As someone who enjoys tinkering with bikes and fixing things around the house, Scot Wright has watched craftspeople do “some pretty amazing things” on YouTube.
But four months ago, he learned there was a space to learn and practice those same crafts locally: the Lansing Makers Network. Last week, he stopped in to learn about woodworking.
“All these amazing things are happening right here in town,” he said, “and you can learn from people who are really bright and talented. It’s so exciting.”
The Makers Network is one of many spaces that function as “third places” — spots separate from home or work where people find community. The term, coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg in 1989, has seen a resurgence in recent years as an increasingly lonely population covets community spaces.
The Survey Center on American Life found in 2021 that 44% of Americans lack a third place. And finding a new community can be difficult for people who lack connections or experience in the area.
Jed Magen, chair of Michigan State University’s Psychiatry Department, has written about the effects of loneliness. He said the obvious gathering spots are unreliable for those looking to build community.
“The disadvantage of going to a bar or something similar is that you’ve got no commonality, except that you’re in the same space with people,” he said. “A shared interest is key.”
Luckily, as loneliness has risen, locals have been working to create spaces that help bring people together. From farmers markets to game shops, Lansing abounds with potential third places.
Makerspaces
Magen said the need for community has become clearer as political polarization, social media use and lifestyle changes have left people alone more often. An ideal solution, he said, is a space where people reliably have something in common.
“In a religious organization like a church, synagogue or mosque, you’ve immediately got this shared interest with people and are so much more likely to connect with people,” he said. “Similarly, if you have other shared interests or hobbies and you go to a place where people are doing those things, those are places where you’re going to share some commonalities with people.”
He said finding community is often easiest for people like college students, who can simply join interest-based campus organizations.
For other hobbyists, though, makerspaces like the Lansing Makers Network are ideal spots to meet like-minded crowds. The space has tools for woodworking, machine sewing, jewelry making, blacksmithing and far more. For a monthly fee of $50, members have access to the space during open hours, which includes training for more specialized machines.
“The real thing that keeps people here is the other people,” executive director Brian Adams said. “They’re just the coolest you’ve ever worked with, and you don’t want to work at home alone anymore because you miss leaning over to someone and saying, ‘Hey, does this look good?’”
Many libraries, already common gathering places, have been building makerspaces in recent years. Though it doesn’t have the grand woodshop of the Makers Network, a space like the East Lansing Public Library’s maker studio can be a good place to find community, especially for kids.
Farmers markets
Joan Nelson, the retired executive director of the Allen Neighborhood Center, said the Allen Farmers Market was intended as a third place from the onset.
“Right from the get-go, the farmers market had music, and we made sure we put up plenty of small tables and chairs so people could sit and chat with neighbors and such,” she said. “We tried to make sure that people of all backgrounds would be comfortable at the Allen Farmers Market, that it would be a neighborhood place appealing to almost everybody.”
“Long time no see” is a common phrase heard at the market, which serves as a weekly congregating spot for some eastsiders.
“You see friends or neighbors come together who haven’t seen each other for a while,” Joe Cesario, who runs a booth at the market, said. “It’s great to see them connect, give each other hugs and just experience that connection here. It’s definitely a place that facilitates those random run-ins.”
Other local farmers markets provide similar environments. Liz Kruger, a local baker, sells at the South Lansing Farmers Market because of the camaraderie between both shoppers and vendors.
“We’re a big, goofy family,” she said. “We love each other dearly.”
At the South Lansing market, many customers have a rapport with vendors. One shopper, Lisa Norwood, said she frequents the market “to meet people and to get the discount,” referencing the Double Up Food Bucks program for EBT recipients.
Kathie Dunbar, founding executive director of the South Lansing Community Development Association, said programs like that bring the community out and foster connections.
But Dunbar also said the market draws people in merely by existing in an area where grocery stores are scarce.
“There’s nothing further west, there’s no grocery store,” she said, “so we started this to answer a need in the community. We wanted to make sure it was affordable and accepted EBT so that all income levels could commune together, and it became a community gathering place.”
Dunbar said farmers markets are more social than spaces like cafes because shoppers share a common purpose.
“Being in a crowd does not mean community,” she said. “This has a common cause, and it’s social. We all want to support these businesses — they want to make money, we want to eat well. But it’s a good community. People will come to meet their friends and have dinner here.”
Hobby shops
When they opened Tanuki’s Trading Post in February, co-owners Onyx Bart and Brandon Carlson said they wanted the Japanese collectibles shop to give people “someplace they feel included and fit in.” To that end, the shop has an event space where Bart and Carlson regularly host game nights and anime screenings — no purchase required.
