Singapore's Third Place

In Ray Oldenburg's book The Great Good Place, he talking about First (home), Second (work) and our Third places. So, what really is a Third Place in that sense?

I think what Oldenburg was trying to address was the disconnect between ourselves and the community that modern life has brought to us. In the age of fast-food and suburban sprawl, where we close our doors, the moment we reach our homes, there is no common place, where people can congregate and converse. This problem is far more prevalent in the US, then Europe or Singapore for that matter.

Anyway, he defined third places with the following:

• It is on neutral ground - It resides on a place where people can come and go anytime.
• It is a leveler - Membership is available to all with no distinction.
• Conversation is the main activity- Colourful talk and storyteller amongst the people
• It is accessible and accommodative.
• Regulars characterized third place - The same people who frequents the place.
• Third place has a low profile - Undistinctive decor and plain.
• It has a playful mood
• It is a home away from home

He goes on to cite several examples of cafes, beer gardens and taverns in US.

So, I was doing some thinking and I thought, our very own Kopi-Tiam was a good example of the Third Place as well. In terms of being a place where we always congregate to eat, talking and conversation is also high on the agenda. We have uncles sitting down there in the evening with bottles of beer, and maybe perhaps watching the English Premier League game there.

Certainly, the idea of the Kopi-Tiam was good one. I see in Toa Payoh, the Kopi-Tiams were just right below at the block of the HDB flats. Its a perfect Third Place for the residents to be there in talk, share local news and maybe even gossip. Remember the old SBC Chinese series, 'Kopi-O'. It was hit in the 80's... why so? Its because people can identify themselves as part of this culture. So much so, that the new MediaCorp shot its sequel 'Kopi-O II' in 2002.

But, I have noticed that the newer estates tend not to have Kopi-Tiams like Toa Payoh. SengKang for example, I heard from some friends only have 2-3 of them in the entire estate. This pales in comparision to the older estates.

In a way, the sense of community would be difficult to build and maintain if the newer estates do not have a Third Place as envisioned by Oldenburg.