SOCIAL DRINKING IN THE THIRD PLACE: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF PERSPECTIVES OF NEIGHBOURHOOD DRINKING ESTABLISHMENTS IN HALIFAX’S NORTH END

Abstract

North End Halifax, a mixed-use neighbourhood, is home to an increasing number of drinking establishments. Drinking establishments may function as highly sociable ‘third places’ (Oldenburg, 1999) and leisure contexts that foster belonging. Nevertheless, the social and leisure functions of drinking establishments may be influenced by gentrification. This study employed critical discourse analysis methods (Fairclough, 2005; Gee, 2011) to explore written and oral discourses related to drinking establishments in the North End. Findings illustrate rapid neighbourhood change processes can manifest by way of drinking establishments that are inherently embedded in discourses of gentrification and place-belongingness. In addition to offering new insights drinking as a sociable leisure experience in the absence of problematized biases, this study emphasizes the growing relevance of gentrification to leisure scholars, emphasizing the need for further inquiry into the ways in which leisure contexts and experiences are influenced by our changing urban landscapes.