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Street Traders and the Emerging Spaces for Urban Voice and Citizenship in African Cities

Author

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  • Alison Brown

    (School of City and Regional Planning, Cardiff University, Glamorgan Building, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3WA, UK, brownam@cardiff.ac.uk)

  • Michal Lyons

    (Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences, London South Bank Univesity, Borough Road, London, SE1 0AA, UK, lyonsm@lsbu.ac.uk)

  • Ibrahima Dankoco

    (Faculté des Sciences, Économiques et de Gestion, Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, Senegal, idankoco@yahoo.fr)

Abstract

As informal commerce has grown to become the lifeblood of African cities, street trade—among the largest sub-groups in the informal economy—has become a visible but contested domain. Yet the increase in street traders has not been accompanied by a corresponding improvement in their status as citizens or in their political influence. The paper first discusses the implications of theoretical debates on ‘citizenship’ and ‘voice’ for street traders and then explores characteristics of traders’ associations and influence in four case study countries: Senegal, Ghana, Tanzania and Lesotho. Drawing together the authors’ findings from research between 2001 and 2008, the paper identifies a fluidity of both formal and informal traders’ organisations which fail to achieve lasting impact. Finally, the paper discusses urban policy implications, arguing for a more flexible definition of urban citizenship based on rights and responsibilities, and an understanding of the complexity of grassroots associations of the marginalised poor.

Suggested Citation

  • Alison Brown & Michal Lyons & Ibrahima Dankoco, 2010. "Street Traders and the Emerging Spaces for Urban Voice and Citizenship in African Cities," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 47(3), pages 666-683, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:47:y:2010:i:3:p:666-683
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098009351187
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Nicola Banks, 2014. "What works for young people's development? A Case Study of BRAC's Empowerment and Livelihoods for Adolescent Girls programme in Uganda and Tanzania," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series 21214, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    2. Dasgupta, Nandini & Lloyd-Jones, Tony, 2018. "Heterogeneity and vulnerability in the urban informal economy: Reworking the problem in the current context. The case of uganda," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 10, pages 64-72.
    3. Brown, Alison, 2015. "Claiming the Streets: Property Rights and Legal Empowerment in the Urban Informal Economy," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 238-248.
    4. Hesam Kamalipour & Nastaran Peimani, 2019. "Negotiating Space and Visibility: Forms of Informality in Public Space," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-19, September.

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