A matter of understanding : urban design strategies to integrate street vendors in Mumbai

Abstract

Resistance to informal markets appears related to a growing desire to modernize among citizens of developing countries. These markets, in their indigenous, often chaotic, form, are viewed as symbols as poverty and backwardness.Their appearance is increasingly becoming undesirable to citizens seeking to replace the local with the global, redefining their identity in a globalizing world. Street markets provide a valuable amenity to the city and it is inequitable, imprudent and impractical to remove them because they fail to fit into a newly emerging notion of what urban public space should look/be/operate like. They have thrived, often despite strong opposition from the government, and now even some citizen groups, because they provide a necessary and efficient service. This thesis explores whether, instead of absolute rejection or resigned acceptance of these markets, good design offers a better solution. It inquires into Mumbai's structure and how the street vendors use civic space to inform a new design creating an equitable integration of the informal markets into the emerging modern paradigms of urban design. The thesis presumes that small-scale street markets are an essential and effective form of retail and explores design strategies that address the concerns raised in resistance to street markets while incorporating the needs of the vendors. It proposes that an external disinterested mediator might successfully bring the stakeholders to consensus by creating a common equitable and sustainable solution through effective conflict management and good design. I generalize from this case into how designers might take on conflict mediation roles through appropriate design, which helps re-conceive a solution to conflict that is considerate to the concerns of all involved parties.