Although street vending is one of the major means of livelihood for the less fortunate living in the city and environs, they may prove to be very pesky when they causes street congestion. Street vending, in Trinidad and to the wider Caribbean as well, can be described as self-employment within the informal sector as they contribute significantly to the urban economies. As the Unemployment rate of the City is very high, street vending is the main source of income as it create some sort of employment for a vast majority of the urban and suburban residents.
Street vendors, modernity and post modernity: conflict and compromise in the global economy explores street vending within the context of the shift from modernism to postmodernism, suggesting that the former implied crackdowns on the trade because of the ideals of public order and control whilst the latter is more open to such methods.
The questions is whether this new approach brings fresh dilemmas for the informal sector. Proffers the idea that the policy makers should allow deregulated sectors of informality in the economy to function as incubators for new industry (John Cross, 2000).
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Vendors along Charlotte Street, POS. |
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The hustle and bustle of Charlotte Street, where you can buy most anything, especially from the vendors who line both sides of the street. |
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How they make any money? I really don't know as they all appear to sell the same items at the same price. |
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Just Imagine these narrow pavements on a Busy day!
These vendors blatantly refuse to be removed from the streets. As seen in this article they began to forcefully resist attempts by the police to remove them a couple years ago.
Chaos as vendors resist relocation
They now cause street congestion where most of the commuters just hate walking through as the crowding, noise level and scent is just "Unbearable".
I believe that the stereotyping of street vending should in fact be removed from the city. The illegality of the situation should be reconsidered as it is an honest means by which the citizen of the country are able to meet their own needs without the dependency on the government. More serious crimes should be addressed by the police instead of attacking the poor and vulnerable people of the city. It is not nice when after the vendors work very hard to get their goods, that they be seized by the police and chased off the streets. The following image is an attempt by the city to remove the vendors from the streets, however they want to be on the streets where they can display their goods and it would be accessible to promote sales to the consumers.
 An attempt to remove street vendors, however the conditions of the new "market" is not very welcoming.References
John Cross, (2000) "Street vendors, and post modernity: conflict and compromise in the global economy", International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 20 Iss: 1/2, pp.29 - 51
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