Warsaw loves markets. Half of us shop there, most of us are in favour of setting up one-day markets in certain areas of the city. Not many people are concerned by the often dirty and run-down surroundings of open-air markets. “Our goal was to learn about the shopping habits of the people of Warsaw and the role market trade plays in them,” explains Marcin Ochmański from the city hall press office. The opinion poll conducted by SMG/KRC at the beginning of November leaves no doubt: Warsaw’s inhabitants clearly love markets. All this in a city where the ‘Kercelak’ market has been gone for a dozen or so years and ‘Różyc’ market is nearing its end. The poll results reveal that local open-air markets are more popular than super- and hypermarkets, in spite of the fact that the latter theoretically offer much more to the potential customer and are often located within large shopping centres.
Over 45% of those who participated in the poll chose small local markets over supermarkets while 41% prefer large shops. However, it is the proverbial ‘warzywniak’ (vegetable market), or small, local, often family-owned stores that are the most popular by far, with 68% regular customers. On Monday, December 14th, a modernisation project of one of the best-known Warsaw markets, the ‘Zieleniak’ near Grójecka Street, was revealed. Designed by JEMS Architekci, this open-air/pavilion combination promises to be a high-quality novelty in Warsaw. If all goes according to plan, the new ‘Zieleniak’ will welcome its first customers in early 2011. Warsaw city hall is also looking forward to implementing an idea that has already proven successful in many European cities, that of setting up one-day markets that will mainly offer fresh food. The process of making this idea a reality has been slow, as only 6 Warsaw districts responded positively to the project when it was first announced in 2008. Now Bemowo district remains the only district willing to put the plan into action. “That is just too bad. The city is incomplete without open-air markets,” says Grzegorz Buczek, an urban development expert.
Gazeta Wyborcza
Newzar 