Edna Ledesma Receives PARCI Grant to Study Farmers Markets

CLS affiliate faculty member Edna Ledesma (Planning & Landscape Architecture) has recieved a Pandemic Affected Research grant to continue a longitudinal study of four Latino Vendor Markets (LVM), classified as flea markets or swap meets, in two predominantly Latino states, California and Texas. The study, which began in 2015,  analyzed LVM through the lens of place attachment from three perspectives:  basic economic activity, social and human interactions, and their physical setting. Earlier survey and inteviews found that LVM are vibrant and lively places where attachment and feelings of belonging manifest; it identified LVM as one-stop-shops and places of purposeful interactions. 2022 will also be a critical benchmark to assess the economic impact that the pandemic had on the thousands of businesses operating at the LVM case studies, many women and/or minority owned.