In many ways, the anti-café is the kind of space that American urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg calls the “third place”, separate from the social environments of home and work. In his book, The Great Good Place (1989), he argues that upbeat, accessible, public spaces — cafés, coffee shops, bookstores, bars, hair salons — where “conversation is the main activity” are vital.

These are places that are neutral (where one doesn’t have to host others, and where people can come and go as they please). They are a “major vehicle for the display of human personality and individuality”, offering a sense of “at-homeness”.

“The character of a third place is determined most of all by its regular clientele and is marked by a playful mood, which contrasts with people’s more serious involvement in other spheres. Though a radically different kind of setting from the home, the third place is remarkably similar to a good home in the psychological comfort and support that it extends,” he writes.

Anti-cafés, which charge visitors by the hour or minute and throw in unlimited beverages and light snacks, are coming up around the world. In India, there are some in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Guwahati, Kochi, Chennai.

But what such time clubs point to in our cities is the lack of public spaces, says Smruti Koppikar, journalist and founder-editor of Question of Cities, an online journal and platform that examines the sustainability of our built environments.

In many ways, in fact — by default, of course, rather than by design or intent —anti-cafés monetise not just time, but the very lack of open, accessible spaces, substituting for the missing, inaccessible or poorly managed parks, gardens, beaches, promenades.

They do serve a purpose. “In our cities, where public spaces are either shrinking, inaccessible due to safety, cleanliness, maintenance or timing issues, or are being converted for specific usage, an anti-café or a coffee shop exists as a semi-public space… in that it does offer vital public-place interaction,” she adds

This interaction can help sustain friendships, promote leisure that transcends the closed circles of work and home.

But in an ideal world, perhaps they would not be needed. “In a well-planned and well-cared-for city, such spaces might not have a ready or thriving market either,” Koppikar points out.

So, what’s really important to note is what kind of cities we are building. “Who gets to use what kind of space in our cities now? And who decides that?”

We should get to decide, of course. But we don’t, do we?

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