Project for Public Spaces Report on the Broadway Market

As I promised last night, here is the Project for Public Spaces report on the Broadway Market.

Though it could use a few updates, it still is pretty relevant to the Market today.

It is a guide by the utmost authorities on public authorities and place making in the country.

Click here to view

Visit the Project for Public Spaces here… http://www.pps.org/


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2 thoughts on “Project for Public Spaces Report on the Broadway Market

  1. The Project for Public Spaces report offered a strategic plan for moving forward the market in 1999. After getting the funding from USDA to update the study recommendations and data in 2006, I probably have the PPS study memorized word for word. The majority of the recommendations hold today, but some do not in part because of the change in management structure and the continued decline of the neighborhood.

    But we need to start focus on the positive elements of the market and the neighborhood and move to more proactive discussion.

    The parts of the PPS study still relevant today include building on the incredible draw for Easter and the holidays to a sustainable market year around, the old world atmosphere of the market, and the friendly vendors.

    More relevant today than in 1999 is the importance of buy local. The market is under appreciated in the sense all of the vendors are locally-owned and operated. Famous horseradish and Lewandowski provide locally-owned produce when available, but when not they still have to serve the local clientele. More emphasis according to the PPS study was on reinforcing the buy local within the market.

    The weakness that PPS primarily spoke to based on the survey of the market consumers was neighborhood conditions and perceptions of crime. These weakness were reinforced in the 2006-7 survey results.

    It was clear from the precedent studies that involved a tour of public markets in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana for the 2006-7 study the significant attention of the other markets to their surrounding neighborhood conditions were among the driving factors for pushing markets that were struggling to some of the best examples of neighborhood regeneration in US today.

    This was a primary weakness of the efforts for Broadway Market–no clear commitment to the recognition that the market and the neighborhood need to move forward together. The market unfortunately has fallen in a situation of a political football. And, this statement is not about pointing figures at the City or the present council member. It is about trying to get past the internal conflicts to a coalition of interested parties willing to put side difference for the betterment of the community.

    Lacking in the PPS study were actual implementation recommendations for the strategy. for instance, a major issue facing the market is in their eyes related to the facility in terms of serving the Easter crowd well, but the space is too large for the rest of the year. In other words, the design proposal for how to do this or vendor reconfiguration was not there. But this cannot be done with a truly interactive dialogue with the vendors, the market supporters, and the city officials. Other recommendations focused on a food incubator, City to farm, and linkages between the market and not-for-profits.

    The issue for perception of blight also cannot be done without interactive engagement of community residents. And, priority needs to be given to the market gateways–Fillmore and Broadway. And, I’m sorry in all honesty steps have been taken but more needs to happen. Fillmore Avenue has far less blight than when we did the neighborhood drive around for the 2006-7 study. But it takes constant eyes on the street and a solid neighborhood strategy for this to be accomplished and residents have to be at the table. And, so do the vendors.

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