Abstract
Traditional marketplace trade brings many socio-economic benefits: it affects the local labour market, entrepreneurship, and tourism. In many countries, activities are undertaken to support the operation of marketplaces. In recent years, new threats to the development of marketplaces have emerged, such as cheap discount shops, supermarkets, and online shops. The inhabitants of many cities still enjoy shopping at traditional marketplaces. The aim of the research is to assess the development of marketplace trade in large cities in Poland. Eurostat does not provide detailed data on marketplaces in Poland. We decided to fill this gap. Additionally, we assessed the attractiveness of large cities in Poland in terms of the development of marketplace trade in the years 2008–2019 by means of linear ordering of objects (Hellwig’s composite measure of development). In the years 1995–2019, the number of marketplaces in Poland remained at a constant level, but since 2003 their area has decreased. However, the total number of marketplaces has increased compared to 1995. In the whole research period, Kraków and Katowice were the most attractive cities with respect to the development of the marketplace trade, while Gdańsk and Sosnowiec were the least attractive. The high position of Kraków results from the nature of the city and its tourist attractions, while the low position of Sosnowiec is caused by the existence of a large bazaar in nearby city of Będzin.
Highlights
Market squares have always been an indispensable part of Polish towns
The high position of the whole voivodeship is influenced by marketplaces located in smaller towns, e.g., in Tuszyn and Rzgów
The high position of Slaskie is consistent with the high position of Katowice and Czestochowa
Summary
Networks of streets and buildings have been created around them [1]. They were the focal point of settlements [2]. In Poland, geographical studies on marketplace trade were conducted as early as in the 1930s [3]. This topic was developed only after the Second World War, and the importance of this research increased again in the 1990s. It was a period of development of private entrepreneurship in Poland, which influenced the creation of numerous border bazaars generating considerable income for the cities
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