Leveraging markets to develop central capabilities: case studies of Cotati, CA, and Brownsville, TX
International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
ISSN: 0144-333X
Article publication date: 3 May 2022
Issue publication date: 19 July 2022
Abstract
Purpose
Marketplaces have been central to civilization, as they foster trade and social life. Marketplaces are built environment (BE) interventions which, when looked at through a historical lens, reflect inequalities and subsequent deployment by people of color (POC). While the resurgence of farmers’ markets is a positive stride towards food justice over the past three decades, studies show that the disparities of class inequality and geographic constraints are key limitations to access for vulnerable populations. The fundamental question of this paper is, how can farmers’ markets use data to strategize and plan in ways that better serve their communities and give them more control?
Design/methodology/approach
This paper brings together applied methods in marketplace research and spatial analytical processes geographic information systems (GISs) to inform the research questions through an intersectional model of analysis. Data analysis merges local data collected from the market organization using the Farm 2 Facts toolkit and publicly available data to conduct geospatial analysis of the markets and their surrounding context. Two case studies are explored in Cotati, CA, and Brownsville, TX.
Findings
Despite the similarities and nuances of the two case studies, the data show that both markets serve a narrow pool of customers extended a couple of miles from the market. (1) The markets are not serving communities with the most need. (2) Farmers’ markets need to increase affiliation with POC. (3) Farmers’ market locations can impact control over one's environment.
Originality/value
The research builds of Nussbaum's capabilities model and explores three capabilities that are in line with what markets (1) bodily health, (2) affiliation and perhaps most significantly (3) control over one's own environment. Farmers’ market location can impact control over one's environment.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author wishes to thank the anonymous referees for the helpful comments, which have improved the paper. The author would like to thank Dr. Alfonso Morales for his advice to improve and revise the article. The author would also like to acknowledge Trevor Nederlof, the graduate assistant, for contributing in the maps development. The author is grateful to research team from the Kaufman Lab at the University of Wisconsin–Madison for enabling interdisciplinary research and collaboration that inspired this project.
Citation
Ely-Ledesma, E. (2022), "Leveraging markets to develop central capabilities: case studies of Cotati, CA, and Brownsville, TX", International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 42 No. 7/8, pp. 656-674. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-02-2022-0056
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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