Urbani izziv, volume 31, no. 1, 2020 89 UDC: 911.375.1-057.118(594) DOI: 10.5379/urbani-izziv-en-2020-31-01-003 Received: 14 Jan. 2020 Accepted: 15 May 2020 Mitchell Edbert SURYANTO Joko ADIANTO Rossa Turpuk GABE Accommodating the informal economy in public space: The intricate political and spatial arrangements at an Indonesian street market e immense wave of urbanization and the limited for- mal job opportunities available in large Asian cities have led to the proliferation of street vending activities, which are oen controversial and sometimes illegal due to their occupation of public space. e Kutek Sunday Market in Depok municipality, Indonesia was forced to move from a busy university location to a relatively secluded residential neighbourhood. Despite this disadvantage, the market has continued to attract sizeable business. is case study, based on extensive eld observation and interviews, describes how the market location was select- ed and how it is spatially arranged to meet the needs of vendors, residents, and shoppers. e paper shows how local residents and vendors creatively developed an open-ended, self-organized system to manage the com- plex tasks involved in operating the market and to adapt to uctuations in the number and characteristics of ven- dors and shoppers. Although the system is highly praised as an eective tool for informal economy survivability, its limited planning capacity requires cooperation with other parties to overcome unanticipated challenges. Co- operation among stakeholders has maximized the bene- ts and minimized the drawbacks of informal economic activities in a public space. Keywords: street market, street vendors, informal econ- omy, public space, Indonesia Urbani izziv, volume 31, no. 1, 2020 90 1 Introduction 1.1 Proliferation of street vendors in an urbanizing world Regional development disparities and lack of good governance have contributed to the problem of uncontrolled, massive ur- banization in many developing countries (Hossain, 2004). e rapid population growth of urban centres has made it hard for many residents to nd employment in the formal econo- my (Ligthelm & van Wyk, 2004). One consequence of urban growth is the proliferation of street vendors  (Chirisa,  2009), who have been greatly increasing in number and occupying public spaces all over major cities in developing countries, seeking to obtain enough income to survive  (Faruque  & Haque, 2010; Dunn, 2014). Aer the monetary crisis of 1998, the number of street vendors grew substantially in many Asian countries, because many workers previously employed in the formal sector lost their jobs  (Indira,  2015). Selling goods on the street has become a major source of employment, services, and income for poor urban households  (Fidler  & Webster,  1996;  Iyenda,  2005; Suriansyah,  2005; Estrada  & Hondagneu-Sotelo,  2011). e term ‘street vendor’ encom- passes vendors in organized marketplaces, sellers who set up booths in the kerb lanes of streets, mobile street hawkers, and home-based vendors  (Cohen et  al.,  2002). eir operations are oen considered illegal, but they distribute legal goods and services  (ILO,  2002). erefore, their economic activities do not operate in separate economic circuits but are interrelated with the formal sector (Chen, 2007; Hossain, 2014). e presence of street vendors in public spaces oers positive impacts, not only in developing countries but also in devel- oped ones. For example, street vendors have become an una- voidable feature of the urban landscape in Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago (Munoz, 2012). In New York (Roy, 2005) and Mumbai (Anjaria, 2006), they contribute to public safety and enhance quality of life in the neighbourhoods where they operate, although city authorities still tend to regard them as a public nuisance. ey are recognized as an integral part of certain neighbourhoods  (Deguchi,  2005), community mem- bers oen rely on them for access to food (Kabeer, 2004), and they add liveliness to urban places (Deguchi et al., 2005). e transformation of public spaces by informal street businesses represents an innovation that eectively accommodates the needs of city dwellers and encourages people to engage in social interaction (Jimu, 2005; Rojas, 2008), despite the fact that the presence of these businesses usually violates municipal regula- tions  (Danesh,  1999). Despite its various positive outcomes, street vending is still neglected in urban policy in developing countries  (Jimu,  2005). rough the lens of modernist plan- ning, this economic activity is generally viewed as inimical to public order and state control (Cross, 2000). For this reason, street vending has been widely discouraged in Latin American countries such as Colombia (Donovan, 2008) and Asian coun- tries such as Indonesia (Harjoko & Adianto, 2012). e mounting desire to create attractive global cities  (Rob- ins & Askoy, 1996) has mesmerized many governments in de- veloping countries, leading them to disregard aspects of the informal economy such as street vending in their city planning and regulatory activities (Parthasarathy, 2003). As a result, their development plans are unresponsive to the needs of informal urban