Access to Markets Sites and Socio- Economic Empowerment of Street Vendors in Kenya

Street vending plays a colossal role in providing goods and services in most cities especially in the global south. They hawk good / offer services to the general public on the street, pavement, sidewalk or any other public space. Multiple causal factors have aggravated the situation especially in the urban areas and this has resulted in the expansion of street vending in most urban areas in the south. The main purpose of this study is to examine the the effect of vendors’ accessibility to Market Sites on Socio- economic empowerment of urban dwellers in Kenya’s urbanising economic sector. This study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional survey research design. A sample size of 384 street vendors from three urban cities was settled for. Multistage sampling was employed. Primary data was collected using face to face questionnaire survey, interview guide, and observation guide. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).It was revealed that accessibility to the market sites specifically availability of customers positively influences the street vendors’ socio-economic empowerment. The study recommended the need for policy makers to have an inclusive view on street vending by offering necessary support through supportive accommodative policies.