Miguel Granier's blog

Shipping containers are more likely to conjure the image of an endless supply of toy s and trinkets for the big-box isles than of open air markets and micro-enterprise. But the fairly standard size and durable steal structure make containers ideal for open air vendor kiosks. They are highly transportable, cheap, and because you are re-using an existing steal structure as opposed to requiring the mining and smelting of new steal, they are green. Shipping containers are made of durable steal so they can be loaded with any type of solid material, stacked nine high, and exposed to the harsh climates of the open ocean. Re-cycling these containers has long been the work of scrap metal experts and the occasional green builder. However, one of the most interesting new uses might be kiosk conversions. Because the United States has had a massive import/export deficit over the past few decades we have hundreds of thousands of abandoned containers stacked in ports around the country. Companies tend to abandon containers after 8-10 years of service because they can no longer depreciate their value.

I recently returned from a two week stay in La Paz, Bolivia. I grew up back and forth between the U.S. and Bolivia but it had been over 10 years since my last visit so the difference between my two home countries felt more pronounced than ever. One key difference that will forever resonate with me is the use and definition of public space.

I have been uneasy about the title public space in the U.S. for sometime, but didn’t fully understand why until I returned to Bolivia. One issue is that in the U.S. our public spaces often feel more like leisure space, designed for relaxation, recreation and beauty. We rarely see utilitarian shared spaces as being public. For example, sidewalks and streets are not often considered public as much as shared for the purpose of transporting ourselves to nearby places efficiently. These utilitarian shared spaces, since they are not fully regarded as public, are subject to even greater regulations of use.

Urban farmer’s markets have an interesting dilemma that rural markets often don’t. On one hand, they benefit from the large population base, the density and the clear need by many city dwellers for fresh, healthy foods. On the other, they suffer from limited space, higher expenses, parking nightmares and ill equipped food selling regulations. Although space limitations and higher expenses are products of urban life that will not disappear, relief from complicated regulations may have a simple answer: kitchen incubators.

Food seller regulations are notorious and the root for more than a few business failures. They also prevent many would be food entrepreneurs from ever marketing their products. For example, a food entrepreneur in Atlanta has to get licensed through the Georgia Department of Agriculture for food processing or the Fulton County Health and Wellness Division for catering. This alone can be a confusing difference when you are selling food at a market that can be taken home or eaten at a nearby bench.

We often hear of big box stores (i.e. Wal-Mart’s, Kmart’s, Targets, Home Depot… etc) entering a community and pushing mom and pop businesses out. But I bet most of you have not heard about mom and pop businesses reclaiming defunct big box stores and re-creating diverse marketplaces. Although it gets very little press there are examples of this happening from California to Georgia and I’m sure everywhere in between.
Enterprising property owners have created homegrown (and profitable) marketplaces out of the once single-use buildings by installing temporary walls to subdivide the massive floor spaces into small “stalls” (See Image). The subdivided spaces are rented to small businesses, which benefit from short term, affordable leases that include electricity and nearby bathroom facilities. Renting a booth with a short term lease not only reduces start-up capital needs for the entrepreneur, but also allows for a more flexible schedule and a second job. This new use might not be glamorous but it is a big contribution to a community. Not only are these new marketplaces recycling under-utilized buildings they are reducing the cost and complexity for new entrepreneurs to enter the market and improving their odds of survival when they do. If we consider it that way, these big box conversions sound a lot like small business incubators… pretty glamorous after all.