Farmers relied upon shoppers to help retain an agricultural way of life. Children learned, through exposure to different kinds of people at the market, useful lessons about life and society. Van Nostrand Reinhold. At Pike Place, people take pleasure in a relatively humble architecture that connects them to the past and provides plenty of opportunity for social interaction. A market can offer the prospect of racial, ethnic, and economic integration-better, probably, than any other part of a city.
Cities can benefit from such strong, humane, functional focal points.
Van Nostrand Reinhold. This enhances economic opportunities for farmers and independent local businesses. Van Nostrand Reinhold. Open-air markets are essentially expressions of economic democracy where there is no latent fear of any single vendor dominating the market and forcing others out of business. Merchandise quality, service, price, etc. are the main factors determining survival and success, which is as it should be.