Mobs and Microbes

Market halls at the intersection of civic order and public health
Markets and market halls have always been more than about trade and nourishment. A detailed look at the histories of marketplaces provides evidence of the public health concerns they faced, as well as the social commotion, mobilization and, at times, unrest they hosted. This edited volume reappraises the market hall, examining both its architectural and its social and political significance.
Focusing on how these buildings embodied transformations in architecture and urbanism from the mid-nineteenth century until the age of COVID-19, Mobs and Microbes situates market halls at the intersection of civic order and public health. Central to this are advances in sanitation and hygiene. These radical interventions also mediated conflicting interests. Through their rational designs, market halls intertwined government policies and regulations, which formalized, controlled and literally imposed order. Additionally, markets served as demonstration grounds for community-led mobilization efforts. With case studies spanning North America, Europe, Asia, India and Africa, this edited volume provides a global perspective on covered market halls across many disciplines, including architecture, history of art and architecture, landscape architecture, food studies and urban history.

Contributors: Samantha L. Martin (University College Dublin), Leila Marie Farah (Toronto Metropolitan University), Ashley Rose Young (Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History), Daniel Williamson (Savannah College of Art and Design), Zhengfeng Wang (University College Dublin), Nkatha Gichuyia (University of Nairobi), Xusheng Huang (Southeast University), Ruth Lo (Hamilton College), Emeline Houssard (Sorbonne Université), Henriette Steiner (University of Copenhagen), Andrea Borghini (Università degli Studi di Milano), Min Kyung Lee (Bryn Mawr College).

Ebook available in Open Access.
This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).

Shortlisted for the 2025 Colvin Prize for the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain

Lauréat du Prix d’excellence of the 2026 RAIC Architectural Journalism and Media Award

Abbreviations
CHAPTER 1 Confluence Samantha L. Martin & Leila Marie Farah
CHAPTER 2 Public Amenity or Public Threat? Epidemiology and Grassroots Activism in the Food Markets of New Orleans, 1900–1940 Ashley Rose Young
CHAPTER 3 The Crawford Market: Sanitary Problems, Engineered Solutions, and Symbolic Gestures in Late Nineteenth-Century Bombay Daniel Williamson
CHAPTER 4 The Central Market in Hong Kong: Urban Amenities in a Speculative Field Zhengfeng Wang
CHAPTER 5 Nairobi City Market: The Versatile Afterlife of a Colonial-Era Building in a Postcolonial World Nkatha Gichuyia
CHAPTER 6 The St. Lawrence Market, Toronto: Changes and Continuity Leila Marie Farah
CHAPTER 7 Between a Government Project and a Commercial Space for Ordinary Citizens: Dongan Market, 1903–1937 Xusheng Huang
CHAPTER 8 Hygiene, Urbanism, and Fascist Politics at Rome’s Wholesale Market Ruth W. Lo
CHAPTER 9 Modernization and Mobilization: Parisian Retail Market Halls, 1961–1982 Emeline Houssard
CHAPTER 10 Finding Food at Torvehallerne: Market Halls in Copenhagen between Gastrosexual Consumerism and the Coronavirus Pandemic Henriette Steiner
CHAPTER 11 Pandemics and Marketplaces: A Coda from Viareggio, Italy Andrea Borghini & Min Kyung Lee
About the Authors Index

Leila Marie Farah

Leila Marie Farah is associate professor at Toronto Metropolitan University and a Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes académiques de la République française. She holds a PhD and M.Arch from McGill University and a professional degree from l’École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture Paris-Malaquais.

Samantha L. Martin

Samantha L. Martin is associate professor at University College Dublin and editor-in-chief of Architectural Histories. She received her MPhil and PhD in Architecture from the University of Cambridge and is a graduate of Smith College.