We kindly invite you to participate in the Urban Markets Platform, to be launched during the UN-Habitat Conference in Stockholm in June 2013. Please see the press release below, and spread the word:
Urban Markets Platform
URBAN MARKETS PLATFORM
Marketplaces and cities are deeply intertwined: their development, in fact, are two sides of the same coin. One of the strengths of marketplaces as urban-place making tools lies in the fact that they relate to many important topics, and have featured as such on various planning agendas worldwide. Indeed, many cities work actively on integrating their markets in more broader urban place-making strategies.
Yet, the dynamic nature of urban markets and the high number of stakeholders that are involved, complicate a shared conversation. There is much knowledge on urban markets available, for example with organisations such as PPS or projects like URBACT Markets, but also with architect, academics, and market traders. Many – though certainly not all – have a presence on-line, and share their knowledge through the Internet. Yet, the question is: how to assess all this information, and, consequently, how to learn from it?
For these reasons, we have created the Urban Markets Platform, a place of knowledge exchange and expertise on urban marketplaces that includes professionals within local and global organisations, but also scholars and scholarly networks, market traders or market organisations, designers, architects, activists, campaigners, artists and anyone else who can contribute to create a better understanding of the role of marketplaces in our cities.
The aim of the Urban Market Platform is to facilitate a shared discussion and synergy that allows us to think about marketplaces as urban place-making opportunities. We invite participants to provide bottom-up perspectives of individual marketplaces, but also concrete design proposals or policy considerations. We do not aim to replace existing networks or platforms that work on related topics. Yet our belief is that the topic is so important, and provides so many opportunities, that a dedicated platform is justified and, indeed, needed.
