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RECOGNISING STREET VENDING IN PLANNING PROCESSES THE CASE OF OAKLAND CHINATOWN

SUBMITTED BY ISHITA CHANDRA

PROFESSIONAL REPORT Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF CITY PLANNING in the Department of City and Regional Planning of the UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY

APPROVED BY KAREN TRAPENBERG FRICK ZACHARY LAMB Date: SPRING’ 22

Masters of City Planning Professional Report 2022

Recognising Street Vending in Planning Processes The Case of Oakland Chinatown By Ishita Chandra

Table Of Content Abstract

Rationale

Scope

Methods

3.1.

Observational Analysis

3.2.

Informational Interviews

3.3.

Measurements & Observational Analysis

3.4.

Analysis of Regulation Permit

18th October 2021 | Re-mapping Streets in Oakland Chinatown

4.1.

Street Vendors Position Mapping

4.2.

Creative Utilization of Space

4.3.

Prioritize Engagement Over Income

Analysis of the Existing Regulations 2019-22

Stakeholder Mapping

Recommendations

Bibliography

Acknowledgments This research would not have been possible without the encouragement of my advisers, Prof. Karen T. Frick and Prof. Zachary Lamb. I want to thank them for their endless support and guidance at every step of the way. In addition, I want to thank Warren Logan for helping me germinate the seeds of this research during the summer of 2021. A special thanks to Eugene Lau and Shweta Sumesh for sharing my interest and inspiring me. I appreciate their unique perspectives and honesty towards this research. I want to thank Irene Farah, Prof. Terasa Caldera, Prof. Charisma Acey for broadening my perspective on the research. Most importantly, I would like to thank my parents and friends for hearing me out through the process and for giving me honest feedback.

Abstract The invisibility of street vendors in conventional planning documents of the City of Oakland inspired my research on recognizing street vendors in the planning processes. Even though street vending has been an integral part of public life in Oakland Chinatown, this activity is considered outside of the city's official planning frameworks.1 Cities worldwide have gone to great lengths to , and 'formalize' street vending activities. Therefore, street vendors rely on the permit system to exercise their right to the city .

To break away from the streamlining permit process, I map the street vendors of Oakland Chinatown. In the process, I identify street vendors' transient use of space. The evolving nature of street vending presents challenges to the regulation system ther. Further, I critique the City of Oakland's existing food vending permit process with an anti-formalizing lens. I use the lessons from mapping and the critique of the permit system to inform recommendations to the City of Oakland.

Hart, Keith. “THE INFORMAL ECONOMY.” Cambridge Anthropology, vol. 10, no. 2, Department of Social Anthropology, Cambridge University, 1985, pp. 54–58. 2 Kim, Annette Miae. Sidewalk City : Remapping Public Space in Ho Chi Minh City. The University of Chicago Press, 2015. 1

Rationale 10 am PST in Oakland Chinatown, Oakland, CA I walk along the sidewalks in Oakland Chinatown, to identify issues with the pedestrian circulation for the Department of Transportation in Oakland. On my way, I see a crowd emerging from the corner of 9th and Webster street. In curiosity, I camouflage myself in the crowd and sway in the crowd’s direction. It is loud and chaotic. I overhear but do not understand conversations. The crowd follows a unique rhythm. The tempo of the crowd slows down near street vendors. Street vendors are sitting on the floor abutting the brick and mortar store fronts. I locate them on my sketched street map and move on to my next task.

11 am PST UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA To understand the existing engagement process, I analyzed the engagement sections of future proposal documents in Oakland Chinatown. The street vendors did not make it to the list of potential or existing stakeholders of the public realm. On further investigation through the planning documents, I found directions to apply for mobile food vending City of Oakland. Does permitting adequately recognise street vendors as dignified stakeholders in planning processes?

Scope William Wong's archival photographs of America trace the historical presence of street vendors in Oakland Chinatown since the 1850s. Given this long history, this report is not a commentary on why street vendors are on the streets of Oakland Chinatown. I study how street vendors use the streetscape for vending. Furthermore, I analyze the street vending permitting system used by the City of Oaklands. Finally, to make informed recommendations to the City of Oakland, I present a stakeholder's analysis of street vendors of Oakland Chinatown. My goal through this research is to formulate an innovative strategy for the City of Oakland to recognize street vending, including its transient characteristics in the city planning process.

