Shared Spaces

During another algorithmically cultivated stroll around the internet I came across a yt video by Pagemelt that’s about algorithms and what they do to us as humans. And towards the end Pagemelt says something I feel like I profoundly relate to. It is that when i reach for something to scroll (yt, instagram, etc) that I do this most likely because I’m feeling lonely. Not the kind of lonely where i have no-one to talk to, but the one where I’d just love to be in a space with people around living their life, doing things, whatever that may be. I wonder what kind of spaces I have in my life that are like that, and if there are new shared spaces I can discover or create myself…

Spaces where I can be among people

past spaces

I just graduated, and I’m rapidly jumping into real working life. The uni used to be such a shared space. Sometimes my friends would walk past, and my day suddenly looked very different. More often I’d just be surrounded by people talking, eating, walking, living their life. That feeling of sharing a space is just nice. Studying art I was inspired so often just by the people around, many I’ve never spoken to or have never seen again.

current shared spaces

Now I don’t have many spaces like this. Work feels like it sometimes, but it’s different of course. You are all mainly there to make the money and go home. In the creative field I work in it is possible to make a space more like a shared space, but that’s something for smaller companies then the one I work in I think.

Another shared space I like is cafes, although the activities there are quite restricted. My favorites I encounter while traveling or acting like a tourist in my home town. It’s the square kids are playing, the couches in the hostel with people all around the world, the local bars shining their light on the otherwise dark alleyways, the open windows revealing countless lives as complex as any other.

future shared spaces

As for future shared spaces? I’d love to live in a space more shared. A space like a commune or a neighbourhood where people visit and help eachother regularly. That’s something I can work on to cultivate, though that feels hard in my current living situation. It might feel hard because i’ve lived here for 2-3 years now without it. I tell my housemates they are free to come in, I leave my door open, but only one of them sometimes does. I’d also like something like a creative shared space. Something like a big workshop or a space in the townhall or library where ones in a while people are encouraged to bring their work and create together in the same space.

the end :)

I bet we could design so many more spaces like this, and I’m even sure-er that there are so many that I just haven’t discovered yet. Time to find some shared spaces :)