September 22, 2026 – New York, NY.
Project for Public Spaces recently announced that New York, NY, USA, has been selected as the host city for the 13th International Public Markets Conference, taking place May 20-22, 2027, with New York City Economic Development Corporation proudly serving as co-host. As the largest global conference for public market professionals, the event will convene over 400 public market leaders from all over the world to delve into the forefront of market practices. Guided by the theme, The Future of Markets in a City We Can Afford, the conference will bring together market operators, placemaking advocates, policymakers, and researchers, and more from around the world to explore how public markets serve as anchors of shared prosperity. Visit the conference website to learn more about how event attendees will explore the transformative influence of public markets in shaping kinetic and inclusive urban spaces.
“As issues of affordability, equity, and access to health and wellbeing take center stage in the future of thriving cities, public markets are rising to meet the moment. As a city built on the vibrancy of its own food system, there’s no place more fitting to host this global gathering than New York.” said Kelly Verel, Project for Public Spaces’ Co-Executive Director. “We look forward to welcoming leaders from around the world as we celebrate the role public markets play in feeding and strengthening our communities."
New York City is home to a five-borough system of market halls, farmers markets, and food distribution hubs that has grown over generations to touch nearly every corner of the city's economic and cultural life. Over three days, attendees will engage in an opening plenary, breakout sessions, networking receptions, guided market tours, and mobile workshops that showcase New York's diverse markets, highlighting innovative practices and exemplary models in action.
The conference will spotlight New York City's vast range of markets, including city-owned public markets like Essex Market on the Lower East Side, Moore Street Market in East Williamsburg, La Marqueta in East Harlem, and Arthur Avenue Market in the Bronx's Little Italy; the city's plethora of farmers markets (which span more than 140 locations, including those overseen by GrowNYC, Down to Earth Markets, Harvest Home, and independent operators); alongside the Queens Night Market, Harlem Night Market, Smorgasburg, Chelsea Market, and many more. The event will also explore the city's broader food ecosystem, from neighborhood street vendors to Hunts Point, the largest food distribution hub in the world. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn how these markets have created vibrant, community-oriented spaces that uplift and fortify diverse neighborhoods, from immigrant gateway communities to generations-old cultural enclaves.
The three-day event will also introduce attendees to New York's vision for the next generation of public food infrastructure. Amid a national conversation on the viability of public grocery stores, the city is advancing five such stores, one for each borough, starting with a roughly 9,000-square-foot building co-located with La Marqueta in East Harlem expected to open in 2029. The initiative positions New York as a timely backdrop for a broader conversation on the role of markets in advancing food affordability and economic justice.
"Nearly a century ago, Mayor La Guardia built what is now La Marqueta so pushcart vendors in East Harlem had a safe place to sell and New Yorkers had somewhere to buy affordable, healthy food," said NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani. "We're building on that same idea with the city's new public grocery stores, one in every borough. Public markets have always been part of how our city works, and I'm glad leaders from around the world will get to see how New York does it when they're here in May."
“The City is honored to have been selected as the host city for the 13th International Public Markets Conference and NYCEDC is very proud to serve as co-host for this world renowned conference," said New York City Economic Development Corporation President & CEO Anthony Shorris. "Our Public Markets have served as beacons of equity and culture in the vibrant communities they serve and we look forward to welcoming representatives from around the world to this conference and to show how making a city more affordable can enhance the quality of life for everyone."
The conference's theme, The Future of Markets in a City We Can Afford, underscores the growing role public markets play in building fairer, more affordable urban spaces. New York's markets illustrate this potential in action: New Yorkers lean on the city's plethora of farmers markets, most of which accept assistance funds from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other subsidy programs. Programs like Health Bucks, which matches every $2 in SNAP spending with $2 in fresh-food incentives (up to $10 a day), and Fresh Bites at Essex Market, which offers free cooking and nutrition education, show how markets can be designed to actively close the affordability gap. The city's markets are also engines of entrepreneurship, particularly for immigrant, minority, and neighborhood-based business owners, a dynamic exemplified by New York's street vending economy, where 96% of vendors were born outside the U.S.
As cities across the country confront the rising cost of living, public markets offer a proven model for economic opportunity, social cohesion, collective prosperity, and New York City demonstrates that potential clearly. Through shared learning across three days, the 13th International Public Markets Conference will help market leaders worldwide envision a future where public markets play a central role in keeping cities affordable and connected.
Project for Public Spaces and NYCEDC welcome all public market professionals to stay tuned for more details on the conference, including the Call for Proposals opening on October 11, 2026, registration in the new year, schedule lineup, and tips on how to prepare for the three-day event in New York City! The best way to keep informed is to visit the conference website, publicmarkets.pps.org, and sign up for Project for Public Spaces’ market-focused newsletter, the Biweekly Bazaar.
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Organized by Project for Public Spaces, the biennial International Public Markets Conference is the largest global conference for public market professionals. For over 35 years, the event has brought together an international group of over 400 visionary market managers, community advocates, and civic leaders to explore the changing forces that are shaping public markets today. It has also been a catalyst for significant market initiatives, including the launch of PPS’s Market Cities Program at the 2019 conference in London, and the creation of the Market Cities Network at the 2023 conference in Toronto. Through these initiatives, the conference both highlights the critical role of public markets and drives the field forward. Learn more at publicmarkets.pps.org.
Project for Public Spaces has spent the past five decades bringing some of the most successful public places in the world to life. Today, we remain committed to putting community participation at the center of everything we do, from placemaking partnerships with corporations and foundations to our workshops, trainings, conferences, and more. Our interdisciplinary team has helped over 3,500 communities in 52 countries create inclusive places that change our society for the better. Together, we can build a world where every public space is community-powered. Learn more at PPS.org.
New York City Economic Development Corporation is a mission-driven, nonprofit organization that works for a vibrant, inclusive, and globally competitive economy for all New Yorkers. We take a comprehensive approach, through four main strategies: strengthen confidence in NYC as a great place to do business; grow innovative sectors with a focus on equity; build neighborhoods as places to live, learn, work, and play; and deliver sustainable infrastructure for communities and the city's future economy. Learn more at edc.nyc.
Anne Tan-Detchkov
Director of Communications & Marketing
Project for Public Spaces
atan@pps.org
(212) 620-5660
Aileen Gaztambide
Vice President, NYC Public Markets
NYCEDC
agaztambide@edc.nyc
(332) 400-6374
Contact us at IPMC@pps.org.
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