Methods I use observational studies, interviews, and photographic documentation as primary sources of the data presented in the report. I analyze the archival photographs of Oakland Chinatown to trace the presence of street vendors in history. Finally, I use permit documents from the City of Oakland to analyze street vendors' presence in the planning documents.

3.1.

Observational Analysis Due to a shortage of data on street vendors in Oakland Chinatown, as part of Research Methods in Environmental Design course at UC Berkeley,3 My team and I collected primary data through observations and interviews on our multiple site visits. I collaborated with Eugene Lau (MCP ‘22) and Shweta Sumesh (MUD ‘22) for the collection of observational data and conducting field interviews. All three of us come from a background where street vending is accepted as a

CYPLAN C241 Research Methods in Environmental Design (Fall 21), Department of city and regional planning, University of California, Berkeley 3

cultural norm. Our cultural sensitivity informed our research. I build my research on the report we prepared for Research Methods in Environmental Design Informal Street Vending in Oakland Chinatown.

3.2. ●

Informational Interviews Street Vendors We conducted 20 in-person interviews with street vendors in the afternoon time of the day. It helped us get a deeper understanding of the case in point, such as- location, residency, supply chain for produce.

●

Brick & Mortar Business Brick and mortar businesses play a vital role in Oakland Chinatown. They attract buyers from all over the East Bay, therefore are an essential anchor. These interviews were helpful to understand their perception of street vendors.

●

City Officials To understand the regulation of street vendors, I conducted several virtual interviews with city staff in the department of race and equity, economic development and transportation.

●

Oakland Chinatown Chambers of Commerce I conducted a virtual interview with the Chinatown chamber of commerce. OCCC is a grassroot organization of traders in Oakland Chinatown. They work at the intersection of Chinatown businesses and the City of Oakland. I interviewed Jessica Chen, the director of Oakland Chinatown Chambers of Commerce to investigate the relationship between formal businesses and street vendors in Oakland Chinatown.

3.3. ●

Measurements & Observational Analysis Engagement Study The engagement study was conducted by counting buyers and their reactions towards the street vendors. We observed pedestrians' reactions for a duration of

10 min on two consecutive days. The observations were taken on Friday and Saturday for Oakland Chinatown. ●

Field Measurements We measured the width of the sidewalk, space occupied by street vendors. The location of the street vendors are mapped relative to the stationary street elements such as traffic lights, bollards, and bike stands.

3.4.

Analysis of Regulation Permit I accessed data from the City of Oakland website. I also procured updated documents from city staff via email. I analyzed the permit application for food vending, the Flex Streets program, and SB-964, a California state senate bill regulating sidewalk vending with the lens of accessibility by street vendors.

18th October 2021 | Re-mapping Streets in Oakland Chinatown The first step to recognizing street vendors' presence in the public realm is to map their position on the streets of Oakland Chinatown. The study includes snapshots of different times of the day. Mapping street vendors' spatial patterns helped my research reveal specific characteristics of the street vending activity in Oakland Chinatown. Numerical data represented in maps and graphs are estimates. This section concludes with critical transient attributes of the street vendors.

4.1.

Street Vendors Position Mapping 8 am PST in Oakland Chinatown, CA, USA As I walk along the sidewalks of 9th and 8th, I find no traces of street vendors on the street. The grocery store employees are unloading produce from trucks parked on the edge of the sidewalks.

2 pm PST in Oakland Chinatown, CA, USA As I walk along the sidewalks of 9th and 8th, street vendors have taken their positions on the street. They are sitting on the edge of the brick-and-mortar stores. The edge of the store is defined by where the display outside ends. Every store has a different boundary depending on the amount of produce displayed that day. Street vendors sit in almost the same position every day. The map represents the approximate positions of the street vendors.

8 pm PST in Oakland Chinatown, CA, USA As I walk along the sidewalks of 9th and 8th, I find no traces of street vendors on the street.

