Dr. Fatma GüneriAssociate Professor, Institut Catholique de Lille · Designing for Social Innovation and Leadership

Re)imagining Third Places

PDF · 9 Aug 2026

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The slide deck, authored by Dr. Fatma Güneri, introduces the concept of third places—neutral, low‑profile community spaces that foster belonging, socialization, and emotional support—as defined by Oldenburg and Brissett. It argues that such spaces are especially vital for young people at the margins, notably those experiencing homelessness, housing instability, or other intersecting stressors. The presentation outlines the harms of hostile or defensive architecture (e.g., bench arm‑rests, spiky stairs) that deliberately restrict how people can occupy space, linking these practices to broader structural inequities. It then presents Justice Design (or Design Justice) as a framework that centers the needs and participation of the most marginalized in the design process, and connects this to Universal Design, which creates solutions that benefit a wide range of users. The deck proposes game‑based and serious‑game methods as participatory tools for co‑creating inclusive third places, and includes a series of group exercises: identifying examples of universal design, imagining new universal‑design objects for cafés, and brainstorming qualities and recommendations for practitioners. Throughout, bilingual (English/French) text, statistics on youth homelessness in the U.S., and scholarly citations support the argument that re‑imagining third places through justice‑oriented, inclusive design can combat social isolation and promote equitable, supportive environments for youth.