In my few years at Emerson, I've witnessed first-hand the increase of markets in the Boston area, particularly arts and clothing markets. A key part of my sophomore year was doing my weekend shopping—or more so browsing—at the Open Market in Copley Square, admiring—and usually never buying—vintage clothes and records. And a staple of my winters for the past couple years has been going to the Holiday Market at Snowport, making the cold trek to Seaport, but warming up with a hot chocolate and shopping at small businesses.  

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This trend has fascinated me for a while, and led me to wonder why markets have been on the rise, especially since more and more people shop online. So for my capstone I decided to investigate this topic over the course of three months. I wanted to figure out the reasons for this rise.