Figure 1 Street Vendor’s Position Map, 9th and Webster street Source (Chandra et al. 2021) Red boxes in the map are the brick and mortar grocery stores

4.2.

Creative Utilization of Space Street vendors use the sidewalks in their own creative ways. The different arrangements demonstrate that even with limitations, space can be used in multiple different ways. Street vendors in Oakland Chinatown organize themselves on the sidewalks. My team and I observed how street vendors position themselves differently on streets with different dimensions.

Though there are no markings on the street for disability access4street vendors tend to leave adequate (5ft) space for wheelchairs. Street vendors use packaging material, baskets and bikes to display their products. The street sections are drawn as per observations and measurements taken in October 2021. Street vendors occupy both sides of the sidewalk as a result creating comfortable enclosures for pedestrians. Enclosures create the illusion of protection against vehicular traffic and moving cars on the adjacent road.

4.3. ●

Prioritize Engagement Over Income Income An estimated 100 out of 120 street vendors observed appeared to be elderly asian women.5 As per interviews, street vendors use income from vending to contribute to satisfying household needs. Street vendors sell excess produce from

kitchen

gardens,

second

hand

clothes

and

utensils.

Figure 4 - Street Vendor’s Products Note : Observation Date Friday, 22nd of October 2021. Source: (Chandra et al.)

According to Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Chandra et al. 2021) 13

Figure 4 showcases the items that are being sold by street vendors. According to multiple observational studies, as of October 2021, approximately 120 stationery street vendors sell homegrown fresh produce, house plants and dry supplies. The variety of produce ranges from staples, such as onions and peppers, to ribbed chinese tomatoes. According to interviews, street vendors sell homegrown surplus produce. However, some of the dry supplies are from emergency care packages offered by the community organizations.

●

Engagement My team and I compared pedestrians' reactions with street vendors' without street vendors.

and

Figure 5 - Pedestrian interaction Comparison Between Sidewalks A (with street vendors) and Sidewalk B (without street vendors) Note - Observation Date Friday, 22nd of october 2021. Source: (Chandra et al. 2021)

As per our study, more pedestrians slowed down or stopped on Sidewalk A (with street vendors) than on Sidewalk B (without street vendors). Even though there weren’t too many people buying from the street vendors, their presence initiated interactions. Therefore street vendors are an attraction that activates the street.6 Also, we observed that street vendors were in constant communication with each other. Even though we could not understand the topic of conversation, it made us feel a part of something bigger. Sidewalk B was quieter because of the absence of discussion sounds from the street vendors. Therefore, the city should transform its outlook towards street vendors, considering their potential from income generation methods to agents of street activation.

(Kim, 2015)

Analysis of the Existing Regulations 2019-22 In this section, I start by summarizing and critiquing California's Ordinance SB-946 (on which the food vending permit system is based). Further, I study the food vending permit system and its compatibility with the transient nature of street vending. In 2022, the food vending permit system became a part of Oakland's Flex Street Program. I conclude my analysis keeping in mind the economic and social vulnerability of the street vending community of Oakland Chinatown.

5.1.

2018 | Bill - SB - 946 Sidewalk Vending Ordinances SB - 946 legalized street vending in California. The ordinance emphasized economic, social, and cultural significance. It specifically highlighted street vending as an opportunity for low-income and immigrant communities. SB-946 recognizes street vending as a means to “increase access to culturally significant food and merchandise”. It also leverages sidewalk vending as an agent to ensure “safe and dynamic public spaces”. For the welfare and safety of the general public, the ordinance “urges cities to form a regulating system for food street vending”. Further, the law prescribes potential components of the permit requiring street vendors to comply with disability access standards and maintenance of sanitary conditions of the sidewalk. Additionally, the ordinance authorizes the cities to penalize the street vendors if they do not abide by the regulations.7

Critique ●

Penalizing the vulnerable SB - 946, is a huge step forward towards decriminalizing street vending in California. Even though it recognises the positive contributions of street vending to the public realm, it formalizes street vending by urging cities to formulate their own permit system. The bill allows cities to penalize street vendors who do not comply. Therefore, street vendors are always at the risk of prosecution. In the

(Bill Text - SB-946 Sidewalk Vendors. 2019) 17

case of Oakland Chinatown, street vendors belong to elderly immigrant population. These street vendors might not even earn as much as a 100 dollars/ month to pay for penalties. ●

Encouragement by regulating? SB-964, directs cities to encourage street vending activities since they are good for the general public. However, it only provides regulation as a tool for encouragement. The bill does not hint on funding, inclusion in street design or future proposals.

