Broadway Public Market
Center For Social Design / Design Researcher/ Service Designer
Team Members: Justin Wuetcher, Diamond James, Olivia Haslop, Carly Wais, Kayla Ingram Caitlin Weber, Julia Passik, Esther Kang, Peggy Laio, and Kristin McCall-Kiley with guidance from George Aye
Overview
Baltimore Public Markets Corporation (BPMC) was established in 1995 as a non-profit organization, to operate the public markets in a manner beneficial to the City of Baltimore and it's citizens. While BPMC is still supporting Baltimore communities by providing business opportunities, employment, access to nutrition information and fresh, affordable foods it is far from the cultural hub that it was in the past.
Opportunity
The project research was focused on foundational research and developing low level prototypes around the question: How might we achieve critical mass at the broadway market so that all the players show up and play their part?
My Roll
As a design researcher I participated heavily in both primary and secondary research, prototyping, and presentation. I was also responsible for designing some of the presentation collateral used in client presentations.
Process
Primary research began with a several hour long ethnographic visits to Broadway market on various days and times through the work week, and was concluded with a 6 hour research session Saturday. Over the course of the day, the team conducted around 60 man-on-the-street interviews and identified any individuals that might be high value contacts for BPMC, or important stakeholders that could evaluate prototypes. The Saturday date was chosen specifically due to a coinciding farmers market, giving us access to individuals who were already primed to interact in the area. Secondary research acted as a support for primary research, and looked heavily at area trends, as well as successful public markets in other cities and states. After an initial ideation session, we worked with the BPMC president and board to identify the most salient ideas to prototype.
Findings
After analyzing the primary data, we grouped our research at three different scales for innovation: the merchant scale which focused on the business interactions, the infrastructure scale which focused on interaction with the physical building, and the community scale which focused on interaction with people who live or spend recreational time in the area.
Merchant Scale: One of the most common themes found at this scale was the limited number of merchants. Each merchant operates as a completely independent business offering different hours, meaning the space often felt empty or in disuse. While many merchants have been Broadway Market staples for many years and are able to identify regular customers, several felt like they were isolated and relatively unknown outside of the regular market crowd.
Building Scale: Time and time again our research revealed that the physical building limited interactions. At the base level, with one of the two sheds closed, people didn't know if either building was open for business especially in conjunction with confusing signage. Moreover, with very few windows, the market inaccessible and closed off. Once inside, the market was a single corridor with few places for patrons to pause, eat, or look around, causing patrons to move more quickly through the building.
Community Scale: Aside from not knowing if the building itself was open, many people in the community felt like there was no point of interaction. While it was physically in the community, few people felt invited into the space, and fewer still were able to name any of the restaurants or shops in the market. Finally there was no interaction between the farmers market and the Broadway Market, despite having a similar historical function and similar clientele.
Innovation Opportunities
Open Spaces - The biggest opportunity for innovation was through the physical space. We proposed an indoor facility with large windows and garage style doors that could be open on warm days. Areas between the pavilions would be covered and have sitting areas as well as green space. The more transparent environment would help the community feel welcome, and regular events would welcome the community and encourage interaction with the marketplace.
Changeable Stalls - Stalls in the market would be able to change and move so as to be responsive to merchant and community needs. Space could be rented based on size and utilities needed allowing small start-ups and market staples the ability to thrive in the space that they need.
Common Business Hours - Perhaps one of the most basic opportunities proposed was the application of standardized business hours. All future businesses would need to agree to a standard set of hours that align with community needs.
Microtel - The Broadway Market is located in a popular area for both tourists and locals with many high quality restaurants and bars. While there are some hotels in the area, many are pricy or are a cab ride away. The Microtel would would be a minimalist hotel that would allow guests to stay in the heart of Fells Point, enjoy the atmosphere and the market, and would be affordable for both locals and tourists for a short stay.
Farmers Market Collaboration - Given the historic similarity and the opportunity that would arise from an improved infrastructure, collaboration with the popular farmers market is one of the biggest opportunities. Broadway Market could potentially house part of the farmers market during the winter months when an outdoor market isn't plausible, and could use available space to construct a community kitchen where local chefs could teach farmers market patrons new ways to use the food that comes from the community.
