Karen Christensen is an author, publisher, and community leader whose work spans culture, sustainability, and the power of networks. As the founder of Berkshire Publishing Group, she has long championed ideas and institutions that strengthen communities. Her forthcoming book, written in collaboration with Ray Oldenburg, revisits and reimagines the concept of the “third place” for today’s world.
Third Place Makers is a placemaking platform founded by Ivy Lupco that explores and advances the people, ideas, and strategies behind vibrant communities and meaningful places. Through its consulting practice and conversations with place-management professionals, it connects ideas with action across placemaking, community engagement, activation, partnerships, and public-realm strategy.
In Palaces for the People, sociologist Eric Klinenberg explores the power of social infrastructure—the libraries, parks, markets, and gathering places that build relationships, strengthen communities, and support civic life. A compelling argument for investing in the places that bring people together.
U.S. Chamber of Connection — A national nonprofit working to rebuild social connection, trust, and belonging in American communities. Through local Chambers of Connection, research, events, and its “Six Points of Connection” framework, the organization brings together residents, employers, and community builders to strengthen relationships across differences and make connection a more intentional part of civic and community life.
Ray Oldenburg’s The Great Good Place introduced the influential idea of the “third place”—informal gathering places outside home and work where people become regulars, relationships develop, and community life takes shape. Cafés, bars, barber shops, bookstores, and similar places become essential pieces of social infrastructure.
