The street vending economy is part of the urban economy, and it cannot completely disappear. Therefore, rather than blindly wanting to dismantle or confiscate their carts or other work equipment, we should think about the reasons why they are so tenacious – and how to strike a balance between the issue of stalls and urban road rights.
Here, Porto Alegre in Brazil may be an example of urban governance. When I was in Porto Alegre(POA), Brazil, the teacher once mentioned to me that there would be groups of small vendors selling fresh fruits, vegetables, etc., at a fixed time and place every week. The ingredients over there are cheap, good quality, and fresh. So, my roommates and I went to buy food many times. Later, we learned from many parties that the phenomenon of stalls organized by the government is called feira modelo in Brazil, also known as model fair. It is a “fruit and vegetable trade demonstration zone”, which effectively solves the problem of messy stalls.
The feira modelo project is under the direct supervision of the Economic Promotion Bureau, and 35 blocks in the POA have been used as a semi-temporary stall location. The types of hawkers in different places may not be the same, and the opening time of each place is different. If a hawker wants to participate in this kind of market, he needs to apply to the Economic Promotion Bureau. After the application is approved, they can have a stall of their own.
This kind of market has received a very high degree of attention, and many people will deliberately buy fresh ingredients every week. After a long time, I will also have a feeling of love for the unique street food there. At the same time, the types of food there are also very rich, such as the fair I often go to, which has a Taiwanese stall. The couple there runs a Chinese restaurant, and then take time out to set up a stall every week, selling Chinese specialties-steamed buns, tea, moon cakes, etc., some of which are homemade, some of which he brought from China.
Such semi-mobile and semi-fixed stalls have advantages and disadvantages. First, it solved the problem that some small vendors had no place to operate. The basic fee charged by such a booth is fixed and not expensive, so it can have a better income; at the same time, such a booth setting also makes the city more organized. Customers who visit the same place many times will have a sense of familiarity with the vendors and purchase more goods. Of course, the downside is that these places are not the most crowded. At the same time, the goods here are more like a retail market. Most people come with a purpose instead of passing them occasionally.
However, this is the characteristic of the Brazilian streets.
Brazilian streets are very unsafe, especially some narrow streets. People try to avoid exposing their mobile phones and other valuable items when walking because there is a risk of being robbed by roads at any time. And in this danger, Brazil’s feira modelo adds a kind of security to the quiet streets-a large number of shops crowds, which makes some obvious robberies impossible, and also makes people walking around more at ease.
From an ordinary point of view, people seem to tend to think that the flow of small vendors will make the streets more dangerous, because the flow of people will encounter obstacles, and the noisy environment will increase the possibility of street theft. But I think the Brazilian example is the opposite. Due to the high rate of robbery on the streets of Brazil, the streets of Brazil always look lifeless, people come and go in a hurry, and with the help of this characteristic feira modelo, some streets start to become vibrant-you can see some young parents pushing Bring your children to the market in a stroller, which usually only happens in large shopping malls.
Therefore, Brazil’s feira modelo now appears to be a move that has more advantages than disadvantages. In Brazil, roadside stalls are not very common behavior now. In fact, the most unique thing about Brazil is also about hawking on the beach and in the subway. I am not going to discuss it here. But if you are interested, try to open the links and watch the videos.
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