DOWNTOWN MIAMI HAS BECOME VIBRANT

WHEN I ARRIVED 25 YEARS AGO, MUCH OF THE                                  CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT WAS A GHOST TOWN AFTER 6 P.M.

I am proud to have served under the leadership of Miami City Commissioner Joe Sanchez when was the chair of the Miami Downtown Development Authority.

We shifted the focus from the penthouse boardroom to clean and safe issues on the streets.

Tens of thousands of people endorsed our accomplishments with their pocketbooks – investing, buying, renting, working and playing in a now diverse and vibrant urban core with a blend of historic buildings and new mixed use towers.

In this photo, yours truly, the elder statesman (at least by age), meets young shapers of Miami's built environment.

Fabulous time during CNU Florida Leaders/Inspire Placemaking tour of downtown Miami.

Great to chat about the intrinsic value of Universal Design.

THE JOYS OF WALKING THE BACK STREETS IN ISTANBUL

ABANDONED PUBLIC PHONE IN ANCIENT FENER

Elegant, but broken. Listing to the left, yet perfectly photogenic. This old, beaten Turk Tele Kom station looks like an objet d'art posed against an ancient wall on a winding back street not that far from the shores of the Golden Horn. Think about the joys of life when we get out of our cars and wander the back streets.

THIRD PLACES -- Part 3

YOU CAN JUDGE THE QUALITY OF A CITY BY ITS NUMBER OF THIRD PLACES

Human is the key word in defining a Third Place. 

In these days of rapid telecommuting, where you can order darn near all your daily needs online -- and someday soon may see a drone rather than a human being delivering those products of e-commerce – it is too easy to fall into the trap of being an e-hermit.

You “connect” with maybe 100 people per day – via text, email, instant message or an ever-exploding of platform or connectivity known as social media.

But how do you share a smile, read body language, answer at the same time, whisper secret commentary and hear a spontaneous belly laugh in cyberspace?

You don’t.

That is why people of all cultures crave Third Places.

 

THIRD PLACES -- Part 2

YOU CAN JUDGE THE QUALITY OF A CITY BY ITS NUMBER OF THIRD PLACES

Third Places have regulars – that professorial looking guy with the scary big eyebrows, oddball haircut and careworn herringbone jacket scribbling ideas on a legal pad, the cat glasses cool and retro Betty Paige dyed hair gal incessantly smoking Gauloises cigarettes and the cute young couple that used to close the bars but now sacrifice sleep to the infant they now push in a funky euro-made pram.

Third Places are not the domain of any gender, age, race or economic status.

Which is to say Third Places ARE the domain of everyone in the city, town or village that is blessed to have them.

Barbershops most certainly are Third Places, from Floyd’s friendly banter in the Andy Griffith Show to the antics in African American barbershops that have become a franchise in popular Hollywood movies.

Unlike 6 a.m. pilates , 9 a.m. reporting to work, 1 p.m. dentist appointment, 7 p.m. soccer practice and 9 p.m. tuck the kids in bed at home – Third Places have no hard and fast hours.

Third Places have absolutely no attendance requirements – which is exactly why its inhabitants love congregating at them as much as humanly possible.

Part 3 tomorrow

THIRD PLACES

YOU CAN JUDGE THE QUALITY OF A CITY BY ITS NUMBER OF THIRD PLACES

Third Places are the essence of life.

They are comfortable, familiar, warm and fun.

They are NOT your home – that is the first place.

They are NOT your work – that is the second place.

Third Places are locations where social, vibrant activity takes place.

Famous television Third Places include the Arnold’s diner on Happy Days, Cheers bar on Cheers and Central Perk on Friends.

But a Third Place doesn’t even have to cost you the price of a burger, mug of beer or cup of Joe.

A Third Place can be Domino Park in Miami’s Little Havana, the urban green market in New York’s Union Square or scenic Mirror Lake in the center of the giant Ohio State University campus in Columbus, Ohio.

Part 2 Tomorrow