the “creative class” and millennials have for informal gathering places. The LAB Miami, in which Knight has invested, is one example, and illustrates the importance of fostering third places where artists, scientists, entrepreneurs and other creative professionals can interact in relaxed social settings, cross-pollinate ideas and launch new concepts. Moving beyond the traditional place-based market, the Third Place Project will provide a catalyst for this type of exchange, and introduce Internet platforms, delivery services and hybrid business models to entrepreneurs that can help them expand the markets for their products.

Bohl serves on the advisory board for the International Place Making Initiative and Future of Places conferences organized by the Ax:son Johnson Foundation, Project for Public Spaces and UN-Habitat. He is the incoming chair for the Urban Land Institute’s Southeast Florida/Caribbean District Council.