If you ask me, the best thing about being a college student — other than obtaining higher education, of course — is living in a (relatively) walkable neighborhood with all of my close friends nearby and several community centers accessible to me. 

Long day of classes? Take a breather in a hammock on McCarthy Quad. Want to catch up with the besties? Meet them for a picnic on the Great Lawn at USC Village. We’re surrounded by these areas where we can build community outside of work or home — also known as “third places.”

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The concept of a third place, coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg in 1989, refers to physical settings designed to promote community and social cohesion. Libraries, parks, churches or even coffee shops are all examples of spaces for free social interaction and relationship-building.

Third places are meant to bridge class divides by eliminating any barriers to entering these locations so that all community members can spend time together as social equals. This purpose is especially vital in the area surrounding USC because of the University’s role in gentrifying this historically Black and Latine South Central neighborhood. 

But while I and other students may be reaping the benefits of USC’s constructed third spaces, I fear that these spaces aren’t inclusive of all community members. 

I have witnessed Department of Public Safety officers asking people — who may have been unhoused — to leave the USC Village because they were sleeping on the chairs outside. USC Village is closed after 9 p.m. unless you show a USC student ID or a student registers you as a guest, which is ironic considering that the USC Village replaced the former University Village shopping complex filled with small businesses and more affordable stores. Only the Village Cobbler remains in this $700 million University development. 

I think many college students share my sentiment that we need more third places in our cities and neighborhoods, but in order to do that, we need to rework the way we think about community. Conversations about the need for third places often gloss over the unhoused population. A true third place would not just consider but also be equitable for our unhoused neighbors. 

This lack of consideration and respect for unhoused people is evident in Los Angeles on a larger scale. Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order in July to clear homeless encampments, an order that L.A. County obeyed after Newsom threatened to redirect state funding away from counties that didn’t follow suit. Santa Monica is considering banning unhoused people from using pillows, blankets and bedrolls to sleep on public property. City officials are working on relocating unhoused people ahead of the 2028 L.A. Olympics. 

It’s clear that this city isn’t designed for unhoused people to be able to live and thrive. If we don’t address the systemic causes of the homelessness crisis, the long-term solutions to house residents and our general attitude towards unhoused people, where will they go? Where can they go?

Community infrastructure and adequate third places can’t be achieved without considering our unhoused neighbors as part of our community. We can begin by deconstructing some of our notions and unconscious biases toward people experiencing homelessness. Only about half of the respondents in an Invisible People survey said that they feel comfortable around unhoused people and that all neighborhoods should help provide shelter and housing for them. 

A community doesn’t just consist of your friends and family. Every resident — regardless of class, housing status, race, age, physical ability, immigration status, sexuality, etc. — makes up a community, and we can’t pick and choose who is and isn’t worthy of being welcomed in a third place. 

Engaging in our community is so much more than hanging out at USC Village or volunteering at a shelter once a year. It’s about digging into the history of the space we’re occupying, acknowledging and befriending residents who came before us, treating everyone with respect and supporting mutual aid. 

I love being a college student living by a campus. It’s comfortable! But I don’t want to live in a bubble and be satisfied with that as my haven of third places.