Street Vendors find encouragement across the globe

The urban economy is a mix of numerous elements. In a crisis, governments push for sustaining the organised sector with policy and technological interventions, but at times, the unorganised sector is ignored. Street vending, which constitutes a large part of any urban centre’s unorganised sector, has to be given due importance in the post-pandemic world as both city administrations and citizens have realised how important its role is in delivering services and products at citizens’ door steps

Urban local bodies and governments worldwide have tried to include street vendors in their formal economic sphere. This not only helps the street vendors become better off economically but also makes it easier for the governments to plan policies further to develop the city’s economic and social ecosystem.

Team Urban Update tries to analyse the street vending trend globally and list the initiatives taken by governments and ULBs to make the lives of street vendors better.

China takes them online

As China is recovering from the economic fallout post-COVID-19, the nation has shifted its focus towards the vending economy. According to experts, with a bit of push from government policies, this sector will employ more than 9 million people in China. The government has collaborated with the technology and e-commerce giants, including Alibaba, JD.com, and Tencent and announced support measures such as easy cash transactions. Shanghai had also launched street festivals in June-July last yearto boost the vending economy as the pandemic faded away in the country.

Spain’s way to manage urban spaces

Barcelona, last year in July, allocated a dedicated place as a handicrafts market for their street vendors, or rather mantero (a term for street vendors).It helped the city manage urban spaces as well as organise them. Street vendors are particularly vital in the strategic spatial planning of the urban regions as they are the major stakeholders of public spaces. Moreover, Manuela Carmena, Mayor, Madrid City,introduced a residency permit last year for manteros which would offer them health care facilities and essential public services, as per a story by New York Times. The vendors in the city took their small businesses to people’s doors during the pandemic when they were unable to shop outdoor. Barcelona’s Union of African street vendors provided necessities such as food and medical supplies to the people during the lockdown.

A different side of street vendors in Colombia

A study conducted by John Rennie Short, Professor, University of Maryland and Scholar Lina Martinez found a sophisticated operation of street vendors in Cali, Colombia with multiple levels.  The vending economy in the city was found to be a well-established sector in the busy spaces with better working conditions and relatively higher income. The study found significant flows of money, and it suggested that street vending often provided higher wages than the formal economy. Strict measures are kept in place to support the community. For example, it is illegal to remove the street vendors from public spaces without giving them proper compensation or guaranteed participation in the income-support programmes.

Food Trucks in the USA and the UK

Countries have realised the potential in the vending economy and have tried to evolve it to better suit the urban economy and spaces. The United States of America introduced the motorised version of food vending in the form of food trucks. With its success, the USA and other countries have begun encouraging this form of street vending. It has become a tourist attraction across the country, and advocates are bidding for an increase in licences and permits, which were seriously curbed till the 1980s in New York. These food trucks have become a part of the urban street vending community in many countries, including India.

A study conducted in the United Kingdom by Caterer.com found that people in the UK have shifted their priority to food vans and small street shops. The study found that around a quarter of the population (26 per cent) prefers to stop at a street vendor’s shop to eat,which, for them, is a cost-effective option as compared to eating at a restaurant. Around 48 per cent of the people accepted that they prefer authentic cuisine experiences, and street food reigns supreme in authenticity. London has been reigning as the street food capital of the country, with almost a third of its diners (1.1 million) eating at street food corners every week, according to UK based UMI news.

Replicating the innovations in India

The street vendors’ community in India has a wide range of customers and can contribute greatly to the economy if managed efficiently. Taking them online and giving them dedicated spaces in the urban centres are some of the steps that authorities can implement on the lines of China and Barcelona. Moreover, urban areas are considered safer when they include small vending hubs and street markets. An opinion poll of Spaniards published in El Mundo suggests that in case of any mishappening, people want the police to fine manteros instead of detaining them.

On the lines of PMSVANidhi, various cities, including New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Varanasi, and Hyderabad have taken their street vendors online via tie-up with various food delivery applications. Local bodies have also come forward to help the vendors’ community. For instance,in Hyderabad, the Telangana Mission for Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas (TSMEPMA) had issued a notice to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) regarding the harassment of street vendors.

The Government of India has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Swiggy and Zomato to onboard street vendors on their online food ordering platform and to create one of the world’s largest street food vendor project. Street vendors worldwide have presented some of the best models of operation when they get appropriate support from the local bodies, especially in urban regions. They face almost similar challenges in every country as they are associated with encroachment of urban spaces, traffic congestion, immigration, bad hygiene, etc. Even before the pandemic, they faced various issues, including relocations, evictions, police fines, and vending bans. The informal economy constitutes a significant part of the urban economy, mainly made up of street vendors and small roadside shops. Hence, the authorities and the government need to develop targeted welfare schemes and policies for them to boost their presence and acknowledge their contribution in boosting the local economy.

A study conducted in the United Kingdom by Caterer.com found that people in the UK have shifted their priority to food vans and small street shops. The study found that around a quarter of the population (26 per cent) prefers to stop at a street vendor’s shop to eat, which, for them, is a cost-effective option as compared to eating at a restaurant