Street vending, vulnerability and exclusion during the COVID-19 pandemic: the case of Cali, Colombia

Martínez, L. and Young, G. (2022) Street vending, vulnerability and exclusion during the COVID-19 pandemic: the case of Cali, Colombia. Environment and Urbanization, 34(2), pp. 372-390. (doi: 10.1177/09562478221113753) (PMID:36254215) (PMCID:PMC9554571)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on livelihoods everywhere, but especially in the informal economy where crucial forms of protection and security are often absent. A detailed understanding of the impacts for informal workers, the public policy approaches that could most effectively respond to their needs, and the barriers to such policy, is urgently needed. This paper discusses the results of a 2021 street vendor survey in Cali, Colombia, focusing on (1) vendors’ socioeconomic circumstances and (2) their political engagement and attitudes on key policy and governance issues. It argues that while the pandemic and the government responses to it negatively impacted street vendors, there are steps that government could have taken, and can still take, to address vendors’ needs and priorities. To ensure a just, equitable, sustainable recovery, and to protect economically marginalized groups from future crises, informal workers must be more meaningfully included in decision-making processes.

• Item Type: Articles
• Keywords: Colombia, COVID-19, global South, informal economy, street vendors.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Young, Dr Graeme
• Authors: Martínez, L., and Young, G.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Urban Studies
• Journal Name: Environment and Urbanization
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• ISSN: 0956-2478
• ISSN (Online): 1746-0301
• Published Online: 11 October 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)
• First Published: First published in Environment and Urbanization 34(2): 372-390
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
300882		GCRF Centre for Sustainable, Healthy, and Learning Cities and Neighbourhoods (CSHLH)	Ya Ping Wang	Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)	ES/P011020/1	S&PS - Urban Studies