Third places and ‘no buy zones’

Like many modern-day working parents, I have often wondered how Gen XYZ in the Philippines manage to sustain the habit of frequenting coffee shops and coffee bars, especially those who are still in school or non-working family members.

At the beginning, I was paying attention to the different forms of coffee-based concoctions that the “kids” were buying. I saw it as a trend or “uso” that was costly, perhaps fattening, and surely an added expense for parents. But I thought, it’s compensation for the lack of parenting.

I assumed that with their limited allowances, “baon” or budget, it was a spending choice to hang out at a coffee shop and scrimp on other things like clothes, or movies, etc. But still, I worried how such a “lifestyle” is unsustainable, unnecessary and eventually costly.

I was never harshly critical about the trend or Gen Z hanging out at coffee shops. I was simply curious how the “culture” held together.

Then one day, while sharing my thoughts with my daughter Hannah, she told me about “Third Places.”

“Third Places” is not about coming in “third” in a race nor is it about the “third sex.” It is about a third place that is an established destination, especially for Gen Z. It is literally a go-to place for Gen XYZ where the coffee concoctions are collaterals or side attractions. I found out later that the term “Third Places” was coined and promoted by the first “placer” in Third Places: Starbucks.

Hannah explained that for her and her friends, Third Places provided a break from the “constant” – namely home and school, especially in the Philippines where most homes are small, and family size is larger than in other countries.

Schools abroad are much better at providing quiet safe spaces and no-buy zones to work or study, but not in the Philippines where libraries are generally left-over features from the boomer generation, often rigid, warm and with a vintage scent combining old books and floor wax.

Sadly, the Philippines, Metro Manila, not even the so-called “planned environments,” truly prioritize or incorporate the needs of the youth in terms of park benches, meditation areas in the shade away from heavy pedestrian traffic or just quiet workspaces. Gardens in today’s concrete jungle and high rises are mere “features” and not a commitment.

Ask any senior citizen or person with disability to rate all the malls they go to and almost all of them will complain that stores don’t provide seats, malls have artwork pretending to be benches and just about every one of them has aggressive architecture designed to make people move on and not tarry!

There was recently a controversy about student access to a mall and regardless of who is in the right or wrong, the truth is many malls, especially the high-end ones in Makati, have security guards that actively prevent students from public high schools from “malling.”

To be fair, I would not want mall space to become the “Tambayan ng Bayan.” If the volume of traffic translated to income, that would be great, but if not, mall operators have to deal with costly clean up, maintenance and electricity cost for air conditioning and lighting, not to mention security costs.

There is a real need for modern day Third Spaces. Students need them, seniors need them, small business owners and professionals need them. From what I have observed, Gen XYZ are slowly losing their grip or control over their beloved Third Places.

At the beginning of the year, my wife Karen and I agreed to join our daughter as a show of support while she worked on her thesis. I would read a book or write a column while Karen does the weekly accounting or planning her sewing projects. There was quite a number of choices, but I soon learned that each location attracted certain crowds on certain hours and certain days.

The morning would start out with our kind of crowd. People trying to work on a “project,” reading or analyzing data, or simply working with their laptop quietly. But as the hours drag on, the Zs come in, doing their pictorials alone or in pairs. Soon the “Agents” arrive doing sales pitches online, competing for internet capacity with digital nomads and work-from-wherever types loudly yapping on their blue tooth headgear.

All along, I thought that the Third Places were for students and professionals, but my greatest fears were realized when I witnessed a reunion, complete with spouses and offsprings, at an SB near our place. The noise level tripled with the kids in tow, the temperature rose, and it was time to go!

Right now, Starbucks has become the premier Third Place but there’s not enough of them. Coffee Bean is catching the spill over, but the demand is greater than supply and the locations are still generally mall based. My daughter pointed out that during her studies in Europe, students would either meet up at the school libraries, public libraries, museum or a nearby community center.

Now that’s an idea! The DILG and barangays should host design contests for community centers that can become Third Places for students, professionals who don’t have brick and mortar stores or offices as well as a “socials” center that provides more space than tiny homes. If “operated” well with the right ambience, strong internet, less foot traffic and crowds, I would love to have my Third Place in the neighborhood.

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“Because so many people were coming and going, they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’” – Mark 6:31

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