The Concept of Social Capital
IN A FOOD HALL SETTING
Whitely defined “social capital” as the sum of resources which individuals can use, to help achieve goals for their community [23]. These resources are usually developed as a result of a network of strong relationships among these individuals, who work on a volunteer or non-financial basis, for their community [23].
Putnam traced the decline of social capital in the United States in his seminal article, Bowling Alone [19]. He highlighted the decline of traditional civic organizations in American communities and the increasing trend of participation towards organizations which have less direct social interaction, like tertiary organizations, nonprofit organizations, and support groups [19]. He attributed the decline in American social capital to: (1) an increased number of women working; (2) an increased mobility, in terms of residence; (3) other demographic and lifestyle changes like lower number of marriages and children, increased amount of divorces, and changes in shopping habits via suburban groceries; and (4) the impact of technology on our leisure habits, which further reduced opportunities for direct social interaction [19].
As social capital is built on a network of strong relationships, it stems from a sustained amount of social interaction and a comprehensive program for integrating different members of the community [23]. In some cases, the presence of shared culture which members of the community attribute to and identify with may also help social capital develop within a public market or food hall environment [17].
The food hall model for community engagement starts with a basic premise that the community needs public places where members can meet and get together [16, 22]. In a technological era where even grocery purchases are being serviced online by Amazon and bigger groceries like Walmart, there is a constant need for communities to find ways by which they can gather people together [18, 19]. Food halls provide a venue for people to come together because it addresses a growing consumer trend preference for authentic food experience [2, 9, 10, 24].
Developing social capital, however, is a complicated and long term process for a community. Multiple factors need to come into play, before social capital can develop from a food hall project.
Volunteer Programs
A simple example of social capital is the willingness of community members to volunteer and help out at the neighborhood market. Both Vancouver’s Granville Island Public Market and Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market have a volunteer program, to assist customers in finding their way around the market and in the larger island neighborhood, in the case of Granville. For Granville, the volunteers are encouraged to be hosts, event volunteers, and bike volunteers [11]. For the Reading Terminal market, the volunteers guide the customers and inform them about who the merchants are, what they sell, and if there are any events for that particular day [20].
Granville ISland Public Market, Vancouver
Young volunteers [11]
These volunteer programs have multiple objectives. For the resident-volunteers, getting them to assist in the market’s activities increases the volunteers’ connection to, pride in, and sense of place for the market. For the customers, the presence of the volunteers enhances the sense of welcome and openness of the markets, as a public place. In connecting the resident-volunteers with the visitors, the volunteer program increases opportunities for social interaction within the community.
Community Engagement Programs
Granville Island Council. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) owns and operates the Granville Island and Public Market. Recently, they announced the formation of the Granville Island Council [13]. This council will be responsible for long term strategy formulation, planning, and budgeting for the whole island. Out of the seven members, only three will be government appointees (two by the CMHC and one by the City of Vancouver). The majority will be residents of Vancouver, with demonstrated skills in community relations, arts & culture, entrepreneurial leadership, etc. This change came about as part of the recommendation by a third-party governance firm, Watson Advisory, who recommended that decision making for Granville Island be given to the locals, given their deeper understanding of its tradition and the importance of the island’s future to their community.
Granville Island Transportation Strategy. The Granville Island 2040 vision recognized the need to continue to increase accessibility to Granville Island for residents of the community. In line with this, they are soliciting inputs from the local community on the draft Transportation Strategy [12]. This is another example of how the market is engaging the community to come up with strategies and operating plans which have a direct impact on their lives.
Granville Island, Transportation Strategy Call for Community Feedback [12]
The Findlay Market is a historic market and food hall in Cincinnati. The market is located in a building which dates back to 1855. The market’s vision is to be the “region’s premier destination for local food and artisan products, a dynamic public gathering place, and a vital community asset” [8]. The Corporation for Findlay Market (CFMM), a nonprofit corporation, manages and operates the Findlay market [5].
Through the market, the community has developed an expanded network of relationships which are now addressing different community goals.
“Over the 160 years of the market’s operations, generations of Cincinnatians have collective memories and shared experiences that cross age, racial, and socioeconomic boundaries. The community is heavily involved, and there are partnerships with museums, chambers of commerce, churches, artists, museums, and nonprofits.
