The importance of public space in supporting city economies and in contributing to poverty reduction is rarely recognized. Instead, public space is more often an arena for contest – between municipal governments or other vested interests, and street traders, whose activities are proscribed by restrictive social norms, ambiguous legal status, street violence, or an official response that vacillates between indifference and eviction.

Based on a research study in four developing cities – Dar Es Salaam, Kumasi, Maseru, and Kathmandu – Contested Space explores the survival strategies of street traders and their relationships with city governments, and examines the practical and policy implications for pro-poor street management. This is essential reading for all those interested in innovative city governance, for planners, NGOs, students, academics, and practitioners in Development Studies and Urban Development.

Alison Brown
Alison Brown is a Senior Lecturer in the School of City & Regional Planning at Cardiff University, and an urban planning consultant with a specialism in international planning practice. She is course director for the MSc International Planning & Development. She has recently managed a DFID-funded study on street trading and livelihoods on which the book is based.

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