●

How to engage? Since the SB-964 does not mention the method of outreach or capacity building, street vendors fall at the mercy of cities to acquire permits.

●

Regulating transient street vendors? Street vending is a transient activity, which means that it is a flexible, adaptable and permanent process yet temporary, However, SB-964, does not provide guidance on the ever evolving nature of street vending to the City.

5.2.

2019 | Food Vending Permit System Following SB-946, the City of Oakland formulated a permit system for street vending activities for regulation which was a three step process that consists of acquiring a health permit, liability insurance, and a fire inspection permit. According to the regulation, the application should be completed and submitted in-person. For a low income street vendor, this system is costly in terms of time and money. According to the enforcement section of Administrative Guidelines for Mobile Food Vending, street vendors are subject to penalties for over 1,000 dollars for vending without a permit on the street.8

Critique ●

Incentives vs Penalize

(“Permit Application for Mobile Food Sidewalk Vending (2019)

The city does not provide any incentives to the street vendors to acquire a permit. Acquiring a permit will cost street vendors loss of time and money. ●

Health permit on irregular produce supply? As observed in the case of street vendors in Oakland Chinatown, street vendors do not have a regular supply of produce or merchandise, which can become an obstacle to acquiring a health permit for the food they sell on the street.

●

Self - Regulated Americans with Disabilities Act compliance Lack of disability access markings on the sidewalk, can put sidewalk vendors at risk. Since they do not have fixed boundaries, they are more likely to make mistakes.

5.3.

2022 | Flex Street Program In 2020 with the onset of COVID-19, small scale businesses were adversely affected due to shelter in place. The City of Oakland developed a streamline process for brick and mortar businesses to use sidewalk and parking spaces. In 2022, City of Oakland merged the food vending permit system with the flex street program. Until 2023, the city will provide free permits to the vendors. 9

(Flex Streets Initiative, 2022) 19

Stakeholder Mapping This section identifies critical stakeholders affected by street vending in Oakland Chinatown. I identified three departments in the City of Oakland that influence street vendors: Race and Equity, Economic & Workforce Development, and the Department of Transportation. Additionally, I conducted and analyzed interviews with various stakeholders. Table 1, summarizes stakeholders' viewpoint on the presence of the street vendors.

Position

Influence High

Economic & Workforce development, City of Oakland

View Point “Street vendors are just selling potatoes” “Unless they do not hinder the disability access and create a problem we have no problem, The city needs to prioritize other issues of the city ” “If they approach us for the permit we assist them and help them build a stable business”

Oakland Chinatown Chambers of Commerce (OCCC) OCCC works in collaboration with the city and the police department to help businesses flourish.

High

“Street vendors in Oakland Chinatown are seniors immigrants of our community selling things they collect” “The city and occc does not have enough bandwidth” “If we ask them to leave they come back” “Street vendors do not take non uniformed officers seriously” “ADA10, encroachment and trash are main concerns related to street vendors” “They do not want to be regulated”

Buyers / Passerbyers Oakland Chinatown - Resident

Brick & Mortar business

High

Moderate

“Street vendors are elderly, low income women, i will buy from them to support them” “We don’t mind street vendors, they are our seniors from our community” “Street vendors cause congestion on the sidewalk”

Moderate Race and Equity, City of Oakland

Buyers / Passerbyers Visitor

Low

Advises departments of the city on inclusion of race and ensuring equity. From their past experience - “It takes time to build trust between city and street vendors” “If street vendors are not sitting on the sidewalk we would think there is something wrong in Oakland Chinatown”

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

Table 1 Stakeholder Analysis Notes: 1) Buyers/passerbyers summarized viewpoints of 15 residents and visitors interviewed them in-person over a week in October 2021.

