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| THE SPATIAL INCLUSION OF STREET-VENDING AND INFLUENCE FACTORS OF ITS EFFECT IN GUANGZHOU: A CASE STUDY OF LIJIAO |
| HUANG Geng-zhi, XU Kong-dan, XUE De-sheng |
| Center for Urban and Regional Studies, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China |
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Abstract The past decades have witnessed the proliferation of street vending activities as part of informal economies in Chinese cities with the development of rapid urbanization. This paper draws attention to the inclusionary management measure as a new element of the policy. It first analyzes the operation of the inclusionary approach based on the depth-interview with the urban managers at different administrative levels, and then examines the factors contributing to the success of authorized vending sites in absorbing street vendors by an in-depth case study of Lijiao vending site. The government cooperates with social organizations to attain the land for establishing vending sites, coordinates among multiple stake-holders, such as residents, owners of formal shops, the vendors, to ensure an uncontested vending space and transfers the responsibility for management of vending spaces to the lower-level administration agency (e.g. sub-district offices, community committees) as well as the property management companies. The empirical case study suggests that a successful authorized vending site should meet the needs of street vendors to enable them to benefit more than before they are formalized. Specifically, it is argued that the authorized vending site should possess the five elements as follows: ① a suitable location which is close to the main pedestrian flow, entails a complementary relationship between street-vending activities and the surrounding formal shops and enable street vendors to maintain their original social network; ② retaining the low-cost advantage of street vending economies; ③ forming a market with diverse types of commodities; ④ shaping a clean, secure and orderly operation environment; ⑤ protecting the vendors' right to use the space and their interests.
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Received: 07 March 2013
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2013, Vol. 28 
