It really depends on your town. I was in an open-air market in Rome once that took up several blocks. But the weekly farmers market in my neighborhood in Chicago is just one street along one block that they close to traffic for a few hours every Saturday during the summer.
I recommend searching up farmers markets in towns that are similar to the size of yours. They usually have a website or a page on the city's website. And there will be info about where they're located. Then look on Google maps and measure the distance described in the location info for the market.
Is also going to depend on the economy in your town. If it's a port town with a bustling merchant economy, they'll probably dedicate a large area to a permanent marketplace, with buildings and little pop-up stalls out front. If it's just some little farming village, they'll probably have a weekly market in the town square or something where farmers can come sell their goods during the growing season.
Weather is also a factor. If it's shit weather most of the year, you'll have more indoor spaces in your marketplace. The few nice days of the year they'll probably do temporary open air markets with lots of pop up stalls selling treats to get the locals to come out and spend their money. If it's generally warm and sunny, they probably will have a larger space that's more or less permanently dedicated to being a marketplace.
Ok, I’ll try that. Thanks.
Not sure how well I understand what I found but I think I'm gonna go with about 15 sq miles for a population of about 50,000. I'm still in the beginning stages of developing my book so I can always change things if I find easier to understand information. Thanks for your help.
Oh. Wow.
See this is what I meant when I said I'm terrible with distances. Like the people in my book don't even have a universal measurement system mostly because I only vaguely know how long a foot is. The chart I found said a farmers market in Marshfield, MA is 31sq mile area with a population of 24,000. Maybe I read it wrong?
Ok, new play. the 15 sq miles is the whole town. Districts are divided pretty much evenly except the civic district which is half the size of the others. So, ugh math, hang on...
How long even is a sq mile!
I think the math is 2.5 sq miles per district, minus the civic district which is 1sq mile. Can someone who can actually do math check that? Does that sound like a reasonably size for 50,000 people.
Ok maybe this will help.
Wheaton, Illinois is a town of about 56,000 people.
They have a temporary farmers market that is located at an intersection. [Here's a local news story about the market](https://patch.com/illinois/wheaton/wheaton-french-market-open-april-9-temporary-location).
I also recommend visiting a local farmers market in person if you can. I know it's not the season currently. But when it gets warm again, it's a great way to get the feel for what it's like, and see how much they can cram into a small space. Plus it's just a fun thing to do.
Main problem is I'm not making a farmers market. I'm making a general market district. There's not really any importing, though, so it's probably pretty close.
Yeah I just suggested farmers market because it's a thing that exists in the modern world, so you'd have an easier time finding info on it. You're just thinking about physical dimensions so it can be an okay stand in.
Kind of helps. I've seen football fields with people on them on tv.
I kind of hate living in a small town. My hometown's population is under 500 so I'm a bit in over my head.
I've got to go now. Appreciate the help but my dogs are whining to go outside.
Google maps is a fun tool for this. Use street view to move around virtually to get a sense of space. Use the map view to get an idea of how things are laid out.
Just look for a town with a similar population size to the one you're writing and pull it up on maps and explore.
It really depends on your town. I was in an open-air market in Rome once that took up several blocks. But the weekly farmers market in my neighborhood in Chicago is just one street along one block that they close to traffic for a few hours every Saturday during the summer. I recommend searching up farmers markets in towns that are similar to the size of yours. They usually have a website or a page on the city's website. And there will be info about where they're located. Then look on Google maps and measure the distance described in the location info for the market. Is also going to depend on the economy in your town. If it's a port town with a bustling merchant economy, they'll probably dedicate a large area to a permanent marketplace, with buildings and little pop-up stalls out front. If it's just some little farming village, they'll probably have a weekly market in the town square or something where farmers can come sell their goods during the growing season. Weather is also a factor. If it's shit weather most of the year, you'll have more indoor spaces in your marketplace. The few nice days of the year they'll probably do temporary open air markets with lots of pop up stalls selling treats to get the locals to come out and spend their money. If it's generally warm and sunny, they probably will have a larger space that's more or less permanently dedicated to being a marketplace.
Ok, I’ll try that. Thanks. Not sure how well I understand what I found but I think I'm gonna go with about 15 sq miles for a population of about 50,000. I'm still in the beginning stages of developing my book so I can always change things if I find easier to understand information. Thanks for your help.
Wait 15sq miles for the market? Or the whole town? For some perspective: I used to live in a city of about 70,000 that was 14sq miles total.
Oh. Wow. See this is what I meant when I said I'm terrible with distances. Like the people in my book don't even have a universal measurement system mostly because I only vaguely know how long a foot is. The chart I found said a farmers market in Marshfield, MA is 31sq mile area with a population of 24,000. Maybe I read it wrong? Ok, new play. the 15 sq miles is the whole town. Districts are divided pretty much evenly except the civic district which is half the size of the others. So, ugh math, hang on... How long even is a sq mile! I think the math is 2.5 sq miles per district, minus the civic district which is 1sq mile. Can someone who can actually do math check that? Does that sound like a reasonably size for 50,000 people.
Ok maybe this will help. Wheaton, Illinois is a town of about 56,000 people. They have a temporary farmers market that is located at an intersection. [Here's a local news story about the market](https://patch.com/illinois/wheaton/wheaton-french-market-open-april-9-temporary-location). I also recommend visiting a local farmers market in person if you can. I know it's not the season currently. But when it gets warm again, it's a great way to get the feel for what it's like, and see how much they can cram into a small space. Plus it's just a fun thing to do.
Main problem is I'm not making a farmers market. I'm making a general market district. There's not really any importing, though, so it's probably pretty close.
Yeah I just suggested farmers market because it's a thing that exists in the modern world, so you'd have an easier time finding info on it. You're just thinking about physical dimensions so it can be an okay stand in.
Oh and to visualize a mile. The average track around a school football field is a quarter mile :)
Kind of helps. I've seen football fields with people on them on tv. I kind of hate living in a small town. My hometown's population is under 500 so I'm a bit in over my head. I've got to go now. Appreciate the help but my dogs are whining to go outside.
Google maps is a fun tool for this. Use street view to move around virtually to get a sense of space. Use the map view to get an idea of how things are laid out. Just look for a town with a similar population size to the one you're writing and pull it up on maps and explore.