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| Shops, a park and more shops and cafes. The perfect ingredients for a great area. |
In my hometown there is such a lunchroom. It is in an area which is developing. Governments puts in a lot of money to make it a flourishing area. But in my opinion it is already working very well. The ground floors of the buildings are dominated by small supermarkets owned by Turkish or Moroccan people, bakeries, (take-away) restaurants, a drug store, a flowershop, a bike repairer and so on. It actually is a street Jane Jacobs would love. It functions as the center of two areas of which one is dominated by social housing while the other is full of beautiful decorated buildings which could only be afforded by those who have a well-paid job. Both groups meet somewhere along the street.
In the middle of this street is a small green spot where dogs can be walked, cars can be parked, children could play and adults could meet. It sounds impossible but the picture tells you what I mean. On one of the sides of this square a small lunchroom is situated. It is such a place with good food in which you can wake up after a long night out, where you can relax if you worked hard or where you finally are able to read a newspaper. The staff will spoil you if you ask for it and leaves you alone if you need some time for yourself.
It also is a place where people come to meet each other. If you come regularly not only staff but also other guests will start to recognize you. After a while you say hello to them and, before you even notice, your share a table and the story of your live. It is a place which is used as an office or a meeting room. People meet each other, discuss about business, the work of art they are currently working on (art could be any creative activity in this lunchroom), discuss their best friends new boyfriend, relax, make plans for the future, and so on.
What’s so good about this place is that it is not only inhabited by one group of people. Although well educated young people dominate it is also visited by people who seem to be a bit ‘strange’ in the entourage of the simple interior and outside terrace. People who clearly entered because they have been shopping in the area and looked for a place to rest, something to eat or a visit to the bathroom. But unlike in any other places dominated by a certain group of people, also ‘strangers’ are welcome. People do not gaze at the newcomer. They just know that they also belong to the area to which the lunchroom belongs to.
This place is a good example of a not designed but very welcome and very successful place of social interaction which just seems to work. Here food catalyses the relationship between two different groups having to share the same public space. I wish I knew what ingredients are needed to create more of them!
