Places To Be - Society’s NEED for community spaces

Illustrations by Grace McKenna

I walk through the streets of Edinburgh in the biting January cold, and I notice something unsettling. My on-foot commute from work to home becomes increasingly uncomfortable as a recent rain shower has rendered all path-side benches un-sittable, and it occurs to me that unless I am to awkwardly sneak into a pub or cafe, then there is nowhere for me to use the bathroom along my route.

Finding a place to meet friends when not everyone can afford to blow their budget on a pint or a coffee is another challenge, especially when hosting in your cramped flat is not always an option. Besides that, this offers less opportunity to meet anyone new outside of your usual home or work.

Is this only a problem now? Research suggests not entirely, but in 2026, social isolation has become particularly prevalent with the dwindling number of communal spaces where people can mix for both work and leisure. Social hubs like churches, town/village halls and youth clubs where intergenerational communication and socialising can take place, and even offices are on the decline, due in part to both funding and lifestyle factors. 

I find myself in the fortunate position as both a student and part-time employee of the university that I have access not only to the study facilities provided (albeit potentially not enough to house the extremely large student cohort during busy periods), but also the option to complete my remote work in an office space designated to those of particular roles. However, I contemplate what I might do should I not be so lucky. With over a quarter of working adults in the UK being at least hybrid, or partially remote, with no official obligation by their employers to provide a workspace for them to complete tasks, we find an increasing number of individuals left with blurred lines between work and home life. What’s more, there is not even a whisper of a third dimension in which to exist and form new social connections outside of these realms. 

There is of course one easy way to access spaces for work and community: you pay for it.

Bespoke remote workplaces are on the rise, and memberships to exclusive clubs that offer access to a range of facilities from lounges to gyms (think Gleneagles townhouse) provide an easy option for those with the financial means to essentially pay for their own office, or social space. 

You can also join the well-established tribe of cafe workers and study-ers, who lock themselves down to a plug socket through the purchasing of food and hot beverages at whatever is deemed an acceptable interval throughout the day. Nevertheless, even this is becoming a challenge, with many establishments enforcing rules like laptop-free tables, limited stays and one-product-per-person guidelines that make it harder to gather in a group. 

While I understand why businesses protect their resources, the real problem is the lack of government- and council-funded alternative spaces where people can escape the cold and continue their work.

In Central Europe, one might gather in a plaza or park, out in the open air where warmer climates and al-fresco culture make sitting and chatting a comfortable and accessible activity. However, in the unsociable coldness of the UK, inflicted by barriers like anti-social architecture and a distinct lack of public toilets and free drinking water, intentionally created spots of shelter and amenities are even more vital. Of course this would require a level of policing for factors such as community safety, hygiene, and vandalism, but programs such as ‘city ambassadors’ in areas like Sheffield provide a tangible positive impact for the physical and mental well-being of urban residents.

While talking to strangers has never been part of the UK’s cultural forte, practicing these skills in open, non-judgmental spaces where there is both guaranteed safety and a lack of forced proximity is sure to help initiate genuine connection and friendship, and develop interaction skills for the digital generation. Perhaps the current prevalence of technologies like dating apps or friendly equivalents are fuelled by a prevailing social anxiety that leaves people unable to meet others in authentic environments. There is no surprise, then, that almost 50% of UK residents reported feelings of loneliness in 2022, be that a fleeting experience or a chronic condition. 

As of September 2025, Starmer announced a £5 billion funding boost for ‘overlooked’ communities, seemingly to bolster community interaction. The link between mental wellbeing and community is well-known, and research findings from Locality suggest the strong link between the health of young people and designated ‘third places’ away from school and home that are no/low cost, and fit an increasing need for both specialist and open-access spaces. However, the UK clearly still has a way to go, with as little as 0.8% of GDP being spent on community amenities, compared to other countries in Europe (such as Italy with 4.3%).

Three years ago, I wrote on Medium about the need for a ‘Third Place’,as discussed by Ray Oldenburg, in a post-pandemic UK, and how the Covid-inflicted dissolution of ‘second’ places (a place of in-person work or education) has left many of us hanging in the balance, with even more of a need for a place to socialise that is not just the home, or a site of work/education. Now, in the age of progressive brain-rot and availability of artificial connection through sources like AI, places to interact freely with other humans take on a new salience and are more vital than ever. Rather than pushing us all further into an insular, online existence, perhaps the antidote to society’s aloneness epidemic is a push for availability of spaces to socialise in the real world, instead of merely the virtual one.