Inclusivity is essential for the market, which is a third-party administrator for SNAP (SNAP Plus). This allows the market to process electronic benefit (EBT) transfers and provide tokens that can be used to buy fresh products at the farmers’ market and at Findlay Market Farm stands. In addition, the market runs a program called Produce Perks that matches EBT transactions, up to $10 daily, to be used for fresh produce.”
— American Planning Association (APA)
Great Places in America, Public Spaces Category
Findlay Market, Cincinnati, Ohio [14]
Findlay Market, Cincinnati
Variety of Events and Programming [6]
There is a large amount of interaction between the market and other private and non-profit organizations in the area. CFMM recognizes various partners, including Friends of Findlay Market, Findlay Market Business Association, Over the Rhine Chamber of Commerce, Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati, and SmartMoney Community Services [6].
The market has a Snap Plus / Produce Perks program which facilitates vendor acceptance of food stamps and WIC coupons [7]. This program allows the community’s low-income population to access fresh produce. The program provides a dollar for dollar match for up to $10, thereby increasing affordability for the said residents.
In 2016, the market opened a commercial kitchen to serve as incubator space for residents to start their food business ventures [3]. They provide kitchen and storage space, cooking classes, and lessons on various aspects of the food business, including business creation and growth, products and ingredients, and regulatory compliance. They have a particular focus on assisting women, immigrant, and minority-owned businesses.
The Findlay market, through the CFMM, also took a lead role in the planning and development of several city-owned parcels surrounding the market, referred to as Over-the-Rhine, to spur a more integrated development for the whole area [4]. They also worked on bringing back the streetcar as a mode of transportation, to increase public transportation accessibility within the neighborhood.
“This time it’s real. Cincinnati voters have (again) defeated a misguided attempt to block the city’s new streetcar, which now will move forward and could be operational as early as 2013.
… the Cincinnati streetcar will link the city’s two most significant job centers, downtown and the uptown district around the University of Cincinnati. Even better, the streetcar will serve and help renew the wonderful historic district of Over-the-Rhine, which only a decade ago had fallen into such serious disinvestment and abandonment that 90 percent of its properties had become vacant and at least one survey called it the most dangerous neighborhood in America…
Highly walkable and adjacent to downtown with buildings ripe for adaptive reuse, Over-the-Rhine is perfectly poised to become an exceptional example of restoration and redevelopment with a small environmental footprint. It is also a preservationist’s dream, containing the nation’s most impressive inventory of 19th-century Italianate architecture, along with the city’s magnificent old Music Hall, a splendid city park now being upgraded, and Ohio’s oldest public (Findlay)market. It would be nothing short of tragic if it suffered further decline, but it is finally showing signs of life, reinvestment and hope.”
— How Cincinnati Defeated the Streetcar Haters ... Again
CityLab [1]
The American Planning Association (APA) recognized both the Findlay Market and the Reading Terminal Market as examples of exemplary public spaces under its Great Places of America program. For the Reading Terminal Market, APA recognized various initiatives which the Reading Terminal community spearheaded, as proof of planning excellence.
“• Supporters of the market organized the Reading Terminal Market Preservation Fund to ensure the market retained its character as the convention center project developed (1988)
• The Food Trust was founded as a program of the Reading Terminal Market, accepting SNAP/food stamps with the goal of making healthy food more readily available to everyone (1992)
• The Reading Terminal Market Corporation (NGO) was formed to manage the market along with input from the Reading Terminal Market Merchants Association and the board of directors (1994)
• Every Wednesday and Saturday, 75-minute walking tours are hosted by food writers, providing some background on the market’s signature pretzels, hoagies, cheese steaks, and other Philadelphia favorites
• Located in the center of the market, “Philbert,” a life-size bronze pig sculpture, is a crowd favorite; customers can donate money to support nutrition education for children”
— American Planning Association
Great Places in America, Public Spaces Category
Reading Terminal Market [15]
The Reading Terminal Market stakeholders have also participated in city-wide initiatives civic activities.
“Philadelphia has made great strides in opening up opportunities for people to take part in civic decision-making,” said Patrick Morgan, Knight Foundation program director for Philadelphia. “On the Table builds on these efforts by giving Philly residents of all backgrounds the chance to weigh in about their concerns. We have much to share with other cities, and this national experiment provides a connective network to do just that.”
