Market-place Trading and the Transformation of Retail Space in the Expanding Latin American City

Abstract

The global spread of the supermarket and the planned shopping centre is transforming retail space in the Latin American city. Nevertheless, market-place trading has continued to flourish in most cities and is itself a key element of retail change. A case study of Quito shows how new periodic markets have been established and that, as demand density grows, these are consolidated into daily markets. Much of the dynamism in market-place trading is associated with government intervention, with principal policies being the creation of markets in poorly served urban areas and a reduction in the concentration of market-place trading in the historic centre. Speculations about competition and complementarity between supermarket and market underline the need for further research and an understanding of the consumption patterns which support the continued heterogeneity of retail forms in the Latin American city.