Food Markets and Free Fairs as Contributors for Designing Climate Resilient Cities: A Study Case in Southern Ecuador

Climate change will have far-reaching impacts on food systems, which require strengthening social, economic, and political structures that allow farmers to offer their produce and consumers to have access to the food they eat. This research focuses on food access and stability. Specifically, through the analysis of a system of urban markets and free fairs, the (a) public satisfaction with these spaces, (b) the distribution and access to the same spaces, and (c) potential scenarios envisaging a food system that contributes to the designing of a climate resilient city are evaluated. The results indicate a high public satisfaction with markets and free fairs, while providing evidence on the importance of designing cities that include a network of markets and free fairs in urban planning for climate adaptation and resilience, shifting the paradigm from centralised urban systems towards an urbanism of services’ proximity within walking distances.