activities (Perera & Amin, 1996) and contribute further to spatial problems in developing cities (Yankson, 2000). Lo- cal municipalities oen lack the political will, administrative expertise or innovative management strategies needed to in- corporate street vending activities eectively within the urban economic system  (Morrell et  al.,  2011). is failure to plan thoughtfully for the inclusion of street vendors can result in immense occupation of public spaces and substantial environ- mental problems, such as congested pavements and obstruction of pedestrian trac (Loukaitou-Sideris & Ehrenfeucht, 2011), as well as poor sanitation (Rakodi, 2005), due to littering of the streets, pavements, and open drains that exceeds the author- ities’ capacity to keep their cities clean  (Satterthwaite,  2003; Yankson,  2007). Many empirical studies conducted in Asian capitals have viewed the informal economy, including street vendors, as something simply to be managed (Ong, 2006; Jiang et  al.,  2010) while a city pursues advanced development as a global city  (Yeo et  al.,  2012). Methods of regulating street vendors have included designating a single area for their activ- ities  (Chai et  al.,  2011) or a licence procurement system for vending activity  (Lincoln,  2008; Chiu,  2013). In these ways, the state acknowledges the existence of street vending as cre- ating a survival system for the urban poor and thus ensuring social order. However, this survival system reveals a highly dis- tinctive dynamic of self-regulation that lacks formal control over planning  (Dovey,  2012). erefore, it is imperative to understand street vendors’ spatial production in urban areas for accommodating the informal urban economy. 1.2 The hidden social system underlying the spatial arrangements of street markets Street vending occurs in public spaces  (Satterthwaite,  2003), on street pavements  (Jimu,  2005), along footpaths  (Su- harto,  2004), around marketplaces  (Brown,  2006), at bus stops (Cohen et al., 2002), and at other venues in public spac- es (Yankson 2000). How they occupy the street space varies as widely as the locations themselves, depending on what activi- ties are nearby (Suharto, 2004), such as pedestrian trac (De- war & Watson, 1990) or proximity to transport and commuter M. E. SURYANTO, J. ADIANTO, R. T. GABE Urbani izziv, volume 31, no. 1, 2020 91Accommodating the informal economy in public space: The intricate political and spatial arrangements at an Indonesian street market nodes (Bhowmik, 2005). According to Yankson (2000), cus- tomer attraction is the primary factor in site selection, followed by availability of access roads and lack of suitable alternative sites. e eviction of street vendors from certain public spaces can eectively block them from functioning (Idayanti, 2007), because the location is the determining factor of the stalls’ rental price and revenue-generating capacity  (Susilo,  2011). Moreover, studies in Indonesia have shown how the charac- ter of particular places and their ability  (largely due to the activities occurring in the surrounding area) to attract pro- spective customers are crucial considerations in the location decisions of street vendors (Suparwoko & Sriyana, 2006; Su- parwoko, 2008). erefore, a relocation programme, without a comprehensive understanding of the vendors’ location pref- erences, will fail to achieve its intended goals. Research conducted previously by Adianto (2009) at ve tra- ditional markets in Jakarta and by Libratono  (2012) at the Bekasi traditional market in West Java demonstrated that the location, types of commodities sold, and hours of operation of street vendors conform to the activity patterns of shoppers and producers. All these studies noted that the social system, which produces rules for the management and use of available resources, plays a pivotal role in the spatial arrangement of street vendors in public spaces. e social system manufactures self-organization to construct spatial arrangements  (Kool- haas, 2005; Mörtenböck & Mooshammer, 2007) through ap- propriation and re-appropriation of public spaces (Isin, 1999; Boeri,  2003), based on deliberative planning  (Koolhaas & Cleijne,  2007) and creative calculations  (Franke,  2006). Due to their lack of access to formal institutions, street vendors must either develop new arrangements or make use of existing arrangements or unwritten rules as sources for their self-organ- ization, governance, and economic activity (Lindell, 2008). A study by Peters  (2013) in Surabaya  (Indonesia) describes the formidable strength of informality and its contribution to modern urban development through the spirit of collectivity of the underprivileged and proletariats. It shares a similar argu- ment with Obeng-Odoom (2011), who studies the agility and survivability of the informal sectors under the constant threat of eviction in Ghana. Despite the stigmatization, informality creates a delicate governance that works within the framework of formal governance (Dovey, 2012), and the spatial arrange- ments are one of these delicate results. is delicacy encourages the agility and survivability of the informal economy in the modernized city under constant eviction