As I write there are at least 50 Christmas Markets underway in towns and cities across the UK, and many more in Europe and around the globe. They bring thousands of visitors, provide a boost to the tourist and hospitality industries and to local economies.  They seem to attract impressive visitor numbers and to be popular among residents, but what we know about their economic and social impact beyond the basic statistics of estimated visitor numbers, additional spending and jobs created is limited so let’s explore this phenomenon a little more.

This round-up from the Project for Public Spaces connects people who share a passion for public spaces to ideas and issues, news, quotes, places, and events from the placemaking movement.

In this issue we feature 6 current papers on the theme of social capital, chosen by Fabio Sabatini (Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza”):

Rural areas are frequently seen as relatively sparce environments for economic development, characterized by fewer resources and institutions, less economic diversity and poorer access to markets, finance and government support programmes than larger towns and cities. However digital access beyond the locality combined with cohesive community-driven action planning opens up new possibilities for economically and sustainable rural communities. Community groups and businesses can capture local opportunities of a ‘smart countryside’.