wwp@yahoogroups.com:
Marketplace - A World Wide Panorama
G. Donald Bain 2005-Jan-21 22:21:00
Here are some thoughts on the theme for the next World Wide Panorama.
This is also on the web site:
http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/wwp/NextEvent.html
Marketplace
A marketplace is anywhere that people gather to exchange items of
value. These items can be durable or perishable, tangible or
theoretical. The marketplace itself can be built for that specific
purpose, or traditional, or ephemeral.
European country towns usually have a market square, marked by a stone
cross and sometimes by public scales, in use continuously since the
middle ages. These often mark the center of town, the busy heart of the
community, and many are still used for weekly markets. Covered markets
were built for more continuous use and are found everywhere.
Many towns have farmers' markets one or more days a a week, set up on a
temporarily closed street. These may provide not only fresh produce,
but a splash of color and life to chilly northern streets on the March
equinox.
Produce markets vary widely around the world and by season, since they
reflect local conditions. You will find many kinds of chile peppers in
Mexico, piles of kava roots in Fiji, durians in southeast Asia, dates
in North Africa, live snakes in Hong Kong, seasonal fruits and flowers
everywhere. Covered markets from the colonial era are features of
cities from Tahiti to Haiti.
Wholesale produce markets operate early in the morning in every city, a
world we seldom see but depend on for fresh fruit and vegetables. Many
cities have similar markets just for cut flowers, others for fresh or
frozen fish.
Marketplaces have a special sort of urban life to them and have been
popular parts of plans for urban renewal. Boston's Quincy Market was an
early example of this, San Francisco's Ferry Building a recent one.
Pike Place Market in Seattle is one of the city's leading attractions.
There are famous markets in many cities: the French Market in New
Orleans, Covent Garden in London, Les Halles in Paris, many of which
now serve new functions. Middle eastern cities such as Marrakech and
Aleppo have famous souks (suq). New York and Los Angeles have teeming
Garment Districts where clothing is designed, manufactured, and sold
both wholesale and retail. Tokyo has the Akihabara district
specializing in electronics.
Some marketplaces deal purely in money - the great stock exchanges of
New York, London, Paris and Tokyo, trading shares in companies. The
Mercantile Exchange in Chicago specializes in commodity futures,
trading goods that do not yet exist. Money markets set the exchange
rates between currencies and the price of gold.
There are specialized marketplaces, such as the diamond trading
districts of New York, London, and Amsterdam. There are tobacco
auctions in the American South (though rapidly disappearing) and cattle
auctions in the Midwest and West. Luxurious yachts are for sale in
Miami and San Diego. Mobile homes are sold from lots at the edge of
many American cities. Sometimes small conventional houses displaced by
highway construction or urban renewal are sold in similar fashion.
Many cities have huge "flea markets", where anyone can sell anything,
usually once a week in a huge parking lot. Portobello Road in London
becomes a street market for antiques once a week. Less visible are
"thieves markets" offering possibly stolen merchandise, bootleg music
and video.
Tourist areas have markets specializing in the needs of visitors, cheap
souvenirs and T-shirts along with distinctive locally produced items,
such as handicrafts and artwork. Jewelry shops cluster around cruise
ship terminals. Cruise ships, luxury hotels, and Las Vegas casinos have
their own flashy shopping malls.
Bookstores are a specialized marketplace, ranging from vast stores such
as Foyles in London and Powells in Portland, Oregon, to neighborhoods
of tiny shops specializing in used books and collectors specialties, to
booksellers along the Seine in Paris. Some bookstores are the very soul
of a town, such as Codys and Moe's in Berkeley.
Every settlement has retail stores, ranging in scale from one-room
country stores to endless malls. Despite their ubiquity, some are
famous - the Hasegawa General Store in Hana on Maui, Hawaii, the vast
West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta. Every major city has a
"gourmet" grocery store - the one I shop at in Berkeley has over 500
items in the produce department and 124 types of olive oil. Jackson's
of Piccadilly in London vies with Fortnum and Mason and the food halls
at Harrods for the luxury trade there.
Individual shopping streets can also be famous, such as Rodeo Drive in
Beverly Hills. Whole communities can be dominated by a particular
commodity, such as art in tiny Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, with 121
galleries. The city of Taxco in Mexico has over 300 shops selling
silverwork. Religious articles are sold along routes of pilgrimages and
in holy cities, and sports-related merchandise at stadiums.
Finally there is the vast and shadowy on-line marketplace. Some parts
are actual, such as the huge Amazon.com warehouse in Nevada, but most
types of on-line commerce will be a challenge to photograph.
We look forward to seeing the diversity of interpretations of
Marketplace - a World Wide Panorama.