‘Fourth places’: the Contemporary Public Settings for Informal Social Interaction among Strangers.

This paper introduces ‘fourth places’ as an additional category of informal social settings alongside ‘third places’ (Oldenburg 1989). Through extensive empirical fieldwork on where and how social interaction among strangers occurs in the public and semi-public spaces of a contemporary masterplanned neighbourhood, this paper reveals that ‘fourth places’ are closely related to ‘third places’ in terms of social and behavioural characteristics, involving a radical departure from the routines of home and work, inclusivity, and social comfort. However, the activities, users, locations and spatial conditions that support them are very different. They are characterized by ‘in-betweenness’ in terms of spaces, activities, time and management, as well as a great sense of publicness. This paper will demonstrate that the latter conditions are effective in breaking the ‘placelessness’ and ‘fortress’ designs of newly designed urban public spaces and that, by doing so, they make ‘fourth places’ sociologically more open in order to bring strangers together. The recognition of these findings problematizes well-established urban design theories and redefines several spatial concepts for designing public space. Ultimately, the findings also bring optimism to urban design practice, offering new insights into how to design more lively and inclusive public spaces. Keywords: ‘Fourth places’, Informal Public Social Settings, Social Interaction, Strangers, Public Space Design

Equally spaced? Public space and interaction between diverse communities

This report aims to address the deficit in the current arena by offering one analysis of how public spaces can contribute to building positive relationships and bridges between different communities. Drawing on expertise from the fields of regeneration, community activism and education, the report works with a broad conception of public space that will elicit a response from beyond the usual confines of the planning and design sector. The report explores people\u27s motivations for entering public spaces, and assesses the potential for interaction that can be found herein. In particular, it explores some of the specific dimensions of public space - those that are most salient for people working in communities affected by tensions and misunderstandings. The report ends with a series of practical recommendations for those working in the field, drawn from the case studies and from an analysis of existing literature.&nbsp