My research aims to explore the processes of consumption, exclusion and change at alternative sites of consumption in urban areas, with a focus on “traditional” (covered and indoor) markets in UK city and town centres. This includes attention to intersecting issues relevant to different policy areas, such as sustainable food systems, urban policy, and community cohesion.

These forms of markets have been neglected in comparison to newer forms of alternative consumption such as Farmers’ Markets, and I aim to shed light on these spaces and the challenges they face, as well as the potential they have for change. Change in such markets is often highly contentious and processes of retail gentrification do interact with these markets, making them an interesting site in which to examine how the themes described above interact.