Enhancing Social Sustainability Through the Planning of Third Places: A Theory-Based Framework

With constantly changing societal needs, along with population growth and increasing urbanisation pressures, open public spaces are constantly competing against other land-uses to accommodate the increasing urban pressures. Societies and cities call for an approach to reclaim public space for public use, to provide opportunities for people to meet and interact, and to develop a sense of belonging to a place. It is for this reason that social sustainability is becoming a crucial consideration within the urban context, seeking balance between economic developments, environmental challenges and the demands and preferences of modern societies. This article includes various theories and literature, reflecting on the importance of social sustainability in the urban context and the role of the Third Place in facilitating social sustainability. The concept of Third Places is considered as any space other than our homes (First Place) or work (Second Place), manifesting as a component of well-defined public places designed to enhance civic identity, quality of life, social capital and community revitalisation, whilst improving economic development. The Third Place concept is thus introduced in this article as an umbrella concept combining the physical realm and design of the social space and is considered from the perspective of the place-making approach, the lively planning approach and the green urbanism approach. These approaches were collectively employed as part of a qualitative enquiry to inform a theory-based framework to enhance social sustainability through the planning of Third Places. Although social sustainability has become increasingly influential in the urban planning context, limited research to guide urban planning approaches towards enhanced social sustainability exist, especially within the South African context. The lack of practical application of existing planning theories has resulted in the widening of the theory–practice gap and alternative approaches should be considered to enhance social sustainability. The proposed theory-based framework, based on the theory and literature of this article, will finally aim to inform the study of Third Place consideration for enhanced social sustainability within the South African planning context.