去农进超:有失偏颇的政策选择

SHENZHEN'S VANISHING FARMERS' MARKETS

传统的农贸市场/街市,即城市规划中统称的肉菜市场,通常在一个社区中会有一个,所售卖的商品包括各种新鲜的蔬果、鲜活的鸡鸭鱼等。除此之外,还可能有餐饮店、杂货店、服饰店等小商店坐落其中。传统农贸市场/街市在环境上并不让人感到十分舒适,地上脏乱且多有水渍,但因可议价及有浓厚的人情味,仍拥有一批忠实的消费者。

Huang Xianyan analyzes the social conditions behind Shenzhen’s vanishing wet markets. These wet markets arose and have changed with local villages. In poorer, less developed villages, vendors may spread their wares on the street or rent small kiosks. In richer villages, often a large wet market of integrated stalls has been built at the center of the new development. Unlike modern supermarkets and super chain stores, which are owned and operated by an offsite corporation, a local village or neighborhood company operates the wet markets, renting commercial spaces to independent vendors and shopkeepers. The stalls often have improvised lighting, open-air exposure, and dodgy sanitation. Nevertheless, they provide a means for residents to earn a living. Moreover, because they are located in Shenzhen’s urban villages and poorer neighborhoods, in the wet markets provide goods and services for the city’s workers and low-income families. Nevertheless, in 2006, Shenzhen Municipality standardized requirements for wet markets, as well as raising rents and taxes. This has led to the replacement of wet markets with supermarkets and chain stores, which can afford the new standards, but do not target the working poor, creating a condition in which neighborhood supermarkets are not providing for the surrounding neighborhood. Huang argues that for Shenzhen to thrive, it must allow for the existence of different kinds of markets – wet and super – because markets are public spaces and not simply sites for a privileged few to make money.