Tel Aviv's Urban Markets: Business or Pleasure?

What is the role of urban markets today? Are they still significant in an era dominated by supermarket chains, direct farming, and quick deliveries? Who does the market serve: the residents of Kerem HaTeimanim looking to buy fresh fruits and vegetables or tourists enjoying a drink of grapefruit arak? What do the neighboring communities want the market to represent?

In this event, we will attempt to answer these questions and discuss the future character of the Carmel Market ahead of the developing municipal plan to regulate it—for the first time since its establishment in the 1920s. We will talk about changing trends in commerce and consumption among Tel Aviv-Yafo residents and how they influence and transform urban markets—from HaTikva Market through Bezalel and Sarona Markets to the Carmel Market. We will try to understand what makes the Carmel Market relevant despite these changes. We will also meet with Carmel Market figures and their neighbors for a conversation about the market’s role in the neighborhood-urban-national fabric—examining the spectrum between a traditional market serving the local community and a modern market that has become a hub of entertainment and leisure for both local and international audiences.

The event is part of a series of public participation meetings preceding urban renewal processes in the Carmel Market and Kerem HaTeimanim area. This series is a collaboration between Liebling Haus, the Municipal Property Division, the City Planning Division, the Business Licensing Division, and Ran Wolf Urban Planning and Project Management.

Event Schedule:
19:00 Gathering and Drinks
19:30 Opening words by Ran Wolf, Urban Planner and Owner of Ran Wolf Urban Planning and Project Management, who has been involved with the Carmel Market project for the past three years.
19:45 Talk: “What's Happening in Markets Worldwide?”
20:00 Panel Discussion featuring Market Vendors and Kerem HaTeimanim Residents, including stall owners, restaurant owners, longtime neighbors, and more.