Wednesday, January 28, 2009

State Street

I was thinking about third places. State Street is a third place because, among many reasons, it is a place where anyone can go and is also a leveler for college students. But, as we were discussing, it also in some respects does not feel like a third place. When I walk down state street i automatically feel awkward when i am approached by a homeless person asking for my spare change. It changes from somewhere I want to be, having fun with friends, to wanting to get out of the area. I would definitely say that certain third places can be made less "third place" by the inhabitants. A public place does not equal a third place.

1 comment:

  1. I agree that state street is hard to classify as a third place. Although, the fact that you brought up the homeless people I think that it is a good example of how a third place can be should be full of regulars. Most of these homeless people occupy the same spot on state street everyday, so they could be considered regulars more than people like us who only visit state street when we want sommething to eat or to go shopping. Another reason why I also wouldn't consider it a third place is because it definately is not a low profile place, it is one of the most popular attractionsin Madison.

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