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Jarred Joyce
Prof. Batty
English 101
23 May 2017
A Third Place and its Function in the Spanish Community
The local park in any neighborhood is a multifunctional area used by all age groups.

While children tend to occupy the jungle gym, teenagers and adults alike might venture to the

park closest to them to meet privately with friends. For the Hispanic community around the street

I live on, the park on the corner has become a place for them to reconnect with some of their

culture and get away from the chaos that is life in Los Angeles County. Little Landers Park is an

ideal third place for many reasons, from its close proximity to so many residents to the way the

park is organized. Although many assume a park is just a place for children to play, many

residents of the small city I call home, Sunland-Tujunga, would argue otherwise. Recreational

areas like this are popular in Latin American countries and because of the growing trend that is

Latino Urbanism I believe Little Landers Park and others like it are a necessity to the Spanish

community in America.

A parks environment and facilities are vital to creating a third place. According to an

online article called Happy Places: Third Places by Christopher Peterson Ph.D., a professor,

author, and founding member of positive psychology, a third place is vaguely defined as an

accessible public area where people from any class, race, or background can go to enjoy the

company of others and possibly indulge in friendly conversation. (Peterson) In his article,

Peterson explains that, the dominant mood of a third place is playful or lighthearted and

friendly. He also clarifies that third places contribute to the life worth living. They root us; they
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give us an identity; they restore us; they support us. (Peterson) Ultimately, these areas are vital

to sustaining a healthy community and a wholesome life.

Little Landers Park is a great example of a third place environment and is incredibly

functional for its small size. Similar to most parks in Los Angeles County, there is a playground

equipped with two swings, a jungle gym, and four slides all resting on a bed of sand, lined by a

path, benches, and finally, bushes. There is also a picnic area just beyond those bushes with

about ten tables. Usually, men gather here while their female counterparts find their comfort on

the other side of the bushes, with an eye on their children at play. Occasionally, on a sunny

afternoon, birthday parties and other family gatherings are also held here. In the middle of the

park is a small historical building. Inside are pictures from around a hundred years ago that show

the olive orchards that blanketed this area at that time. Though the building is not open to the

public every day, it is used for voting polls during presidential, state, and county elections.

The park is within walking distance of dozens of apartment buildings in the small yet

relatively diverse city called Sunland-Tujunga. Driving the roads there you will probably see at

least one person from each continent walking the sidewalks. Sunland-Tujunga is dominated

largely by low to middle income families, which lends to the resident racial diversity. The main

street that leads to Little Landers is a small commerce street with a dry cleaners, small hardware

store, local convenient stores, and places to eat. The immediately local populous around the park

is and has been Hispanic for quite some time. Though numbers have fluctuated, they seem to be

the largest group of immigrants in this area. Subsequently, there is a strong representation of their

culture throughout the regular attendants at Little Launders Park.

There is a substantial amount of evidence suggesting that the Latino community uses

spaces like these in America to temporarily immerse themselves in their native cultures. The term
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used to define this action is Latino or New Urbanism according to author Michael Rios, and

other sociologists is. In his book, Claiming Latino Space: Cultural Insurgency in the Public

Realm, Rios explains that small public areas provide a space to share a common sense of

territorial identity with a homeland other than the one being inhabited. (103 Rios) The

environment in a third place changes according to the people occupying the space. This was

apparent to me one afternoon, when I stopped to observe the park, reaching for a better grasp of

what he was saying. I saw that the majority of the people were Hispanic mothers bringing their

kids to play at the park while they sit on nearby benches talking about their day and exchanging

new gossip. By simply speaking Spanish and engaging each other daily how they might in their

homeland both age groups found a way to destress while allowing their family heritage and

traditions to be remembered and celebrated. The park is commonly used by families celebrating

birthdays, togetherness, and other accomplishments, like a middle school graduation for

example. In a country that enforces conformism so boldly through the media, it is encouraging

to see families maintain their identity by teaching their children their native language.

Having an understanding of where we come from is necessary to having a strong sense of

self. In an excerpt entitled Do I Look Like Public Enemy Number One?, Lorraine Ali, a well-

known editor and writer for the LA Times Magazine recounts feeling shameful of her foreign

cultural history because she wanted to be accepted as an American. At the time, she felt that

being accepted in that way would be gratifying enough. Ali says that it is the individuals

responsibility to somehow forge an identity between dueling cultures, [and] to focus on the

humanity, not the terror, that bridges both worlds. (49 Ali) For some immigrants, a trip to the

park to get away from the city life in America give could give them an opportunity to do just

that. The article was directed toward immigrants who are struggling to hold onto their heritage
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while acclimating to foreign land. Each family that meets at Little Landers has likely struggled

with this in some way also, but, by interacting there, people have an opportunity to reconnect

with their family history.

Little Landers Park offers an ideal environment for all locals to interact away from their

home or work. This can help destress individuals and in turn, reduce stress in the community by

simply making them feel more accepted. It is important to appreciate the how crucial the third

place environment is for revitalizing and maintaining a healthy mindset. The Latin American

culture is one of many that values these types of interactions and promotes them with outdoor

activities and fiestas for family. If more of us utilized public space like this it is possible that we

can preserve our culture, feel more stable and ultimately, become happier with ourselves and

each other.
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Works Cited

Ali, Lorraine. Do I Look Like Public Enemy Number One?: I Love Being American, But My

Arab Side Puts Me Between Iraq And A Hard Place. Conde Nast Publications Inc., 1999.
Peterson, Christopher, Ph.D. "Happy Places: Third Places." Psychology Today. Sussex

Publishers, 01 Dec. 2009. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.

Rios, Michael. "Claiming Latino space: Cultural insurgency in the public realm." Insurgent

public space: Guerrilla urbanism and the remaking of contemporary cities (2010): 99-

110.