Thesis Format
Integrated Article
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Program
Geography and Environment
Supervisor
Arku, Godwin
Abstract
This study investigates how contemporary modes of urban governance in Harare, Zimbabwe are experienced, negotiated and resisted by street traders in their everyday struggle for their right to the city. The study has three specific objectives. First, to examine how street traders are portrayed in media and institutional discourses. Second, to interrogate policy and governance responses and their implications for different groups of street traders. Third, to analyse how street traders negotiate access to contested spaces and the different strategies they use to resist exclusionary practices. Methodologically, the study adopts a qualitative approach rooted in the critical realist philosophy, which emphasizes the social construction of knowledge. Data was collected through Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of 51 newspaper articles, 26 key informant interviews with urban governance actors (e.g. planners, civil society leaders, municipal enforcement officials among others), 19 semi-structured interviews with selected street traders, 3 focus group discussions, and photovoice with 10 street traders. The findings demonstrate that street traders are discursively represented as a disruptive urban nuisance that undermines the propagated socio-spatial order, ‘criminals’, agents of pollutions and diseases and ‘economic parasites’. These top-down hegemonic discourses have dominated media and institutional narratives for a long time, while at the same time overshadowing any forms of counter-discourses that construct street trading as a legitimate economic activity for the urban poor. These negative discourses are then used to de-legitimize street trading and implement aggressive repression, including evictions, harassments and penalization aimed at eradicating the livelihoods of street traders. Although these hostile practices are universally experienced by all street traders, their impact are severe for female street traders and those with other vulnerabilities (e.g. the elderly and disabled street traders). The City of Harare has also experimented with an alternative governing mode that involves relocating street traders to designated trading spaces. However, most of these trading spaces are located outside the central city areas, which undermines the organic attributes of street trading activities. Despite facing intensified hostility and spatial exclusion, the findings reveal that street traders exhibit endurance and ingenuity by using different strategies (e.g. subaltern surveillance, spatial maneuvering, evasion etc.) to lay claims to urban space and defend their right to the city. Nonetheless, these forms of resistance and negotiation provide temporary reprieve without triggering long term structural changes in urban planning, policy, and governance frameworks. Therefore, the study makes a call for cities to recognize the contributions of street traders and integrate them into urban planning and policy frameworks as a foundation for building inclusive and pro-poor cities.
Summary for Lay Audience
This study focuses on how people who sell goods on the streets (street traders) in Harare, Zimbabwe deal with local city rules and actions in their daily struggle to make a living, especially when there are not enough jobs and poverty is increasing. The study has three main objectives. First, it looks at how street traders are perceived in the media and by those in positions of power (Manuscript 1). Second, it examines how city leaders respond to street trading (Manuscript 2). Third, it discusses how street traders find ways to use urban spaces and fight against policies and practices that are aimed at destroying their livelihoods (Manuscript 3). Different methods were used where 51 news reports were analyzed, 26 city officials and civil society leaders interviewed, 19 street traders engaged in one-on-one discussions, 3 group conservations conducted and a photo project implemented with 10 street traders. There are several observations from this study. First, in Harare, street traders are often seen in a bad light. They are blamed for causing problems like disorder, disease, pollution, and crime. Second, these negative views are used to justify tough measures that hurt street traders’ ability to earn money and survive under harsh conditions. These measures include forcibly removing street traders from public spaces, making street illegal and subjecting street traders to strict control. These hostile practices affect all street traders, but they hit women and others who are vulnerable like older or disabled traders even harder. The City of Harare has tried to move street traders to specific places to do business, but these spots are usually far from where lots of people walk which negatively affect their businesses. Third, even though the city tries to keep street traders out, the traders push back. They find ways to work around the rules and claim their right to work in public spaces. Overall, the study suggests that cities should recognize the importance of street traders and include them in city planning to make cities fairer and inclusive for everyone.
Recommended Citation
Bandauko, Elmond, "Right to the city? Urban governance and the spatial politics of street traders in Harare, Zimbabwe" (2024). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 10231.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/10231