From July 18-22, 2011 the German Marshall Fund’s Urban and Regional Policy program led a delegation of practitioners from Detroit, Michigan to Turin, Italy to examine Turin’s network of open-air (urban) markets. The urban markets study tour was part of the Kresge Foundation funded Detroit-Turin Partnership, which is a three-year initiative that seeks to establish strong bi-lateral relationships between the two cities in areas of common interest. In addition to the Kresge Foundation, GMF worked closely with its long-term partners, the Compagnia di San Paolo, the City of Turin, and Torino Internazionale to organize the tour. The Detroit delegation was seeking first-hand knowledge of how Turin’s network of markets is regulated, how it operates, and its economic and social impact on the city and the larger Piedmont region. Also of interest to the delegation were the linkages between Turin’s market network and local food producers.

The urban markets study tour was one outcome of the initial Detroit to Turin study tour led by Detroit mayor David Bing last November. The purpose of the initial tour was to begin to establish high-level relations among government, private-sector, and non-profit leaders in both cities and to identify areas of common interest that could be readily explored and developed. The potential for mutual learning and exchange between Detroit’s nascent and growing urban agriculture community and Turin’s mature and robust urban market network was readily identified as a logical next step to explore.

In close consultation with the Kresge Foundation, GMF’s Urban program identified a five-member delegation of Detroiters. The delegation consisted of the following members:

Dan Carmody, President, Detroit Eastern Market Corporation
Sarah Fleming, Program Manager, Green Grocer Project, DEGC
David K. O’Neil, Public Market Consultant
Kathryn Underwood, Senior Planner, City of Detroit City Planning Commission
Pamela Weinstein, Commercial Program Manager, Grandmont Rosedale Development Corporation

Each member of the delegation brought years of experience and expertise from differing professional perspectives to the project, which enabled them to work together to gain a fundamental understanding of Turin’s market network.

Activities

One of the primary objectives of the study tour was to fully understand how the network of markets in Turin operates. As such, the delegation spent each morning exploring one or more markets – perusing the wares and speaking with vendors. The delegation visited markets in every sector of the city – from the historic Porta Palazzo market in the heart of the city to the Bengasi market on the far south side. 

They also visited the regional wholesale market outside of the city where the vendors obtain fresh produce to sell every day. By visiting numerous markets, the delegation observed how each market reflected and responded to the communities in which they operated. Regardless of the demographics of the surrounding communities, the delegation also noted that vendors at each of the markets were like members of the communities in which they worked – even if they did not necessarily live in them.

The daily market visits were balanced with a series of meetings, which were aimed at helping them understand how the markets were regulated and their economic and social impacts. The delegation met with elected and unelected city officials, vendors’ association representatives, farmers’ association representatives, market managers, local and regional business promotion agencies, and non-profit organizations that promote markets and sustainable agriculture. These meetings, according to one of the participants, “allowed them to look under the hood” of a very mature market network to see how everything worked. From these in-depth conversations, combined with the site visits, the delegation was able to understand not only how Turin’s market network operates and but, more importantly, what elements would be worth considering for Detroit.

Take Aways

While it would be challenging to envision a near future in Detroit in which a mature market network rivals Turin’s, it is possible to envision a modest network of markets that possesses elements of Turin’s market network. Indeed, the goals of the study tour were to gain a fundamental understanding of how Turin’s market network was governed, how it functioned, and its economic and social impact on Turin and the Piedmont region. These goals were achieved and, according to the delegation, some of those basic lessons could be applied readily in the Detroit context. Perhaps most interesting and instructive for the delegation though was how local food production is incorporated as a critical element of the regional economic development strategy. Local food products are promoted locally and even internationally. In Turin and across the Piedmont region, locally produced food is featured daily in urban markets, and in particular farmer’s markets. On any given day, shoppers in Turin’s markets can find a wide selection of fresh vegetables, meats, cheeses, and countless other products. At the international level, food products like wine, cheese, chocolate, grains, and meat are promoted heavily by the regional export promotion agency, CEIP. Developing similar synergies between Detroit’s relatively well established urban agriculture movement (and southeast Michigan’s rich farming heritage) and a network of urban markets might very well be a critical element that enables a network of markets in Detroit to flourish. More importantly, it could become part of a larger regional economic development strategy. Accordingly, GMF’s Urban program will continue to work with the Detroit delegation and the Kresge Foundation to bring the urban market and regional food promotion lessons of Turin and the Piedmont region home to Detroit.