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This canon featuring a synthesis of writings by Patricia Mou shows why modern cities need new civic temples.
It tracks the loss of third places, the psychological roots of meaning-making, the emergence of Fourth Place theory, and the real-life prototyping of The Commons.
Everything culminates in the design of Commons v2: a civic temple for philosophical discourse, contemplation, and multiple wisdom streams in the post-religious era.
If you’re interested in any of these topics feel free to email me at [email protected]
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Summary: Establishes The Commons as the modern heir to stoas, coffeehouses, and urban salons.
Summary: Defines third places as communal “living rooms” for civic life between home and work, showing how they historically anchored belonging, familiarity, and public discourse across cultures.
Summary: Explains how suburbanization, car culture, and zoning dismantled the casual venues that once held American social life, resulting in widespread loneliness and social fragmentation.
Summary: Argues that authenticity naturally emerges from deep self-trust, exploring how early childhood “holding environments” shape adult mistrust and how rebuilding inner safety becomes the foundation for purpose and spiritual growth. It asks: What would it look like to build institutions that lead us back to self-trust?
Summary: Calls for public spaces that cultivate reflection, inquiry, and presence instead of productivity and performance, reframing publics as civic technologies for pluralistic wisdom-making.
Summary: Reimagines cities as campuses for adult purpose and self-discovery, arguing that urban environments must cultivate meaning, curiosity, and psychological growth - not just commerce and consumption.