Struggle of Vendors

Struggle of Vendors

Trading played a role in the genealogy of urban space and market architecture, as described in Chapters 1 and 2. While vendors play a crucial part in being a driving force in circulating produces from the rural to the urban of Bangkok. As trading affects the way the urban space and market architecture is conceived, It is important to understand the different types of vendors to understand their pattern of operation and struggle in their everyday life which could help challenge the idea of trading space and its standardization. The most basic way of trading is street vendors, which can be described as “a person who offers goods for sale to the public without having a permanent build-up structure from which to sell”30 . This type of occupation is a part of the informal economy, in which it is a resilient, small-scale, self-reliant work, and people who are struggling in the formal sector are influenced to conduct business in the public space. Being on the street makes them inevitably be a subject of regulatory control by the city’s authority, historically and contemporarily. Street vendors are continually be eradicated from the urban sight, by the Bangkok Metropolitan Authorities, following the 2019 policy named ‘a project to manage street vendors and reclaim the walkway to the urban citizen’. The name itself suggested a bias toward the vendors that they are not included in the term ‘urban citizen’. The eviction of vendors in many central areas of the cities could create a problem both for buyers who have reduced the choice of buying affordable price products, and the vendors themselves who cannot operate in the usual way. The vendors were obliged to move to a market hall constructed by the municipality in a highly remote area, this assertion of power toward the vendors was problematic to the operation of their businesses and impact their entire supply chain. In other words, it disrupts the vendor’s operation, while also creates an impact on entire stakeholders from the source of materials to the end consumer31 . The policy to evict street vendors is always an ongoing project by the BMA32. There are several strategies when vendors are faced with eviction. Vendors who work individually move to the new location either provided and managed by the municipality or rented stall in the market. Some people find their way to remain in the same area, by renting some small area in the building. When these vulnerable group cannot run their business, they need to find a tactic to hide away from the gaze of the authority by being mobilised, moving around the area, or occupied a public space that could still reach the same customers which would certainly reduce their income. Ironically the removal of vendors was claimed by the municipality as to ‘return’ the walkway to the pedestrian, there are fewer people who used the walkway after the clearance. The devoid of people and business on the street turns it to be less friendly, while the pedestrian tends to feel more insecure33 .

Fig. 13

30 Bhowmik, Sharit K., Street Vendors in Asia: A Review, Economic and Political Weekly Vol. 40, No. 22/23 (2005) p. 256

31 This part came from an interview with various vendors in market, their supply chain usually based on the connection with local producers, in which they have a long-term relationship, this small scale local connection from producers to consumers is beneficial to the way they operate, as they are more flexible to allow credit, and payback system. 32 Nirathorn, Narumol, The Management of Street Vendors in Bangkok : Notice and Suggestion (WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment : Globalizing and Organizing), 2014), p.11, The research shows that the authority of Bangkok has an erratic decision prohibition of streets vendors since 1973 until 2014, but overall majorly restrict their operation. 33 Boonjubun, Chaitawat, Con!icts over streets: The eviction of Bangkok street vendors, Cities, Volume 70 (2017) p.28