Third Spaces' Role in Disproportionately Impacted Communities

Parks and libraries are essential infrastructure functioning as “third places” to support togetherness, learning, and resources for those left behind. The State of Colorado has classified Historic Westminster as a Disproportionately Impacted Community, based on multiple public health and environmental factors. This neighborhood faces changing demographics with more seniors, immigrants, and young adults seeking affordable places to start families. Active engagement with residents has helped rethink how those third spaces can meet changing needs, within a compact one-half square mile area, that include multimodal transportation and environmental-quality interventions.

The tour includes a public library that offers citizenship classes, English as a second language programs, and services for the unhoused. The adjacent grounds include a community garden, which is critically needed due to the lack of healthy grocery offerings nearby, and a trapeze facility, one of very few in the nation located in a public park. Nearby public art installations support inclusivity through various cultural contributions to the area. Lack of vehicle access is a challenge in this area, so another amenity is the Nature Playground, where neighborhood families can climb a tree house, scale a mini-mountain, navigate a switchback trail, and dig for replica dinosaur fossils.