Third place theory and social work: Considering collapsed places

Abstract

Summary While social work as a field predicates itself upon a person-in-environment approach, limited work has explored the nuanced relationship between a person and their environment. Exploring place, which can briefly be described as “meaningful location,” is one means of looking at the person-in-environment paradigm. This conceptual article builds upon Oldenberg and Brisset’s sociological theory of Third Places (which conceptualizes non-home/non-work places that provide a particular sense of well-being and belonging for participants) to consider an alternative theory of “collapsed places,” which recognizes the ways in which socially marginalized communities uniquely build meaning within their respective place contexts. Findings In a traditional first, second, and third places, Oldenburg and Brissett imagine that individuals can move freely throughout and between all three spaces. However, individuals whose lives are constrained for any number of reasons do not have this same freedom. Their places are thus “collapsed”—perhaps geographically so, or perhaps their mobility limitations constrain free movement. This article includes case examples from three “collapsed place” contexts—older adults, incarcerated communities, and individuals experiencing homelessness or housing instability. Applications Little has been done to operationalize social work theories of place towards practice. This article offers implications for social workers to better support clients and communities in operationalizing place-based social work research and practice. Considering how individuals and groups make meaning in “collapsed place” contexts can serve as a tool for social workers to engage with socially marginalized groups at micro, meso and macro levels.