No, I don’t mean another investment property! I want to talk to you about social well-being and why we need events and night-time economies to deliver it.
(Image from Burning Man Festival, circa 2019)
Sound a bit too deep? Well, here’s the thing, humans are the most socially connected species on this planet, and we all need (and crave) social well-being. But how, or more importantly where, do we get it?
That’s where the concept of Third Places comes into play. You see, to be sustainable (i.e. liveable, enduring, agreeable) every community, town, village or region needs three places for its people.
Place number one of course is our homes – we all need somewhere to retreat to, to recharge, to sleep, to feel safe and sheltered in.
Number two is our workplaces – we all (or most of us anyway) need to earn money to pay for our life and the stuff we use and things we do.
Third places are for socialisation. And this is where well-being really kicks in and is what events and a vibrant night-time economy help deliver.
Now I don’t want to make too deep an academic point of this but let’s quickly consider social exchange theory and how this leads to our well-being as individuals and as communities. Or, as Homans (1958) coined it “Social Behaviour as Exchange”.
You see we enter into social exchange from a cost versus benefits perspective. So we go to events, or engage in a night out, hoping that the rewards are going to outweigh the effort. Reward being the key word here and this is where well-being comes into play.
Turns out our well-being, first described in psychological terms by Maslow (1962), can be measured by a thing called PERMA. Now PERMA was developed by a pretty smart bloke called Martin Seligman in 2012. His theoretical framework, which has been validated numerous times in the social sciences since, comprises five elements:
1. Positive emotions
2. Engagement
3. Relationships
4. Meaning
5. Accomplishments
See the acronym? Clever hey! So, it turns out each of these dimensions work in concert (pardon the pun) to give rise to a higher order construct that predicts the flourishing of groups, communities, organisations and even nations.
Now Third Places deliver PERMA in spades and, interestingly, in ways the first two places can fall short.
Think about going out to see a band you like. No doubt their music stirs positive emotions for you. You engage in the experience along with the band and other audience. This strengthens bonds with the friends you are attending with – maybe even leads to developing new relationships, which in turns gives you meaning in life and a sense of accomplishment by, if nothing else, letting you say “I saw them at/when …. and it was awesome!” (bucket list ticked and a great party brag)
What? You haven’t been to see a band for a while you say? Well, remember how it made you feel when you did?
Ok, not to worry, have you been to twilight markets recently? Ate from a food cart? Maybe made new connections, bought, or learnt about, some new craft?
Or have you shared a beer or wine with friends lately at your village night strip? Been to a good restaurant or just chilled at a bar with friends? Or maybe a food festival?
You see events and a vibrant night-time economy are what bring our Third Places to life. They are significant drivers of the social and economic well-being (sustainability) of our communities. I mean who needs KARMA when you can go out and get PERMA!
Hey, maybe ACDC were right – “Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution!”
(Image of Noosa Junction)
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