PLANNING SUSTAINABLE NEIGHBORHOODS INTRODUCTION
CASE STUDY: SOWA OPEN MARKET, BOSTON MA
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SOWA Open Market in Boston, Massachusetts hosts a variety of food trucks in a parking lot alongside a local arts and artisan market one day a week six months out of the year. Trucks participate on a rotating basis, and are selected through an application process, intended to ensure that high-quality, diverse food options are present in the market. Trucks pay for a parking spot in the market, and visitors flock to the venue from far and wide each Sunday.
ANALYSIS : SYSTEMS |
To a large degree, success can be attributed to the diversity and relative low-cost of items found at the market, and the lack of a strong street food culture in Boston. SOWA capitalizes on the agglomeration benefits and novelty factor to make food trucks a viable and successful mobile food option. By encouraging both competition and collaboration among the vendors, this market serves as an example of the potentials of food trucks as a modern alternative to traditional food distribution.
INTEGRATION : SYSTEMS |
More of a destination event than an everyday food option, SOWA demonstrates the manner in which food trucks can serve as an enhancing facility in a community and can intertwine an element of entertainment with food access and dining.
INDIVIDUAL TOOLS
Figure 15.3: Crowds gather at the food truck lot at SOWA Open Market in Boston. Source: www.sowaopenmarket.com/food-truck-info
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