How We Lost Our Way
Ray Oldenburg loved making lists, mostly about the benefits of third places. I am organizing my chapter on "How We Lost Our Way" and decided I could make a neat list as a way to sort out the material. These things are not, in themselves, necessarily bad. Many are good. [...]
15 July 2026
I've been reading fascinating Facebook posts from India by Krishnendu Ray, an NYU professor I had dinner with recently. His photos and summer travel stories are a window into a country I don't know, and would love to visit. And they made it more meaningful when I found myself quoted [...]
14 July 2026
It's Bastille Day and I have just received a story from France, sent by Antoine Burret. When he and I first talked on early podcasts about third places, I was intrigued and confused by the idea that third places, or Tiers Lieux, were part of French government policy. Not support for bistros [...]
Neighborhood Third Places
Here's an example of the way Ray and I stayed in touch, long before I thought I would be writing the sequel to his book. This was an email in 2015. Hi Karen, Always thought my "pitch" would be successful if the French went for it. Bouygues Construction is eager [...]
Christensen media list with links
Thought I'd post this now, to come back to and update. Most about third places. YouTube playlist which : https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx2BfTh09L-EYOzIj6HxwvkcH1-mTyNlB Wilson, Mark (May 6, 2023). “The death of a place to sit,” Fast Company. https://www.fastcompany.com/90878601/the-death-of-a-place-to-sit Henshall, Angela Henshall (2021): 'Third places': The ways losing our local haunts hurts us - [...]
Why a Revised Edition of The Great Good Place?
Ray Oldenburg sent this when we were talking about the new edition in 2019. I wish he were around to talk over the further developments, too! My favorite line in this is the one about losing our "counter culture." I'm going to slip that into The Great Good Place II! Here's [...]