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ALFONSO MORALES

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - MADISON

DEPARTMENT OF URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING

Marketplaces: Prospects for Social, Economic, and

Political Development

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This Presentation

Marketplaces historically;

Four types of benefits associated with markets;

Some options for planning practice; and

Three broad research questions.

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Multiple Perspectives on Marketplaces

“I have often amused myself, with thinking how different a place London is to different people. They whose narrow minds are

contracted to the consideration of some one particular pursuit, view it only through that medium… But the intellectual man is struck with it, as comprehending the whole of human life in all

its variety, the contemplation of which is inexhaustible.” – James Boswell

Historically…

Center Market, Washington, DC

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Markets in History

Early Europe - law fostering commerce and cosmopolitanism

Markets in the U.S. 18th-19thc.20thc. decline/reemergence – old themes and

new

Renascent Marketplaces in the U.S.

Market types result from mixing socio-economic and political considerations. Many considerations here…historical, demographic,

political, economic….

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The Market Milieu

MarketsMarkets

Historical Processes

SUPPLY

of Businesses

DEMAND

from Consumers

ACTIVITIES

non-economic motives for being out

City/ Jurisdiction

Constitution/ Government

Infrastructure

Individual and Collective

Goals/Benefits

Public Health

Placemaking/ Public Space

Economic BenefitsOther Social

Benefits

From the Market Milieu -- Multiple Benefits

EconomicSocialPoliticalHealth

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Economic Benefits

Invigorate underutilized locations;Employment and human capital formation;Business Incubation – second (or third)

income;Promoting Local, Sustainable Agriculture;

andCreating a destination.

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Social Benefits

Building Community, evinced in: Increasing ethnic diversity; Placemaking and preserving history; Human Scale – “heads up” consumption; and Youth involvement.

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Political Benefits

Revitalizing Public SpacesMitigating risks

Public safety public characters

Public services Civic engagement Program participation

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Politics II - Market Mission Statements

Public Markets: Raleigh Flea Market (NC) – To improve the state of agriculture and serve the

citizens of North Carolina. Eastern Market (Washington, DC) – To capitalize on the attractions and legacy of

the Eastern Market in order to create a vibrant and diverse urban district.

Contrast with a private market… Contra Costa Farmers Market (SF Bay, CA) – To provide fresh, high-quality food

grown by farmers and to provide a gathering place. Hartville Marketplace and Flea Market (OH) – To provide a safe and family-friendly

place that will give individuals and businesses an opportunity to make money.

Mission statements include: public health, healthy/safe/farm-grown food, employment/job training, entrepreneurship, customer service, preserve local

business, preserve agriculture, promote/build unique/diverse community experiences.

Governance options are MANY!

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Health and Environmental Benefits

Food access and cost; Increase physical activity;Health/nutritional education;Psychological well-being; andConnecting rural and urban.

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Harnessing the Benefits

What are the Goals? Such might include: Enlivening the neighborhood, providing employment,

increasing eyes on the street, providing recreation/shopping, articulating with other neighborhood activities or articulating with other city-sponsored goals/agencies.

What are your resources? Strengths? Weaknesses? Opportunities? Threats?

Seek, plan and implement: Partnerships; that Adopt appropriate goals; through… Governance that reflects context; articulate with… Broader goals and strategies.

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Take Away for Practicing Planners

Markets create dynamic and vibrant places by: Providing a mix of experiences, diversions and

commercial options that appeal to multi-cultural and multi-generational patrons; by

Providing visceral and visual experiences across time and season; that

Bridge the goals of state and society.

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Take away for Academics:Research Questions of Interest

“When you cannot measure your knowledge is meager and unsatisfactory.” Lord Kelvin Enumerate markets – Census data – NAICS (category 454390),

etc.

Research on individuals and households, Business formation and organization, gender, ethnicity, health,

backward linkages to production, forward to various investments

Neighborhoods and networks, Land values, carrying capacity of neighborhood/market,

communityConstitution, regulation, and development.

Organization – various templates and models Markets articulate with society in many ways – what is important

in each context? CLT/city/CBO relationships? What relationships and social/physical design principals are implied?

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Thanks Very Much!

Alfonso Morales, ABD, at Chicago's Maxwell Street Market, 1990.Vendor has the camera.Notebook and recorder arein the fanny pack.