Fewer community spaces leaves less opportunities for socializing, empathy

With the disappearance of community spaces, people face increased risk of loneliness and a weaker local economy.

By: Trinity Penny, Staff Writer

People eat lunch and socialize at the half-empty food court of the Burbank Town Center on Oct. 2, 2025. (Estefani Herrera for the Valley Star)

Imagine pristine, tiled walkways lined with snack booths and neon-lit store fronts, the aroma of buttered soft pretzels wafting around a corner and the happy chatter of crowds that come and go. The image of an '80s mall probably comes to mind, a kind of place often associated with its social scene. These are one of many kinds of “third places,” and they’re slowly disappearing.

Malls are just one type of what are called “third places” – community spaces in which people willingly meet to socialize and relax. Coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg in 1989, third places can include town squares, bars, restaurants, parks, libraries and even coffee shops, spaces that provide goods, services and a broader sense of community.

Locally, the Valley Plaza, which is one of San Fernando’s oldest shopping malls from the 1950s, is one such place set for demolition. Once a hub of prosperous activity that even caught the eye of John F. Kennedy, it now lays mostly dilapidated and has been declared a public nuisance. Many of the buildings have been boarded up and painted over, with broken windows and stray wires from light fixtures noticeable throughout the lot.

Other malls have fared better. The Burbank Town Center is still open and functioning, with chain stores such as H&M and See’s Candies open. The mall’s arcade, Round 1, was fairly empty at first, but grew busier later in the day.

“The weekdays, especially in the mornings, are definitely very slow,” said Evelyn Kiryo , a staff member at the arcade. “Usually it picks up, I’d say, around 5. Friday, Saturday and Sunday are the busiest days, and holidays.”

Still, however, there are signs of struggle. The Town Center’s Sears closed in August, leaving behind two empty floors in the mall. Several vacancies had been boarded up. Valley chemistry major Martin Danilevich, who had been playing guitar there, expressed the difference in crowds as compared to two years ago. “There was a pretty good amount of people there. Way less people there than, like, the one time I went, like, two years ago, though.”

So while not all third place disappearances are about their physical removal, changes in cost and the culture around them seem to discourage their existence as such. “Yeah, no, I shop online now,” said Chloe Mikaela, a second year public health major at Valley. “So I feel like a lot of public spaces are a little emptier because a lot of people like, stay home. Convenience, you know, all that stuff.”

Generally, third places and the communities they support affect everyone on different levels. By being able to find and form meaningful connections, people develop valuable social and communicative skills, and the exposure to new faces and diverse experiences facilitates empathy. Third places have been shown to have a positive impact on the areas they inhabit, such as decreased crime and poverty and improved economic and social prosperity.

Finding exact numbers on these disappearances has been elusive despite their significance. “The relevance of third places to health and quality life is under-researched,” a National Library of Medicine study said. “Americans may be losing access to key services, goods and amenities, in addition to community sites that help buffer against loneliness, stress and alienation.”