Spatiality of street vendors and sociospatial disputes over public space: The case of Valparaiso, Chile

In recent years street vending or street trading has become a focal point of political agendas throughout cities of the Global South. The literature of street vending tends to develop within two fields of analysis: 1- socio-spatial regulation, 2- socio-spatial appropriation. This research is centred on socio spatial appropriation analysis of street vendors in the city of Valparaiso, Chile, revealing social and spatial disputes over the use of public space. Through a quantitative and qualitative analysis, we present an in-depth view of social and spatial conflict identified by street vendors themselves, revealing how socio-spatial appropriation by street vendors is an expression of the social and spatial dispute over the use of public space. This study makes an original contribution by associating spatial conflicts of street vending with the socio-spatial appropriation of public space. Results show the need to include the socio-spatial logic and dynamics of street vending in the design and management of public spaces in cities faced with this growing phenomenon.