14HDC41: DISSERTATION SEMINAR: INFORMAL SECTOR ECONOMY AND MANIFESTATION IN PUBLIC

REALM

INFORMAL SECTOR ECONOMY AND MANIFESTATION IN PUBLIC REALM

Pavanika T. IV SEM M.Arch (Habitat Design), BMSCE, Bangalore
pavanika.patil@gmail.com

Abstract:
Streets are the places of activities and life of the urban dwellers. Street vending is an integral part
of urban economies around the world, offering easy access to a wide range of goods and services
in public spaces. Street vending is an important activity related to informal sector in urban areas.
Street trade adds vibrancy to urban life and in many places is considered a cornerstone of
historical and cultural heritage. Yet street vendors face many challenges, are often overlooked as
economic agents and unlike other businesses, are hindered rather than helped by municipal
policies and practices.

Keywords:
Informal sector, street vending, hawking, public space,

1. Introduction
Cities first formed as informal street markets, and perhaps the core of where
they often go wrong is where they have worked to eliminate that primary
function. The best streets, public spaces and markets are self-managing and
self-organizing, yet many see the only options for streets as either order or
chaos.
When supported and showcased, street vendors, and the life they support, can
help create iconic places that are cultural drivers that define cities. Think the
book vendors on the banks of the Siene in Paris, the flower market of
Mumbai, the buskers and kiosks of Barcelonas Ramblas, the floating market
of Bangkok and the weekend market of La Paz Bolivia, where indigenous
women bring purpose and life to a square mile of streets.
Certainly, the efforts to order informal vending through removal or regulation
are often practiced in ways that prevent its inherent Placemaking potential.
Promoting vending as part of a Placemaking effort can create destinations,
incubate businesses and provide crucial low-barrier-to-entry income and
shopping that most cities are not providing. Placemaking as a process,
whether led informally or formally, starts with maximizing public use and
management of public space, rather than starting with design solutions or
more narrowly defined outcomes.

Pavanika T. IV Sem M.Arch (Habitat Design) BMSCE

14HDC41: DISSERTATION SEMINAR: INFORMAL SECTOR ECONOMY AND MANIFESTATION IN PUBLIC

REALM

Where the self-managing capacity of informal retail does not exist, a

Placemaking process can deliver participation, self-regulation, or
formalization through investment in elevating the role of the vendor.
Entry-level selling needs to be supported and challenged to contribute to the
public realm. Where informal regulation does not exist, regulations and
infrastructure need to be added. The healthy and competitive city of the future
will be a Market City with a full spectrum of informal-to-formal markets
and retail, all competing to contribute to the public realm

Pavanika T. IV Sem M.Arch (Habitat Design) BMSCE