A large share of the global informal workforce operates on city streets, on sidewalks, and in other public spaces. They sell everything from fresh produce to electronic equipment. Broadly defined, street vendors include all those selling goods or services in public spaces. While not all street vendors work without licences or legal protection, the majority do.

Most street vending businesses are one-person operations that use unpaid family labor on an as-needed basis. Some sell from covered stalls; others simply squat on the ground beside a basket or blanket displaying their merchandise. In the developing world, millions of poor people who cannot afford to buy from retail stores depend on the affordable goods that street vendors provide.

Find out more about the challenges of street vending and efforts to organize street vendors.

Download the pdf: Street Vendors (pdf 128 KB)

Urban Story

StreetNet International:
Organizing Street Vendors

Impact: Street vendors regularly confront harassment from police as well as difficult and insecure working conditions. The ability of street vendors to improve their incomes and working conditions increases when they band together. 

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Publications

Working in Warwick Book
by Richard Dobson and Caroline Skinner with Jillian Nicholson

Working in Warwick offers a fresh look at street traders’ lives, the role they play in city life and their contribution to the economy. It contains practical examples and aims to inspire other local authorities and planners in their dealings with the informal economy. It is a picture heavy book that hopes to ‘re-imagine’ the informal economy in the minds of the public at large. Assisted by Jillian Nicholson, the book is the first product of this work. Dennis Gilbert, well known architectural photographer, contributes photos that beautifully capture the spirit of Warwick Junction.

Do street vendors deserve urban space?
by Deden Rukmana

While the informal economy may provide for many in developing nations, the rights of those working in this way are rarely respected, and are often the first to be pushed aside in the name of city development, or as has occurred in Jakarta, in order to reclaim green space. Deden Rukmana explores the concept of urban informality and the rights of those who exist in legal grey areas. read more...

Street Trade in Latin America: Demographic Trends, Legal Issues, and Vending Organizations in Six Cities
Sally Roever, 2006

This document is a review of street vending issues in six major Latin American cities.  The paper explores demographic trends and working conditions among street traders, examines legal issues related to the governance of street trade, and compiles information on the extent of organization among street traders, with a focus on unions and other types of associations, and their strategies and effectiveness.

Download the pdf: Street Trade in Latin America (pdf 352 KB)