In 2009, Project for Public Spaces (PPS), with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foun- dation and in partnership with Columbia Univer- sity, undertook a study to examine what market characteristics successfully attract low-income shoppers. In addition, PPS wanted to understand any obstacles which may prevent low income individuals from shopping at a farmers market when one existed nearby. To answer these questions, PPS examined eight markets throughout the United States that served low-to-middle income communities with higher than average ethnic and minority com- positions.