Informal economy, design problem
“The best streets blur the public and private, transitory and stationary activities, while being anchored in usually informally communicated public goals.”--Ethan Kent, public space designer
Location itself is street selling’s raison d’etre. Where the need, the crowd and the profits are, there go the vendors who don’t have much choice and capital. That they continue to flourish in these public spaces speaks of a vibrant economic activity. Perhaps, this is one way of viewing an informal economy thriving in our midst.
If we are in the phase of a transport culture overhaul with the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP), and are pretty much invested in it, why can’t our cities likewise begin to look at street vending as a management challenge, a design problem, rather than stick to the old view that sees the sector as mere nuisance?
Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella puts it as “a principle of political will tempered with compassion and mercy” when he allowed the street vendors back in their places with conditions. The move to clear the city streets of sidewalk vendors came as a directive from President Rodrigo Duterte himself and echoed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
The initial move was relocating some vendors at the Tabo sa Banay alley and, as expected, hardly did things work. Vendors complained of meager earnings if there were. So they trooped to City Hall where the good mayor stepped out of his office to demonstrate “compassion and mercy.”
City Administrator Floro Casas Jr., Market Administrator Jonil Matugina and Raquel Arce, chief of Prevention, Order, Beautification and Enhancement, by now may have already identified areas downtown where the vendors can sell. One of the conditions set for the vendors’ return is for them to set up smaller tables this time to allow more pedestrian space.
The PUVMP encourages industry integration among stakeholders such as through cooperatives and at the same time had set up innovative mechanisms to assist these groups. Government can as well mobilize resources to come up with more innovative solutions for the street vendors.
Ethan Kent, an advocate for public space design and integration, said this: “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.”
We are not short of the best examples of how the informal economy of street vending is well integrated in public spaces in not a few cities in the world.
Kent again: “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 Barcelona’s 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.”
Perhaps, Mayor Labella at the helm can craft his “compassion and mercy” with a little bit of science and method by considering some best practices in the world’s market cities.