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Core economy is defined as the economic activity, which is mostly underestimated as the non-market economy. As a result of certain concurrent studies, it is however estimated to be 25% of the economy of the USA with 1.91 trillion USD for the year 1998, which can’t be measured directly in spite of generating direct benefits. District bazaars and marketplaces and the street economy, an intersection point of the ones tired of suppression and tyranny of the Landowners and Sheikhdom, snowed under the sectarian conflicts, the ones feeling outcasted from the society, who would like to enjoy the benefits of modern life, the ones without the sufficient capital to establish a business or a regular business, the ones who would like to contribute to their families, the ones who are outside and excluded from the professional life; some of the ones are thugs and ramblers and lumpen, and the ones with no jobs and got nothing as defined as ‘Bosiacs’ by Maxim Gorki.

Economic liberalization in the countries of the former Soviet Union in the late 1980s provoked a spontaneous explosion of entrepreneurial activities and small trade that lead to an expansion of local marketplaces – the bazaars. This study locates the bazaar within the transition to a market economy. The discussion is guided by questions addressed in social theory and ethnographic studies of the marketplace. How “bizarre” is the post-Soviet bazaar? Does it resist the transition to a market economy or is it a conduit of emerging markets? Ethnographic data for this study stems from the bazaar in Zarya Vostoka situated at the outskirts of Almaty, Kazakhstan. This bazaar is a remarkable example of post-Soviet transformation from a small site of market exchange (the barakholka) to a profitable commercial enterprise. Contrary to the scholarly arguments that insist on a conceptual difference between the marketplace and true markets, this study argues that this bazaar is a dynamic enterprise and an integral part of emerging markets in post-Soviet Kazakhstan.

The purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual framework for defining the notion of “physical integration” regarding the Iranian bazaar as the main component in the structure of traditional Iranian cities. Applying this conceptual framework to the historical bazaars in the cities of Kerman and Shiraz, this study seeks to pave the way for restoring the physical integrity of such historical districts.

The research was conducted in two phases. First, there was a review of the theoretical background of physical integration followed by the analysis of the corresponding qualitative contents and the validation of the proposed conceptual framework as confirmed by 15 local experts. The second phase tested the validated framework in two case studies based on maps, historical documents and field observations.

The findings show that the physical integration of historical bazaars can be undertaken in morphological, visual-aesthetic and functional aspects. The proposed conceptual framework is capable of dealing with the different aspects of physical integration in historical districts on a meso-scale.

The theoretical implications of this study concerning the physical integration of traditional bazaars address urban design, urban planning and multi-disciplinary historical geography. The study also has practical implications for the integration of bazaars in historical urban regeneration projects via design guidelines.

This study emphasizes the importance of physical integration as a multi-dimensional concept, facilitating it to deal with the physical quality and the characteristics of historical districts, particularly bazaars. It also highlights the role of the Iranian bazaar as a unifying structure in the historical districts.

The purpose of this paper aims at the spatial analysis of the Rastas dealing with the wool market to revise the production resulting in a recreation of spaces and the pathways based on its high economic–commercial role.

Secondary resources and direct observations through field research were the two critical methodological steps for this paper based on phenomenology and qualitative approaches.

The results represent that the usage of past experiences is the most effective solutions for activities relying on manufacturing inside the workshops leading to improvement in functional objectives of Bazaar. Integration between diverse institutions, precise planning regarding the creation and restoration of past and new jobs and organizing the exhibition of recreational spaces contributing to development regarding public attraction and strengthening the spatial relationships between production, representation and service. Indeed these mentioned steps will provide multifunctional space with a priority of production and reproduction useful on a recreation of urban life.

This study fulfils to examine the important of the bazaar (Iranian market) and recreate its manufacturing, service and economic processes.

Commercial areas and bedestens (covered bazaars) are important public areas in Turkish cities and towns. These areas and buildings are essential in that they contribute vital economic and social characteristics to Turkish cities and towns. In the Ottoman period, these commercial areas, alongside inns, baths, mosques, and stores, were engaged in trading and manufacturing and formed a central part of life for the residents. The number of bedestens in a given city was dependent on the size of the city or town. All social, administrative, and economic activities were organized within these bedestens. Commercial structures, in which the bedestens are located, with different functions, such as arasta, inns, markets, covered markets, and stores, are the main components of the commercial districts. These structures were built by the order of the Sultan for the purpose of reviving and providing direction to the economic life of the city or town. One of the key components of these commercial structures was the bedestens. In terms of Turkish culture, a bedesten can be defined as the heart of the commercial district. Although these structures were built to sell textiles, they later functioned as places where antiques and/or valuable goods were also sold. Bedestens were usually a unique type of structure, with masonry masses between wooden stores located in the middle of the trade center of the city or town. The top of the bedesten, which was usually built as one storey and rectangular in shape, had a domed roof covered with lead. In this study, spatial analyses of these important architectural elements were conducted in terms of city planning, folk culture and commercial life. The bedestens selected for the study were those in historical cities located at major commercial road axes from the Ottoman period. The bedestens in these historical cities were examined, within the context of their planning, and assessments were made. The relations that these structures have with each other in general, and their common and different features, were also investigated.

