Port Said historic markets: a tool for urban revitalization Aliaa AlSadaty Department of Architectural Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt Abstract Purpose – This paper investigates urban potentials of historic covered market buildings. Generally, these structures witnessed the apex of construction during the turn of the 20th century in Europe and beyond. They thrived until the second half of the 20th century when they started to decline and their existence became threatened due to several factors. This research focuses on recent regeneration attempts that consider the qualities of these structures, not only as individual buildings but also as an important tool for the revitalization of their surrounding contexts. Design/methodology/approach – This paper focuses mainly on the Egyptian network of historic indoor markets with special reference to Port Said markets which are currently in decay and in urgent need for intervention. Through the consultation of the Barcelona Model for Markets, Spain and the survey of Port Said historic markets; the present study suggests a framework through which the network of local markets can regain their positive role and contribute to the revitalization of their surrounding context. Findings – Findings reveal that historic indoor markets are complex structures that cannot be regenerated in isolation from their usually fast changing contexts. Intervention in this prototype needs to balance between traditional imaginary of these buildings, including the protection of their historic features and the protection of vulnerable local trades; and at the same time, the adaptation of market buildings to contemporary needs to improve their competitiveness on the commercial level. Originality/value – The present study suggests a two-level framework and approach through which the network of local markets in Egyptian cities can regain their positive role and hence contribute to the revitalization of their surroundings. Keywords Historic market buildings, Revitalization of historic districts, Port Said, Port Said municipality market, Abbas Bazar Paper type Research paper 1. Introduction In pre-modern and pre-colonial cities, markets were places for exchange that brought a mix between the urban and the rural. They were places of encounter of variety of produce, ethnicities of customers and traders (Gonz alez, 2018). The role of marketplaces was given a special attention in medieval history (Stobart and van Damme, 2016), with the onset of modernity, two main factors affected small retailing in cities. First, the concern of making cities more appealing for the new bourgeoisie, and, hence, banning or eliminating informal street vending. Second, in response to rapid growth and urbanization in major cities starting the 19th century, states had to get involved in the food provision along with other retail and public services (Gu ardia and Oy on, 2015). Hence retail buildings, including municipal covered markets appeared in several major cities around the world (Gonz alez, 2018). The modern city centre retailing continued to thrive starting the second half of the 19th century to reach its heydays in the 1920s. Generally, two factors encouraged the flourishing of central retail buildings: first, the spread of streetcar systems, which turned city centres into hubs boosting the mobility of customers. Second, the economic prosperity witnessed in that period, which led to an increase in the purchasing power of the population and therefore the prosperity in economic exchange (Robertson, 1997). In the aftermath of Second World War, city centres retailing started to decline due to factors including the dispersion of the population; the emergence of suburbs and the hyper Port Said historic markets The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/2631-6862.htm Received 2 February 2020 Revised 13 May 2020 26 May 2020 Accepted 5 June 2020 Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research © Emerald Publishing Limited 2631-6862 DOI 10.1108/ARCH-02-2020-0022