threats. ese stud- ies underscore the observation that space is social, because it is produced in reciprocal relations that both shape and are shaped by social relations  (Lefebvre,  1991; Shields,  1998). us, the production of urban space is not simply about plan- ning specic uses of material space; rather, it involves produc- ing and reproducing all aspects of urban life (McCann, 2002). Based on Lefebvre’s insights, how street vendors organize their spaces represents a concealed social order, applied to the organ- ization of a shared arena (Ostrom, 2005). e street vendors, along with shoppers and other parties that benet from their presence, create suitable vending arrangements. is study aims to clarify the location preferences that guide street vending activities and how vendors create spatial ar- rangements through self-organization. Specically, by uncov- ering the social system behind the production of street vending space in Indonesia’s Kutek Sunday Market, we seek to enrich architectural discourse on urban informality. 2 Method e study location was the Kukusan Teknik area of Depok, West Java as shown in Figure  1. It was selected because of the street vending activity that took place in this area’s hous- ing complex on Sunday mornings. Street vendors from all three major traditional markets in Depok come to Kukusan to sell consumer goods each Sunday from 6:00 to 10:00 a.m. On a regular basis, from  80 to nearly  200 street vendors sell various commodities along an alley of  300  metres in length, constituting a temporary market at the edge of a residential neighbourhood. We applied a qualitative approach in three stages. In the rst stage, during February and March  2015, we completed a lit- erature review to establish the state of the art in this eld. We then conducted preliminary observation in mid-March 2015, to structure our case study in alignment with our theoretical framework. During our preliminary observation, we identied several prominent local actors, such as the head of the Neigh- bourhood Association (NA), the head of the local Vendors As- sociation (VA), and long-time local residents. We introduced ourselves to these individuals and obtained their consent to participate in this study. Field observations and interviews were the main features of the project’s second stage, from April to June 2015. One advantage of conducting interviews relative to other alternatives, such as questionnaires, is that it allows the interviewees to construct their own accounts of their experiences, describing and ex- plaining their lives in their own words (Valentine, 2005: 111). e uctuating number of vendors, the commodities sold and their spatial arrangements were documented during eld observation. Based on the commodities being marketed, we classied the vendors into three categories: food, goods, and services (Suharto, 2004). Urbani izziv, volume 31, no. 1, 2020 92 e interviews took place in two waves. First, in early May 2015, we interviewed the NA head, VA head, and knowl- edgeable residents in the neighbourhood, who explained the history of street vending activity in this area along with the self-organization process carried out by all involved actors. e second wave of interviews comprised a random sampling of vendors, residents that live in the alley-turned-market, and shoppers. Vendors and residents shared information regarding their reasons for trading at this location, as well as concern- ing the construction and implementation of vendors’ self-or- ganization in cooperation with local residents. e shoppers gave their reasons for purchasing goods at this location and their perspectives on the spatial implications of street vendors’ presence in their neighbourhood. e number of respondents in each subgroup varied. Only y vendors consented to in- terviews. We also interviewed y families residing in the al- ley—a signicant number considering that there are y-seven houses in the alley, seven of which contain rental units. Finally, we spoke with three hundred shoppers in the course of twelve weeks of eld observation and interviews. e respondents were of various ages, occupations, monthly income levels and housing types. e third stage of the study, from July to September  2015, consisted of data analysis, discussion, and writing. Triangula- tion was employed to verify the accounts of the various inter- viewees  (Valentine,  2005). e ndings were discussed with academic colleagues at peer meetings to enrich and rene the results. Several additional eld observations and interviews were carried out during August  2015 to further clarify par- ticular issues. 