The city market is often referred to today as a relic. Although most of us prefer locally sourced products, we tend to shop at discount stores. Daily choices are reflected in the condition of marketplaces, which are slowly disappearing from Polish cities. What is causing the death of bazaars, what is their value, and what can be done to make them vibrant places again? Answers to these and many other questions are sought by those responsible for the report "Hybrid marketplaces as centers of local life," developed by CoopTech Hub in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the Warsaw-based association The City Is Ours.
Will marketplaces disappear from Polish cities?
Marketplaces are one of the oldest models of food distribution in cities. Although in recent years they have found their enthusiasts, who see them as a source of organic products and as neighborhood "authentic" centers of local life, nationally, markets are dying out. According to a survey commissioned by the Republic, 800 people quit trading at the bazaar in the first half of this year alone , to put the number of exhibitors over the past 16 years into perspective - more than 75,000.
There are several reasons for this state of affairs. Vendors operating at marketplaces are unable to compete with the prices offered by discount stores, which, in addition to their economic advantage, also lead the way in terms of accessibility - the markets are scattered throughout cities, often open until late hours, and offer a whole range of basic products, not just food.
Market hall in Wroclaw
Photo: Bernard Ladenthin © CC BY 4.0 | Wikimedia Commons
However, this is just the tip of the iceberg threatening to sink the market model of food distribution in cities. As Ewa Latko of the Warsaw-based City Is Ours foundation points out, a significant problem for many bazaars and marketplaces is the ownership situation of the land on which trading takes place. Areas are leased by cities for short, several-year contracts, which, although regularly renewed, do not provide a sense of economic security for traders. What's more, the marketplaces lack adequate infrastructure and measures for ongoing maintenance - omissions on the part of local governments, which own the land, mean that trading often takes place in places that are a mess, lack access to running water or toilets, and periodically even electricity. These factors mean that fewer and fewer people are interested in working at marketplaces, and in many places there is no generational exchange among traders. As Piotr Czyż, President of the Association Inicjatywa Miasto, said at the report's launch, in the absence of appropriate measures, a significant portion of marketplaces will disappear from Polish cities within 10 years. Will the loss be painful?
Gwardia Hall in Warsaw
Photo: Adrian Grycuk © CC BY-SA 3.0 | Wikimedia Commons
At a stall, on market day
The loss of bazaars can hurt. Marketplaces are an important urban generator and generate communities of people around them who regularly shop in these places, meet, talk and establish relationships. Vegetable stores, markets and bazaars also provide access to food that consumers themselves describe as healthier and more organic. The proliferation of vegetable markets fits in with the idea of the 15-minute city, where all services are available within walking distance.
In a broader perspective, the marketplace-based food distribution model is extremely important from the perspective of food security and environmental aspects. Markets are the "interfaces" for farmers to distribute the products they produce in local markets, making cities independent of global food chains. We saw how unsustainable they are during the pandemic; their impact is also being felt in connection with Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Long supply chains also mean greater environmental costs associated with transportation and food packaging and storage.
Marketplace
Photo: Deigo Catto | Unsplash Free
Finally, the economic aspect - reducing the number of middlemen between producer and consumer means that more money goes directly to those involved in agricultural production. Despite this, the process of market trade dying out seems to be steadily progressing. But can marketplaces be saved? How to make them, again in the 21st century, an attractive alternative to trade conducted in large-format stores? A number of publications have already been written on the future of marketplaces, and recently the authors and the author of a report entitled "Hybrid marketplaces as centers of local life" published by CoopTech Hub in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation attempt to answer this problem.
first, infrastructure
Markets, while offering access to fresh food, are not always places where working and shopping are pleasant activities. Many of them are spatially chaotic and lack essential amenities. The authors and the author of "Hybrid Markets" call for a number of measures with a spatial dimension, aimed at revitalizing urban bazaars. Marketplaces need, first of all, good designs - revitalizations of old and creation of new trading places should therefore be commissioned to experienced design teams, and individual concepts selected through a competition. The participatory dimension of this process is also important - projects should be created in consultation with residents, consumers and exhibitors.
Sowhat should a good marketplace have? Not only canopies and consistent aesthetics are needed, but also adequate infrastructure - convenient parking, public toilets, storage spaces and social facilities for traders. "Hybrid marketplaces" also draw attention to the need to erect spaces with a variety of character - not only commercial, but also leisure or catering. Individual stands should also be subject to a certain degree of diversity and be tailored to the needs of individual exhibitors.
Koszyki Hall in Warsaw
Photo: Zygmunt Put © CC BY SA 3.0 en | Wikimedia Commons
fashionable bazaar
As those responsible for the report write, there are a myriad of ways to categorize contemporary marketplaces, which depend on the way they are organized, the official nomenclature or the research perspective taken. One of the most common divisions, however, is the distinction between traditional markets with a long history and modern trading spaces that specialize in selling organic and regional products. In the eyes of the authors of the report, this leads to an unnecessary narrowing of the profiles of the activities of markets, the disappearance of their traditionally egalitarian character and the homogenization of the communities that form around them. The much-discussed phenomenon of gentrification of marketplaces should not be overlooked here either. Revitalized bazaars not infrequently become fashionable and expensive places, intended for consumers with more affluent wallets. Warsaw's Hala Koszyki, for example, has become an infamous example of such a space. A solution to this problem could be, for example, the designation of additional days on which organic food and regional products will be sold at traditional markets.
Market Hall in Wroclaw
Photo: Bernard Ladenthin © CC BY 4.0 | Wikimedia Commons
not just parsley
However, the variety of functions of marketplaces is understood by the authors of the report in a much broader way. As local centers of community life, markets and bazaars can provide a whole range of functions that are not traditionally associated with them, yet can help make them spaces that are much more activated, attractive and provide a comprehensive range of services. Thus, markets should offer food areas, green spaces for relaxation, or tailoring or hairdressing services. Bazaars can also become venues for events, not only with a gastronomic profile, but also with a cultural profile. Finally, markets can serve as incubators of micro-entrepreneurship, bringing together the spontaneous energy of the city. Multifunctional markets have the potential to once again become meeting places for people representing different social groups and platforms for intergenerational integration.
Marketplace
Photo: Deigo Catto | Unsplash Free
marketplaces for 2024
The coronavirus pandemic has made us realize that in the face of a rapidly changing world, we can't just rely on analog reality. Marketplaces, too , need to be brought into the digital dimension. A means to help with this is the PLZ application developed by CoopTech Hub, which will digitize the operation of marketplaces and the purchases made at them. Payment by card, preparation of ordered products in advance and pickup, including in the afternoon, and even loyalty programs are just some of the conveniences. Exhibitors and producers, on the other hand, will certainly benefit from a transparent communication system, a discussion forum or an integrated system of fees for market stalls. The digital dimension of marketplaces is not a song of the future - according to the report, such solutions are already being tested by Warsaw's Wolumen and cooperative urban farm MOST, among others.
tomorrow's market day
Will marketplaces disappear from Polish cities? It seems too early to aptly answer this question. However, the number of activities that attempt to prevent this from happening is cause for optimism. The report "Hybrid marketplaces as centers of local life" is another important brick that builds a better future for marketplaces. For more information on this extremely important topic, see the content of the publication [see "Hybrid Markets as Centers of Local Life"] and for shopping for tomorrow's lunch, visit a stall at your nearest bazaar.
PS We also recommend the issue of A&B dedicated to edible cities!
