The significance of rural markets as a public space in Nigeria

Abstract

The signs and symbolic meanings of public space in Nigeria as perceived by the users relied on the existence of strong relationships between the people and their environment. This study centers on the users’ articulations, opinions, and views to public space such as traditional marketplace for the flourishing and sustainable development of indigenous people in South-West, Nigeria. This study adopts quantitative and subjective ways to elicit the views and opinions’ appraisals of the marketplace users and the term marketplace as a thirdplace. The findings reveal marketplace as a place of cultural inheritance, social arena for users, aesthetically oriented zone and a thirdplace, forming an integral component for the future rural neighbourhood planning and development in Nigeria.