The fare at On the Table, which also included stuffed grape leaves and pickled vegetables, came from Amina Aliako, who arrived as a Syrian refugee from Turkey in January 2017. She now runs her own day-cart at Reading Terminal Market, which was recently featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Around noon, I hopped over to Reading Terminal Market, the city’s much-beloved public market, to catch a discussion about building more equitable public spaces with Anuj Gupta, the market’s general manager and a steering committee member for On the Table. Among the attendees: a park planner, a librarian, and a musician, and others who work on programming places.”
— Philadelphia's Secret Ingredient for More Civic Engagement: A Lot of Food
Citylab [21]
There are varieties of ways by which a food hall and an adjacent public market can build the base for developing social capital for the community. It begins by providing a successful public space, which increases familiarity and social interaction in the area. It continues with management initiatives, events, and programming which expands the network of partnerships with the local government, the association of vendors, various non-profit agencies, and the community at large. It thrives when the food hall stakeholders together with their partners work together towards achieving specific community goals like: (1) increasing access to fresh food for the lower income households; (2) integrating women, immigrants, and minorities through a business incubation project; and (3) expanding the reach of the market towards increased economic development goals for the larger neighborhood to which it belongs.
Developing social capital for the community is a multi-faceted and long-term goal for any community. A food hall can help start the process by bringing people and organizations together, to begin the conversations.
Sources:
Kaid Benfield, 'How Cincinnati Defeated the Streetcar Haters...Again', (CityLab, 2011).
'Cultivating Development, Trends, and Opportunities at the Intersection of Food and Real Estate', (Washington, DC, USA, Urban Land Institute 2016).
'Findlay Kitchen', <https://findlaykitchen.org/whoweare>.
'Findlay Market: Economic Development ', <http://www.findlaymarket.org/economic-development>.
'Findlay Market: Management', <http://www.findlaymarket.org/management>.
'Findlay Market: Partners & Resources', <http://www.findlaymarket.org/partners-and-resources>.
'Findlay Market: Snap Plus Program', <http://www.findlaymarket.org/snap-plus-program>.
'Findlay Market: Vision and Mission', <http://www.findlaymarket.org/mission-and-vision>.
'Food Halls of North America', (Cushman & Wakefield, 2018) http://www.cushmanwakefield.com/en/research-and-insight/2018/foodhalls-of-northamerica .
'Food Market Culture Report', (Culinary Visions Panel 2017).
'Granville Island Public Market: Come Join Our Volunteer Team!', 2018 <https://granvilleisland.com/news/come-join-our-volunteer-team>.
'Granville Island Public Market: Help Shape the Future of Transportation on Granville Island ', 2018 <https://granvilleisland.com/news/help-shape-future-transportation-granville-island-survey>.
'Granville Island Public Market: Notice of Opportunity to Be a Member of the New Granville Island Council ', 2018 <https://granvilleisland.com/news/notice-opportunity-be-member-new-granville-island-council>.
'Great Places in America, Public Spaces Category: Findlay Market, Cincinnati, Ohio', American Planning Association, 2016 <https://www.planning.org/greatplaces/spaces/2016/findlaymarket/>.
'Great Places in America, Public Spaces Category: Reading Terminal Market, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania', American Planning Association, 2014 <https://www.planning.org/greatplaces/spaces/2014/readingterminal.htm>.
How to Turn a Place Around: A Handbook for Creating Successful Public Spaces, (New York, NY, Project for Public Spaces, 2000).
Alfonso Morales, 'Planning and the Self-Organization of Marketplaces', Journal of Planning Education & Research, 30 (2010), 182-97.
Ray Oldenburg, Third Places (Sage Publications, Inc, 2003).
Robert Putnam, 'Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital ', Journal of Democracy (1995), 65-78.
'Reading Terminal Market: Ambassadors', 2018 <https://readingterminalmarket.org/ambassadors/>.
Andrew Small, 'Philadelphia's Secret Ingredient for More Civic Engagement: A Lot of Food', (CityLab, 2018).
'What Makes a Successful Place', Project for Public Spaces, 2018 <https://www.pps.org/article/grplacefeat>.
Paul F. Whiteley, 'Social Capital', in International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition), ed. by James D. Wright (Oxford: Elsevier, 2015), pp. 174-80.
Tad Wilkes, 'Food Halls and Markets Still on-Trend ', in Hotel F&B (2017).