Existing models of gift applied to religious charities are either abstract or sometimes very limited in their applicability to understand the reciprocal relationships throughout the interconnected chain of giving and receiving charities. The paper contributes to this debate by asking: How gift economy explains the circulation of charities across interconnected spheres of local governance? And what are the implications of these inter-linkages for social welfare provisions where states are ineffective in the provision of these services? To answer these questions, the study presents the case of Zakat in Islam and Dasvandh in Sikhism in the northwest of Pakistan. In both the cases, charity is an important element of the social welfare provision within local governance structure. The findings suggest that conceptualizations of the religious charities as a triad including God, the rich and the poor are unsuitable gift models for grasping the role of charities in the local governance of social welfare provision.

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the reasons behind a decade long contestations between the Georgian government and the petty traders over the access to the public space for commercial use.

The paper relies on the repeated ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Tbilisi in 2012 and 2013. The ethnographic interviews with legally operating traders and illegal street vendors are supplemented by the in-depth interviews with the representatives of the city government and secondary literature on Georgia’s post-revolutionary transformation.

Bridging the critical literature on the politics of the public space with Polanyi’s theory on commodification of fictitious commodities as a precondition of establishment of a market economy, the author argues that for the Georgian government control of the public space was necessary to pursue neoliberal marketisation policies. These policies required removal of the petty traders from public spaces because the state needed to restrict access to public space and limit its commercial usage to delineate public and private property and allow commodification of the urban land and property. As the commodification intensified and the rent prices started growing and fluctuating, the access to the public space became even more valuable for the petty traders. Therefore, the traders developed subversive tactics undermining the division between public and private space and property.

The paper demonstrates the importance of enforcing the public-private divide in the process of establishing a market economy in transitional settings. Moreover, it illustrates little discussed social costs of establishing such a divide.

Sustainability is one of the major factors in the way of creating new structures in historical contexts. The economic principle plays a very significant role in sustainability besides the environmental and social components. Tabriz Historic Bazaar that has been inscribed on the World Heritage list has witnessed various developments in its surrounding area over recent years. The purpose of this study is to analyze the infill structure indicators in this region in terms of economic sustainability.

First, based on related literature reviews and approaches, the indicators that should be considered in the creation of infill structures in historical contexts were collected. Later, by considering the vicinity zone of Tabriz Historic Bazaar, the effect of each indicator on the economic sustainability of the building was gathered by means of AHP questionnaires and in-person interviews with experts and analyzed by the Expert Choice software.

The findings present a guideline which indicates that the type of materials being used is the most important factor in order to create an economically sustainable infill structure in this setting. Accordance with the Climate of the region ranks second place and the Cultural land-use as the Suitable land use for this site goes for the third. The mentioned guideline includes 25 indicators and can help designers with a clear path.

This paper clarifies the order of indicators' importance for enhancing the design and consequently function of infill structures, being built in this historic context, with the aim of economic sustainability. The prioritization of indicators in this research depends mainly on their relevance to the conditions of the study area, but the methodology can be used helpfully in similar cases.

This paper investigates urban potentials of historic covered market buildings. Generally, these structures witnessed the apex of construction during the turn of the 20th century in Europe and beyond. They thrived until the second half of the 20th century when they started to decline and their existence became threatened due to several factors. This research focuses on recent regeneration attempts that consider the qualities of these structures, not only as individual buildings but also as an important tool for the revitalization of their surrounding contexts.

This paper focuses mainly on the Egyptian network of historic indoor markets with special reference to Port Said markets which are currently in decay and in urgent need for intervention. Through the consultation of the Barcelona Model for Markets, Spain and the survey of Port Said historic markets; the present study suggests a framework through which the network of local markets can regain their positive role and contribute to the revitalization of their surrounding context.

Findings reveal that historic indoor markets are complex structures that cannot be regenerated in isolation from their usually fast changing contexts. Intervention in this prototype needs to balance between traditional imaginary of these buildings, including the protection of their historic features and the protection of vulnerable local trades; and at the same time, the adaptation of market buildings to contemporary needs to improve their competitiveness on the commercial level.

The present study suggests a two-level framework and approach through which the network of local markets in Egyptian cities can regain their positive role and hence contribute to the revitalization of their surroundings.