Chase Curtin said the space provides a reliable hangout spot.
“It’s really fun just knowing I can go out on a Friday, hang out with people and play the Final Fantasy card game,” Curtin said. “I’ve definitely made new friends here.”
Victor Herman said the shop has helped him build community as a newcomer to the area.
“I didn’t really have a lot of friends in the area after I moved here from Clinton Township, so this has been a great place to make some new friends,” he said.
Part of the shop’s inviting nature is the ability to connect with its owners, something that sets small businesses apart as third places.
“My spouse and I stopped in and instantly became friends with Onyx and Brandon,” shop regular Cody Cantrell said. “I really feel like I’m part of a community here.”
Equally nerdy but less anime-inclined audiences may be interested in tabletop game shops. Once catering to a very niche audience, the shops have seen a renaissance in recent years as “actual play” web shows such as “Critical Role” have introduced tabletop role-playing games to a wider audience.
Samantha Schnepp has been frequenting game stores since she was 8, when she became a regular at East Lansing’s Fortress Comics and Games, which has since closed. She said events at game shops are a great way to make friends because they bring together people with common interests.
“The easiest way to make friends is to start with the prior understanding between both parties that you’re interested in the same thing,” she said, “so with game stores, you automatically have something to talk about.”
Having been involved in the community for over 15 years, Schnepp now works part-time at Hoplite Games, where she was a regular before being hired for her specialized knowledge of the popular trading card game Magic: The Gathering. She said game stores have become much more inclusive spaces in that time, especially for women and LGBTQ+ people.
She also said the tabletop and trading-card scenes have become more community-based in general. She’s seen Magic games shift from more esoteric, competitive play formats to a more accessible format called Commander that includes more players.
“Not only is Commander now the biggest money maker for card game stores, it’s also one of the most accessible card games for community building,” she said. “I’ve seen Commander nights with upward of 50 people.”
LGBTQ+ community organizations
The LGBTQ+ community has long favored bars as congregating spots for a variety of reasons. The area’s traditional gay hangout is Esquire Bar in Old Town, while younger LGBTQ+ community members have adopted the east side’s Avenue Cafe as their own, despite it not technically being a “gay bar.”
But those who favor community over cocktails may find their place at the Salus Center, Lansing’s LGBTQ+ community center. The downtown nonprofit has near-daily events, from game nights to writing workshops to identity-based support groups. The center also works with community members who want to set up something new.
Lee Flowers was one such person. In 2022, she noticed there was no transfeminine support group at the Salus Center, despite there being similar groups for transmasculine and nonbinary people. She reached out to the center by email to ask why.
“They said there was one that had been around at the start of the pandemic,” she said. “I told them I would like to see about setting it back up.”
Shortly after, she became co-facilitator of the newly reestablished Lansing Transfem Support Group, which has since grown into a community of its own. Alongside regular meetings, the group has a server on the social media app Discord with over 200 members. Flowers said the group still offers support but has also helped transfeminine locals find friends and community.
“It’s not just a social group, but the support has become more secondary to it being a spot for transfems to meet each other and know they’re not alone,” she said. “Folks come, meet each other and make plans outside of the support group.”
Flowers stepped down as co-facilitator last year to join the Salus Center as a board member. She urged those who don’t see a group for their specific community to reach out to the center.
“Support may already exist, but if it doesn’t, Salus is always happy to help start something up,” she said.
The center also regularly hosts events for broader audiences, including its yearly prom.
Making spaces more communal
While shared interests can bring people together more easily, Chengdu Teahouse owner Elyse Ribbons thinks establishments like hers can still help patrons find community.
Ribbons spent the bulk of her career in China, where she learned that teahouses were much more than the country’s equivalent of a Starbucks.
“It was the place where ideas were shared, where culture was passed down,” she said. “One of the most famous plays in China is called ‘Teahouse,’ and the reason it works is that teahouses in Chinese culture were, at the time, the epicenter of society. You would find people from all classes and backgrounds inhabiting a teahouse.”
In theory, Ribbons sells tea, but in practice, she’s a conversational matchmaker, introducing patrons to each other and fostering unexpected connections: a professor and a dropout, a journalist and an engineer.
“In China, if you show up at a teahouse and every table is full, you just find a table with an extra seat,” she said. “And sharing a table naturally invites conversation. I’m trying to bring that here, a space where people of any background can sit in the same space, share ideas and connect.”
After all, community is more than the people one spends their time with. It’s an essential part of life, Magen said.
“If you don’t have social support, it impacts your biology,” he said. “It makes you more susceptible to diseases, it makes you less likely to take action when you have problems. Humans are big-time social animals.”
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