Towards Socio-Spatial Equity in Public Space. Urban Design for the Street Vendors of Hyderabad

Abstract

Street vending has historically driven and dominated the informal economy in the Indian city of Hyderabad. The inception of urban migration saw a range of marginalized groups move into the city, creating stark rural-urban differences and causing residents and the city to struggle to adapt. They eventually established themselves along the river to meet daily needs and adopted street vending as a means of occupation toward sustenance. While urban design in the city actively excludes these vendors from urban belonging, they retaliate through subversive practices and tactical urbanism to impose belonging, in a quest to find their right to the city. Neoliberal policies continue to distance these disengaged communities from the city considering them undesirable through dominant concepts of unattractiveness. While the government disapproves of informal vending in the public realm in Hyderabad – especially along the Musi River – branded designer “pop-up stores” and gourmet food stalls are encouraged, advertised and publicised. Inequitable law enforcement has created turmoil in the access and right to public space in the city. This study highlights the need for strategic placemaking to build healthy relationships and equity in the city. Various perceptions of public space among street vendors are analysed to help integrate these disengaged residents in the city. The paper concludes with empirical findings for designers and planners to examine, in delivering a customized design plans articulated to prevent further distress to micro-urbanism patterns existing in the city and its urban fabric.