Thirteenth International Conference on The Constructed Environment

Abstract

Public spaces of cities of what is considered as global South generally incorporate forms of informality including a range of street vending activities. Street vendors often negotiate their use and visibility with other formal and informal actors in the public realm to sustain their temporary livelihood and subtly express their spatial rights in the urban space. Despite the importance of street vending in (re)shaping the streetscape and economic productivity, authorities barely treat vendors with dignity and tolerance. In this paper, we draw on extensive urban mapping and empirical research in a case study in Tehran to investigate how forms of street vending take place in relation to certain human/non-human elements including functional mix, public/private interface, volume of pedestrian flows and gender in public space. The findings of this study can inform the development of spatially grounded and contextually responsive interventions, which recognise the diversity of street vendors and enable a set of opportunities for their activities to thrive in the public realm.