Markets in Municipal Code: the Case of Michigan Cities
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sustainability Article Markets in Municipal Code: The Case of Michigan Cities Amanda Maria Edmonds 1,2,3,* and Gerrit J. Carsjens 1 1 Landscape Architecture and Spatial Planning Group, Wageningen University & Research, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands; [email protected] 2 AM Edmonds LLC—Sustainable Food Systems Consultancy, London W52HY, UK 3 AM Edmonds LLC—Sustainable Food Systems Consultancy, Ypsilanti, MI 48198, USA * Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: Food’s place on the urban, municipal agenda has become an increasing focus in the emergent fields of food policy and food planning, whose leaders argue that food needs to be more explicitly added to the urban agenda. Yet, public food markets are a food system activity that municipal governments have been long engaged in. Reports from leading health, planning, and food organizations assert that farmers markets—the dominant form of public retail food markets in the US today—should be explicitly included in zoning and other municipal codes to ensure that they can be created and sustained. Despite their popularity as a local sustainable food system and healthy food access strategy, it is unclear whether markets have been codified through municipalities’ planning and policy instruments, and research has largely not addressed this topic. This study aims to elicit whether markets have been codified into law, focusing on US municipal charters, codes and zoning ordinances, using Michigan, an upper Midwest state, as a case. After analyzing municipal documents to determine whether and where markets have been codified into law in ninety Michigan cities, this study concludes that markets are highly underrepresented in municipal policy, rarely defined in code, and mostly absent from zoning ordinances, even among those cities with currently operating markets. Market presence in code is, however, associated with the presence of historically operated Citation: Edmonds, A.M.; Carsjens, markets. These findings raise questions about why markets are missing from codified food policy G.J. Markets in Municipal Code: The and what risks this poses to the future of markets. They also highlight the need to better document Case of Michigan Cities. Sustainability the market sector and underline the importance of including historic perspectives when examining 2021, 13, 4263. https://doi.org/ the efficacy of current food policy efforts. 10.3390/su13084263 Keywords: food market; farmers market; municipal charter; municipal code; zoning ordinance; local Academic Editor: Alfonso Morales food policy; food planning Received: 30 January 2021 Accepted: 6 April 2021 Published: 12 April 2021 1. Introduction Public food marketplaces have been central to civic life and food procurement since the Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral earliest human settlements [1,2]. These public places are signified by multiple, independent with regard to jurisdictional claims in vendors gathering at designated times to sell fresh ingredients to the local populace. Food published maps and institutional affil- has long been a key concern for local governments who needed to make sure their residents’ iations. basic needs were met [3], and markets were the earliest form of urban food distribution that served this purpose. In the past, municipalities operated most markets in the United States, aiming to ensure affordable food supply. Despite a major shift in recent decades away from municipal market operators (and largely to nonprofit operators), municipalities have Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. historically played, and still play, vital roles in markets in regard to land use permissions, Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. permitting, and operating regulations; markets’ existences are dependent on municipalities This article is an open access article allowing them to be there. distributed under the terms and Today, farmers markets are the predominant form of public food marketplace in conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// the United States. They are viewed as an important Policy, Systems, and Environmental creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ Change (PSE) strategy for sustainable local food systems, specifically around increasing 4.0/). healthy food access and supporting small farmers [4]. In the last 15 years, there has been Sustainability 2021, 13, 4263. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084263 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability SustainabilitySustainability2021 2021, ,13 13,, 4263 x FOR PEER REVIEW 22 ofof 3942 exponentialexponential growthgrowth inin thethe numbernumber ofof farmersfarmers markets,markets, expandingexpanding fromfrom 37063706 inin 20042004 toto 81408140 inin 20192019 [5[5].]