Grant Map EU

Public markets play an important role in European cities. They are places of trade with a potential to become places of sustainable consumption, inclusiveness and environmental transformation. This potential is already recognised by international organisations and individual municipalities (notably cities of Barcelona and London) across Europe. However, it still remains untapped in many areas, especially in Central and Eastern European cities of the SB region. Markets in cities from Central and Eastern Europe have their own set of particularities resulting from their geographical location (climate), they are often localised in central parts of city districts, offer direct access to local produce and are important meeting places. At the same time, they are places that are very often heavily concreted, with little architectural value and devoid of greenery. They are often a source of surface runoff with various origins as well as pollution content resulting from heavy pedestrian and road traffic and trade activities. Despite common characteristics of markets, there is a need to develop solutions that suit their individual needs based on the site-specific issues. We see the current situation not only as a chance to regenerate public markets but also to introduce new vital functions transforming them into spaces rejuvenating neighbourhoods. The project seeks to tackle the potential of urban markets to become catalysts for environmental change. The overall objective of the project is to establish strong partnerships that cooperate to develop and test methods to introduce nature based solutions in markets. Implementation of the future regular project will increase the use of green technologies in cities and address the issue of pollution and waste generated by markets locally. The seed money project will serve to identify municipal partners for the target project, locate problem areas and create an outline of a research and project plan, to be implemented in the future.