Key takeaways of Stakeholder Interviews ●

The interview with OCCC11 revealed that street vendors do not want to be regulated because of the temporary nature of street vending. They eluded that street vendors will come back even if they are asked to leave if they violate the permit system.

●

OCCC and City staff mentioned the limited capacity of staff members to engage and regulate the street vendors.

Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce

Recommendations In this section, I use remapping studies and the critique of the permit system. Finally, I provide recommendations to the City of Oakland. My suggestion to the city considers the transient nature ( flexible, adaptable, temporary) of street vending. Also, my suggestions consider the vulnerabilities of the street vending community in Oakland Chinatown.

●

Capacity building by Tactical Urbanism

Figure 6 - Pedestrian interaction Comparison Between Sidewalks A (with street vendors) and Sidewalk B (without street vendors) Note - Observation Date Friday, 22nd of october 2021. Source: Author

Marking annotations or references on the sidewalk for designated flexible zones can be an efficient strategy to ensure unhindered disability access.12

●

Educations through Visual Design Street vendors do not have a regular supply of produce or merchandise; therefore, health permits might fail to ensure food safety. However, educating street vendors to self-assess the produce can be an effective way to provide healthy food.

(Kim, 2015)

Education through information graphics on dos and don'ts for vending can be a step towards healthy food access through street vending.13

Figure 5 - Legal nuts and bolts, plus a few fun facts. Source - Candy Chang, Center for Urban Pedagogy

●

Community Development through Organization OCCC and the City of Oakland should introduce a community development organization with the mission to work for the welfare of street vendors. An additional organization will solve OCCC’s and City staff’s limited capacity. Inclusive Action for the City is one such organization that works for the welfare of street vendors in Los Angeles. This organization bridges the gap between the City and Street vendors. The organization assists street vendors through alternate methods of funding.14

(Street Vendors Get Illustrated Guide to City Regulations - The New York Times)

(“Inclusive Action for the City”)

Potential For Future Research I came across multiple facets of street vending through this research, which have potential for future research, including: ●

Street vendors’ supply networks can be an exciting area of study. During interviews, street vendors mentioned that they sold the extra produce from their home kitchen garden. They also sold dry food supplies like rice, canned beans, and pasta. It was fascinating since the community church provides these supplies as an emergency care package.

●

In the field study, I inferred that senior women of the community dominated street vending. It would be interesting to analyze their positionality as breadwinners coming from a patriarchal society.

●

On the questions on why the street vendors were skeptical about talking to college students, the race and equity officer at the City of Oakland revealed the historical tensions between the surveying student and the Chinese community. During a tenuous time in history, student surveyors infiltrated the Chinese community as spies.

Bibliography Hart, Keith. “THE INFORMAL ECONOMY.” Cambridge Anthropology, vol. 10, no. 2, Department of Social Anthropology, Cambridge University, 1985, pp. 54–58.

Kim, Annette Miae. Sidewalk City : Remapping Public Space in Ho Chi Minh City. The University of Chicago Press, 2015.

Bill Text - SB-946 Sidewalk Vendors. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB946. Accessed 14 Feb. 2022.

Chandra, Ishita, et al. Informal Street Vending in Oakland Chinatown. University of California, Berkeley, 12 2021.

“Flex Streets Initiative.” City of Oakland, https://www.oaklandca.gov/resources/business-use-of-streets-and-sidewalks-initiative. Accessed 1 Nov. 2021.

“Inclusive Action for the City.” Inclusive Action for the City, https://www.inclusiveaction.org. Accessed 13 May 2022.

“Permit Application for Mobile Food Sidewalk Vending (English &….” City of Oakland, https://www.oaklandca.gov/documents/permit-application-for-mobile-food-sidewalk-ve nding-english-español. Accessed 9 May 2022.

Street Vendors Get Illustrated Guide to City Regulations - The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/nyregion/thecity/05guid.html. Accessed 13 May 2022.