 |
Kuala Lumpur: Jalan Alor Street Vendors – Photo by: Don Thomas
|
Along with the economic
recession in 2009, it was predicted that 59 million people could lose their
jobs, while 200 million people worldwide would live below $2 per day. 53 million would be added to absolute
poverty. In the same year, the World
Bank stated that there would be a financial gap of $270-200 billion in
developing countries (Reuter, 2009). As UNDP has stated developing Asian
countries have a higher rate of informal employment. Moreover, it was expected
that economic crisis would greatly impact on these informal sectors other than
increasing the rate of unemployment (Chhibber,
Ghosh & Palanivel, 2009). Some of these informal employers could be street
vendors in India which counts up to 10 million of the total population (Bhowmik, 2005: 2256), hawkers from
Dhaka city which counts up to 90,000 (Bhowmik,
2005: 2257), or any other street vendor from Asian cities who provide a
great deal of service to the society.
Street Vendors have been integral part of our Asian city cultures for centuries.
Street
vending is one of the major self employments of urban poor. Not only the urban
poor, but the large number of rural migrants with their indigenous products and
resources also survive through street vending (Timalsina , 2011: 2). Street vending not only provides
a source of income, but other kinds of services to urban society which neither
municipalities nor the other companies can provide. They provide cheaper goods
and services to the customers. A study shows that buyers of street foods in
Thailand bought street food minimally once a day (Kusakabe, 2006:10). Informal economy which includes street
vending tends to be the largest source of revenue for developing countries (Timalsina , 2011: 2). However,
almost in every Asian country street vending is not a legal activity.
Therefore, authorities do not recognize their contribution to the society and
to the economy. They constantly face harassment (Timalsina , 2011: 3).
With the increasing
rate of street vending, some issues have already emerged. They occupy the foot
path of the streets which results in traffic congestions. Moreover, in these
congestions hijackers and thieves try to get benefits and create social
problems. The municipalities who are concerned about the city beautification
complain against the pollution that street vendors create (Timalsina , 2011: 3)
Therefore, it is
important to understand the real situation from both perspectives. It becomes complicated because the context of
street vending and urban governing changes according to the regions. ‘Street
Vending in Asia’ will try to explore aforementioned information throughout our
journey.
