On September 25, 2025, The Food Capitals Network HQ and member cities head to Placemaking Week Europe to explore how food markets intersect with placemaking—connecting urban and rural, animating public spaces, fostering social inclusion, and contributing to wellbeing in cities.
Together with member cities Helsinki, Turin, and Wrocław, and partners Placemaking US and Roof Coliving (Turkey), The Food Capitals HQ will participate in the following session at Placemaking Week Europe in Reggio Emilia, Italy:
Meet Me at the Market: Where Food Builds Place
Urban food markets are more than places to buy and sell: they're engines for community development, social inclusion, and sustainable urban-rural connections. This session explores how cities are reimagining markets as vibrant public spaces that activate neighbourhoods, celebrate local identity, and build resilient food systems. Featuring examples from Helsinki, Turin, and cities in California and Turkey, we'll highlight innovative models where markets serve as platforms for circular economy, intercultural exchange, and civic engagement. Participants will then engage in smaller group exchanges, sharing ideas, reflecting on their own urban contexts, and leaving inspired to use food markets as powerful, people-centered placemaking tools.
Session speakers:
Speaker Bios:
Peggy Bauer, CEO at Helsingin Kaupunkitilat Oy, Helsinki Premises Ltd (Finland)
As CEO of Helsinki Premises Ltd, Peggy leads the transformation of culturally and historically significant sites — including iconic spaces like the Teurastamo area, Torikorttelit district, and Helsinki’s market halls — into vibrant urban destinations that celebrate food, culture, and community. Peggy combines strategic branding, placemaking, and service design to create content-driven environments that resonate with both locals and visitors.
Cristina Cerutti, Tourism Monitor Officer, Turismo Torino, Italy
Passionate about tourism for more than 30 years, Cristina worked for Comitours, an Italian tour operator, for five years. Since 1998, she has been working at Turismo Torino e Provincia. Among the highlights of her career are her participation in the hospitality team for the XX Olympic Winter Games and the launch of the first Italian Industrial Tourism project. Since 2014, she has managed the tourism observatory, which focuses on analysing tourist flows and new trends, initiating important collaborations with international networks such as City Destinations Alliance. Her passion for sport, particularly tennis, and the mountains are powerful sources of inspiration that guide her vision in the field of tourism.
Jessica Ferey, Executive Director, The Food Capitals (France/Global)
Jessica is the Executive Director of The Food Capitals, the international network of cities that champion food culture and policy as drivers of sustainable urban development. With over a decade of experience in global city networks, Jessica has led strategic growth, international projects, and peer-learning initiatives at LUCI (Lighting Urban Community International) and the Global Cultural Districts Network (GCDN). Known as a connector of people, places, and ideas, she has curated over 50 international events, managed Creative Europe projects, and fostered meaningful collaborations among city leaders and cultural stakeholders. Jessica holds a Master’s in Arts Management from American University and is passionate about using culture—be it through food, light, and the arts—to build more vibrant, inclusive cities.
Zeynep Mutlu, Board Member, Roof Coliving (Turkey)
Zeynep Aybüke Mutlu is an urbanist, photographer and a graduate student at the University of Florence. She contributed to Roof Coliving as a volunteer and a project assistant to foster community inclusion, placemaking and sustainable living. Currently serving as a board member of Roof Coliving, she continues to support collaborative approaches to urban resilience. Her studies and projects focus on placemaking, cultural identity, and sustainable urban transformation.
Edyta Pawlaczek, Senior Specialist, Municipality of Wroclaw (Poland)
Edyta has been involved in public administration for over 10 years, with extensive experience in both local and central government administration. At Wrocław City Hall, she works in the Economic Development Office, supporting small and medium-sized businesses, restaurants, local food producers, and crafts. She is also responsible for cooperation with international organizations such as The Food Capitals by Délice Network and METREX. She holds a law degree from the University of Wrocław and the National School of Public Administration.
Ryan Smolar, Co-Director, Placemaking US (USA)
Ryan Smolar works to reconnect people with each other and the living systems that sustain them. Drawing from years of collaboration with communities across the U.S. and abroad, he helps design social and ecological frameworks that make it possible to live well — rooted in place, sharing resources, and honoring culture. His projects weave together local economies, regenerative land practices, foodways, and cultural exchange, creating networks of care that reach from village commons to city blocks. Ryan’s work is driven by a belief that resilience comes from reciprocity — between people, and between people and the earth.
