Assessing the resilience of public markets amidst the pandemic: a study on social sustainability through legibility and imageability

Public markets have long been the heart of cities, promoting community life and economic exchange. Yet, their resilience and role in social sustainability remain understudied. This research examines how Al Ain City’s public market in the UAE adapted during COVID-19, using a comprehensive framework integrating three physical (Legibility) and four non-physical (Imageability) factors across 16 indicators. An exploratory sequential mixed-methods approach was applied, combining qualitative tools (observation, land use mapping, aerial imagery, interviews) and quantitative tools (surveys, spatial analysis). Findings show that four of the seven developed factors significantly enhance social sustainability, highlighting the market’s adaptability and role in promoting social connections. These results underscore the market’s contribution to urban resilience during and after the pandemic, emphasizing the market’s flexibility and its role as a social anchor. This study offers micro-level insights into social sustainability, providing design guidelines to enhance public market spaces and strengthen urban resilience.