Public Markets Conference Sets New Agenda for Communities and Local Economies


1. Catalyze neighborhood and downtown revitalization.

Markets serve as an anchor attraction for a downtown or neighborhood, drawing foot traffic which – with the right location – spills into adjacent retail areas and can spark neighborhood revitalization.

A great example can be found in Barcelona, which has 46 markets (most of them indoor market halls) in the city itself and over 150 if you consider the surrounding province. In the 19th Century, the expanding city developed a plan that laid out an infrastructure of water, utilities, streets, parks – and markets to provide food – as key public investments. As Jordi Tolra put it in the opening session, “markets have always been a public responsibility.” Today, few people in Barcelona live less than a 10 minute walk from a market hall with abundant food products. The city is spending millions of dollars renovating its public markets, helping to reinvigorate neighborhoods they have served for over a century. Barcelona provides a powerful example of how government and citizen input can leverage the transformative role of markets.

Map of the 46 markets in Barcelona

2. Build community and create a sense of local ownership and pride.

Markets can help build community because they are, indeed, about all things local. They are also invaluable tools to improve low-income communities. In the workshop session “High Hopes for Low-Income, Neighborhood Markets,” Karen Washington of La Familia Verde, Daniel Ross of Nuestras Raices, and Jason Harvey of Oakland Food Connection spoke of their individual efforts to create community-based markets in high-risk neighborhoods. All three programs developed from the community’s needs and are operated by community members. Their relationship to the community makes their markets’ value priceless because of the sense of pride they have instilled in the neighborhood. For more info, please see our blog post on this session.

The scenic Portland Farmers Market

3. Educate members of the community, especially schools and local businesses, about the myriad benefits of markets.

Markets are wonderful places to educate people and make learning fun. In Portland, OR, the Portland Farmers Market uses online tools and in-person events to bring people together and connect them to both one another and their local markets. Cooking classes, children’s events, live music from local artists and holiday celebrations highlight assets of the Portland area. Interactive market maps online allow people to track their favorite farmers, and online profiles introduce shoppers to local vendors in advance. These efforts have been so successful that when Education and Events Manager Anna Curtin tried to start a market page on the widely-popular social networking site Facebook, she found that an individual shopper had already done so.

 

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