In my brother's hometown of historic Herrenberg, Germany (population 34,000), running for office-he serves on the city council-involves setting up a stand on the central market square. City hall, a church, and stately half-timbered medieval gabled buildings frame an irregular plaza in the center of town whose spatial quality rivals the Piazza del Campo in Siena, Italy.

Every Saturday, people stream into the square from a web of connecting alleys to buy produce, bread, flowers, and cheese. They shop, but they also chat-with merchants and with one another. By the time the purchases are done, hands have been shaken, pamphlets distributed, and the latest news exchanged, whether it is summer or winter, rain or shine. Herrenberg's market square is a perfect social place-a true "third place."

In the suburban outskirts of my adopted hometown, Baltimore, candidates for office stand at the corner of two arterial roads waving placards at passing motorists. The landmark is a silver diner sitting behind a sea of parking. Each road leading to the intersection has two or three through-lanes and dedicated turn lanes in every direction.

A large "No Kings" rally with several hundred people recently took place there. Protesters lined the four corners of the intersection, waving signs into the roar of traffic while drivers honked in support. This is not a social place.

Baltimore does, in fact, have a slew of  READ FULL ARTICLE HERE