AtomicQuote

Ray Oldenburg Quotes

The course of urban development in America is pushing the individual toward that line seperating proud independence from pitiable isolation.

Ray Oldenburg

The course of urban development in America is pushing the individual toward that line seperating proud independence from pitiable isolation.

Tags: urbanism

The development of an informal public life depends people finding and enjoying one another outside the cash nexus.

Ray Oldenburg

The development of an informal public life depends people finding and enjoying one another outside the cash nexus.

Tags: urbanism

About Author
Ray Oldenburg (April 7, 1932 – November 21, 2022) was an American urban sociologist who is known for writing about the importance of informal public gathering places for a functioning civil society, democracy, and civic engagement. He coined the term "third place" and is the author of The Great Good Place (which was a New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice for 1989) and the 2001 Celebrating The Third Place.

As Ray states in , the nature of a third place is one in which the presence of a regular is always welcome, although never required. Membership is a simple, fluid process of frequent social contact, r...

Ray Oldenburg

As Ray states in , the nature of a third place is one in which the presence of a regular is always welcome, although never required. Membership is a simple, fluid process of frequent social contact, r...

It is estimated that American industry loses from $50 billion to $75 billion annually due to absenteeism, company-paid medical expenses, and lost productivity.17 Stress in the lives of the workers is...

Ray Oldenburg

It is estimated that American industry loses from $50 billion to $75 billion annually due to absenteeism, company-paid medical expenses, and lost productivity.17 Stress in the lives of the workers is...

Third places remain upbeat because of the limited way in which the participants are related. Most of the regulars in a third place have a unique and special status with regard to one another. It is sp...

Ray Oldenburg

Third places remain upbeat because of the limited way in which the participants are related. Most of the regulars in a third place have a unique and special status with regard to one another. It is sp...

We are an open mixing place for the general public, but we are strongly committed to bringing together people who may not normally spend time together in the hope that they will become friends, seekin...

Ray Oldenburg

We are an open mixing place for the general public, but we are strongly committed to bringing together people who may not normally spend time together in the hope that they will become friends, seekin...

We have always hired people with strong personalities. In fact, the only true criterion necessary to work at the Third Place is that one is a nice person—period. The rest can be learned in a day or tw...

Ray Oldenburg

We have always hired people with strong personalities. In fact, the only true criterion necessary to work at the Third Place is that one is a nice person—period. The rest can be learned in a day or tw...

1) Remain silent you share of the time (more rather than less). 2) Be attentive while others are talking. 3) Say what you think but be careful not to hurt others' feelings. 4) Avoid topics not of gene...

Ray Oldenburg

1) Remain silent you share of the time (more rather than less). 2) Be attentive while others are talking. 3) Say what you think but be careful not to hurt others' feelings. 4) Avoid topics not of gene...

So I took to the road with an accomplice and set off to the golden South, the new land of opportunity, North Carolina. Here, with the help of a partner I had only just met (and on the back porch of a...

Ray Oldenburg

So I took to the road with an accomplice and set off to the golden South, the new land of opportunity, North Carolina. Here, with the help of a partner I had only just met (and on the back porch of a...