Findings

Findings from various analysis

After studying the social structures in the market we could identify its relation with the physical space. The association manages the present market well but had little to share about future visions for the market. Communication between the old market vendors and vendors inside the fish market was minimal. This is a major reason why the spaces in the middle like the plaza are becoming neglected as no one is taking responsibility. The plaza are getting highlighted for criminal and prostitution activities after the market shuts down. We feel like the social spaces inside the market do not have sufficient quality. There is a lack of space to rest in the afternoon when there is less activity. They use the space on the road and pull their plastic chairs outside on the road during their break. Some uses window sills to rest their heads while others sleep on their platform. There is no suitable space which can facilitate for everybody to be included in meetings. Discussions regarding requirements and issues is therefore done in smaller groups. If we take an example from the implementation of Phase 1 & 2 in the main market, we see that lack of discussions amongst the sellers led to a few unsatisfactory designs. The clerk of the official association stated,

“Although the government did a good job but only if there was a discussion with the sellers before it was designed, there wouldn’t have been small design issues that now create problems for the sellers.”

Some vendors told us that there used to be a wide corridor in the middle of the new vegetable market for everyone walking through the market. However, it had to be covered by another row of platforms for the vendors because there were more sellers than estimated. There was a lack of platforms and so the walking area now has platforms which has led to a congested walking corridor in the center of the market. The platform in the vegetable market is high for the ladies to climb. The majority of sellers in the market are older women and have challenges reaching their platform. There was no discussions between the users and the designers according to the shopkeepers. There was neither any discussion amongst users, they were only dependent on the municipality which led to retrofitting in the design after the construction. Now they use a temporary stool to climb up the platform. There are also issues with the depth of the storage below platforms because it is too deep to access.

Looking at learnings from the last phases of development proves that discussing with the sellers would be beneficial for creating their space. Changing the design process this way would create long term benefits for the users. Talking about social structures in the market, we did notice a subconscious hierarchy. The ones with the most influence are heard the most and they make decisions on the behalf of the working community in the market. This is meant to be in favor of the market but it has the tendency of leading to marginalization. This will continue if these groups are not taken into discussions with the people with more power. Consequently, it leads to these groups becoming disinterested in participating in market discussions. Limited power to influence changes in a direction is a major reason for this lack of participation. They lose a sense of ownership to the market which is an important anchor to maintaining the spaces. We tried to see if there were any discussions in which everyone was included but we could not find any for the two months we were here.