. BetweenBetween 19921992 andand 2007,2007, direct-to-consumerdirect-to-consumer sales—includingsales—including farmersfarmers markets—increasedmarkets—increased three-fold nationally, whichwhich waswas twicetwice asas fastfast asas thethe growthgrowth ofof totaltotal agriculturalagricultural salessales [[6];6]; inin 2006,2006, thethe USDAUSDA estimatedestimated thatthat farmersfarmers marketsmarkets werewere aa billionbillion dollardollar industryindustry [[7].7]. TheThe currentcurrent riserise ofof marketsmarkets beganbegan inin 1990s,1990s, peakingpeaking inin approximatelyapproximately thethe period 2012–2014 2012–2014 (Figure (Figure 1).1). Not Not unlike unlike the the earliest earliest iterations iterations of markets, of markets, healthy healthy food foodaccess access for the for local the localcommunity community is a primary is a primary aim of aim many of many markets markets today today [8], and [8], the and focus the focusof much of muchof the ofrecent the recent research research literature literature about aboutmarkets markets [9]. Farmer [9]. Farmerss markets markets are a visible are a visibleform of form the food of the system, food system, connecting connecting the food the producer food producer with its with end its user end in user a single in a single loca- location,tion, in stark in stark contrast contrast to the to thelong long supply supply chai chainsns and and disconnection disconnection from from food food producers producers in inmainstream mainstream food food retail retail such such as as supermarke supermarkets.ts. Farmers Farmers markets markets today today are alsoalso popularpopular amongamong municipalities,municipalities, who—whetherwho—whether theythey oror anotheranother entityentity operateoperate them—seethem—see themthem asas strategiesstrategies toto increaseincrease healthyhealthy foodfood access,access, fosterfoster locallocal entrepreneurism,entrepreneurism, revitalizerevitalize urbanurban cores,cores, andand promotepromote sustainabilitysustainability [[10–15].10–15]. FigureFigure 1.1. USUS FarmersFarmers MarketsMarkets betweenbetween 19941994 andand 2015.2015. [Source:[Source: USDA, EconomicEconomic Research Service,Service, using data from the USDA, Agricultural Market Surveys and National Farmers’ Market Directory using data from the USDA, Agricultural Market Surveys and National Farmers’ Market Directory accessed on 29 July 2015]. accessed on 29 July 2015]. TheThe relationshipsrelationships betweenbetween publicpublic foodfood marketplacesmarketplaces andand municipalities,municipalities, however,however, havehave not always been been positive, positive, as as markets markets have have fallen fallen in inand and out out of favor—and of favor—and often, often, as a asresult, a result, existence—based existence—based on the on social, the social,economic economic,, and global and contexts global contexts of the time. of theOver time. the Overlast century, the last century,drastic changes drastic changesin settlement in settlement patterns, patterns, the globalization the globalization of the food of the system, food system,and the andrise theof supermarkets rise of supermarkets make the make continued the continued reemergence reemergence of local of localfood foodmarkets markets sur- surprising.prising. In some In some places, places, markets markets have have persis persistedted amidst amidst these these major major shifts. shifts. In others, In others, new newgenerations generations of markets of markets have have arisen, arisen, or old or ones old onesgiven given new newlife, as life, a direct as a direct antidote antidote to neg- to negativeative impacts impacts of ofthese these changes. changes. Markets Markets have have emerged emerged to to counter counter urban urban disinvestment, chronicchronic disease,disease, andand disconnectiondisconnection betweenbetween consumersconsumers andand thethe originsorigins ofof theirtheir food.food. Yet, despitedespite thethe apparentapparent resilienceresilience (or(or atat leastleast repeatedrepeated cyclecycle ofof reappearance)reappearance) ofof marketsmarkets inin cities,cities, and the broad broad favor favor they they have have enjoyed enjoyed in in recent recent decades decades [16], [16 their], their continuity continuity is not is notguaranteed. guaranteed. ReportsReports from leading leading health, health, equity, equity, food food system, system, planning, planning, and and public public space space organ- or- ganizationsizations assert assert thatthat farmers farmers markets markets need need to be to explicitly be explicitly included included in zoning in zoning and other and othermunicipal municipal codes codesto both to encourage both encourage their creati theiron creation and ensure and ensure that they that can they be can sustained be sus- tained[12,13,17–25]. [12,13,17 These–25].