Johnson County Third Place Project: Frequently Asked Questions

The project was heavily inspired by our coordinator’s experience working at the Yvvonne Richardson Community Center, a free community center in Fayetteville Arkansas, where he saw the magic of Third Places first-hand. Another factor was his time spent working at Johnson County Mental Health, where he witnessed both the immense benefit that Third Places had on his client’s recovery and the barriers that prevented his most vulnerable clients from from accessing these places.

Absolutely not! We highlighted three ideas for their long-term impact, sustainability, and feasibility, but we have dozens of other ideas for how to support Third Places in Johnson County. Reach out to our project coordinator if you’re curious to learn more.

Great question! While virtual third spaces are awesome, they are primarily used as a substitute when physical Third Places are not accessible. Additionally, our research showed that people are spending too much time online and not enough time touching grass. That factor also influenced our decision to focus on ‘Third Places’, rather than ‘Third Spaces’, although much of the literature and common knowledge uses the terms interchangeably.

We get asked this question a lot by parents who are concerned (and rightly so) that their kids only want to spend time with their friends online. However, the decline of Third Places is fueling this pattern of interaction. When teens are asked what their opinions about Third Places, their responses are compelling, and prove that they care about them, maybe even more than the adults do.

The short answer is that research shows that Third Places reduce crime rates ‍and improve community perceptions of neighborhood safety. The long answer is more complicated. ‍Despite over 93% of Johnson County residents perceiving the county as a very safe place to live, there is always room for improvement. However, we also need to be careful that in asking this question, we are not discriminating against unhoused individuals, most of whom have no First or Second places to go to. The city of Mission is innovating around this issue by training specific police officers to build relationships with the unhoused community and serve as a point of contact for community members with concerns. Solutions like this, alongside continuing to strengthen third places and providing unhoused individuals and teenagers safe places to spend time are key aspects to improving public safety in Johnson County.

Everyone has a role to play in the Third Place Project! Click here to start learning about how to get involved.