Muskegon's small-scale, pop-up "approach to create more long-term opportunities for local businesses."

Photo from Western Market Facebook page.

Another example of small, incremental projects possessing considerably less risk than big-ticket extravaganzas designed for the nurturing of campaign finance and personality cults.

Note that Muskegon's population is almost exactly the same as New Albany's.

Low-Cost Pop-up Shops Create Big Value in Muskegon, Michigan, by Rachel Quednau (Strong Towns)

Sometimes, all it takes is a little push to get a big thing rolling. That's what Muskegon, Michigan learned when they invested in low-cost, small-scale business spaces in their downtown.

Like many American cities, Muskegon (population 38,000) chose to bulldoze much of its historic downtown to build a mall in the 1970s. Then in 2001, a new mall was constructed on the outskirts of the city, which led to the closure of the downtown mall. It's a dark story of waste and decline, but one piece of good came out of that: downtown Muskegon is coming back. The farmers market is booming and local businesses are coming up in the town center.

One small but very impactful way that the city of Muskegon has helped to make this happen is by constructing low-cost "chalets" on a vacant strip of land in the downtown dubbed, Western Market, and renting them to local businesses.

Building off the success of its popular farmers market nearby, the city of Muskegon decided to use a similar small-scale approach to create more long-term opportunities for local businesses. The city hired a builder to manage the construction of 12 wooden buildings ranging from 90-150 square feet at a cost of just $5,000-6,000 per chalet. Their simple design — a portable wooden structure with windows and doors (but no running water) — kept them very affordable. In May 2017, these buildings opened for business — filled with clothes, gifts, crafts and food.

They have been a serious success, appealing to tourists and residents alike ...

"Do you REALLY know where your farmers' market produce comes from?"

Groan, redux.

Here in a bit, I'll walk downtown for the weekly purchase of tomatoes at our farmers market. I like to buy the misshapen, dirty and slightly unripened ones. It's just a quirk, I suppose.

Frequent readers will recall many blog posts on the topic of farmers market infrastructure and location, as here.

Jeff Gahan's quarter-million dollar farmers market fluff job commences this week. (March 30)

Yes, every City Hall argument deployed in favor of the Coyle site development simultaneously argues AGAINST the farmers market build-out. The build-out begins this week. By the way, it’s an election year.

On two separate occasions this summer, I've been asked a variant of the same question: Is there any standard, or regulation determining whether the food sold at the farmers market actually is grown by the seller, or came from another secondary source?

In short, is the food really what they say it is?

I don't know the answer to this question, although it isn't unique to New Albany, and is discussed in greater detail here.

Do you REALLY know where your farmers' market produce comes from?, by Katherine Martinko (Treehugger)

Every market has its own set of regulations. In New York City, most of the major farmers’ markets are run by a non-profit organization called GrowNYC, which ensures that markets are producer-only. That means that vendors can only sell items that they’ve grown themselves; no reselling, even if clearly labeled, is allowed. As Modern Farmer reports, GrowNYC maintains its high standards by employing investigators who keep an eye on vendors, taking note of any suspicious things such as retail boxes, waxed fruit, or consistently high volume of produce.

By contrast, markets in Los Angeles allow for resale, as long as it’s clearly marked.

I'm told there is an informal standard at the New Albany Farmers Market expressed as a percentage of food grown by the purveyor, versus what he or she has purchased for resale.

However, there isn't any mention of this formula at the FAQ section of the web site, and I've never seen clear labeling at the stalls which might help make the distinction more clear.

Who can sell at the Farmers Market?

Items sold must be created/produced locally in our region (from Southern Indiana, Northern Kentucky, Ohio, etc).

What about YOU, the consumer? You have responsibilities, too, and here's a list of annoyances straight from the producers' mouths.

9 Annoying Things You Do at Farmers' Markets, According to Farmers, by Jessica Leigh Hester and Vicky Gan (City Lab)

Recently, CityLab interviewed a number of farmers and vendors at some of our favorite markets. Their responses were overwhelmingly enthusiastic—they love that locals are excited to support small-scale local agriculture. But after a little while, they loosened up and swapped tales of nightmare customers, such as serial produce nibblers or sample snatchers. Then there are the aesthetic elitists, who sniff at the “misshapen” heirloom tomatoes.

Below are some of these vendors’ most common—and most surprising—complaints. They just might help you make the farmers’ market experience more bucolic for everyone.

"4 Reasons Retailers Don't Need Free Parking to Thrive."

Okay, I won't pretend that studies conducted in European cities are an exact fit with our everyday experiences here in the land of the ubiquitous auto, but still there are nuggets here worth chewing, as in point number four: "A mix of retailers is more important than parking supply."

4 Reasons Retailers Don't Need Free Parking to Thrive, by Eric Jaffe (The Atlantic Cities)

A major rationale for the supply of parking spaces in city shopping centers is that customers won't come without them. The anecdotal argument makes sense — retailers believe that most consumers arrive by car and believe free or cheap parking plays a major role in choosing a destination — but the actual evidence is scant at best. A new review of commercial centers in Greater London, released late last month (via David King), concludes that retailers vastly overestimate the role free parking plays in their success.