Hangout spots needed to create community

A former hangout spot in a former mall.

One of those things that feels like it’s going away is gathering at a community hangout space. Maybe it’s the pandemic, or maybe it’s the continuing dominance of the digital world. We feel like we have access to everything and everyone. Hanging out is not so necessary.

When big malls that took up entire city blocks were part of our lives, teens would make them hang out spots. They didn’t do…