3 Results 3.1 The history and present condition of the Kutek Sunday Market Since  2001, the University of Indonesia has opened their facilities for public recreational activities every Sunday. e participants come mostly from the immediately surrounding municipality of Depok, but also from the nearby metropolis of Jakarta. e huge crowds ocking to this area lured vendors who provided a range of commodities, from food and beverag- es to electronic gadgets and various services. According to the heads of the NA and VA, vendors were allowed to trade within the University of Indonesia complex if they made a nancial contribution, even though they were unregistered. erefore, their presence was not technically illegal, and it was protable for all parties – the university, vendors, and shoppers. is lucrative cooperation ended due to a fatal accident caused by vendors in  2003. Since then, the University of Indonesia has prohibited all trading activities by vendors on Sunday. Despite a series of demonstrations seeking renewed permis- sion to operate on campus, the vendors were rebued. As an alternative way to resolve the dispute, the university discussed with the heads of the NA and VA the possibility of relocat- ing the vendors to a neighbourhood immediately outside the campus, along the university’s perimeter wall. Although this street is narrower than the previous location, all parties agreed to make it the new trading location for vendors. Two main factors made this new location preferable. On the one hand, it is still very close to the University of Indonesia, making it easy for large crowds to visit the site. On the other hand, because it is a blind alley, the presence of vendors does not disturb the circulation of residents in the neighbourhood. e NA head was appointed as area manager to administer the trading and supportive activities. a b c Figure 1: a) the Depok municipality; b) the Beji district; c) the study location (source: Internet 1). M. E. SURYANTO, J. ADIANTO, R. T. GABE Urbani izziv, volume 31, no. 1, 2020 93 At rst, the residents of the alley objected to the presence of vendors in front of their houses. Privacy disturbances, loud noise, piled-up rubbish, and restricted circulation were among the results of the market’s relocation to the alley. Aer intense deliberations, the residents consented to vending activities in their neighbourhood with several conditions: (1) the activity may occur only from 6:00 to 11:00 a.m. on Sundays; (2) the vendors make payments to the NA to fund local improve- ments;  (3) local residents are allowed to participate in the vending activity;  (4) vendors reimburse the cost of any elec- tricity they use from the houses of local residents; and (5) any misconduct will lead to the termination of street vending ac- tivity in the neighbourhood. For security reasons, all vendors must register with the head of the NA. To maintain order, each vendor has a permanent trading spot. In 2003, there were 105 registered vendors, but the number has increased each year, reaching 198 vendors in 2015 as shown in Figure 2. During our twelve weeks of observation, the number of ven- dors uctuated from eighty-one to 198. Courses at the Univer- sity of Indonesia were in session from February to June 2015; the number of vendors increased from  140 in early April to  198 at the end of May. Aer nishing their examinations in early June 2015, most students vacated their rented rooms and returned to their permanent residences, reducing trac in the area considerably; accordingly, the number of vendors dropped precipitously and was under one hundred for the last three weeks of our observation, dropping to eighty-one in the a b Figure 2: a) the total number of vendors by type of commodity from 2003 to 2015; b) the total number of vendors each Sunday from 3 April to 19 June, 2015 (illustration: Mitchell Edbert Suryanto). Accommodating the informal economy in public space: The intricate political and spatial arrangements at an Indonesian street market Urbani izziv, volume 31, no. 1, 2020 94 nal week. is uctuation reveals the direct impact of the presence of students on the number of vendors selling at the Kutek Sunday Market. 3.2 The mutual benets for all involved actors e vendors indicated that their main trading locations were the three traditional markets in Depok municipality: the PAL Market  (34.15%), Kemiri Market  (36.59%), and Jaya Depok Market  (29.27%). Most of them stated that their reason for trading at the Kutek Sunday Market was to avoid erce com- petition at the traditional markets on weekends. Although the traditional markets attract very large numbers of visitors on weekends, prots do not increase because of the substantial- ly greater number of competitors. Instead, to enhance their prots, these vendors choose to come to the Kutek Sunday Market, where the number of vendors is lower. Low adminis- trative costs are another key consideration. Fourteen vendors stated in their interviews that the administrative fee at the major traditional markets is three to ve times higher than the costs at the Kutek Sunday Market. is factor also helps to make coming to Kutek on Sundays an attractive option. Although local residents also engage in trading activities as vendors, not all of them are delighted with the presence of the Kutek Sunday Market on their alley. Family members at nine houses  (18%) stated that they were annoyed by the market’s presence, despite the several advantages they receive from it. Rubbish is a major disturbance. Although an appointed ocer picks up all the rubbish aer the market closes, the unpleasant sights and smells bothered several respondents. Blocked circu- lation is another main inconvenience. For local residents, the huge crowd creates an exceptionally displeasing environment to walk through. Family members identied noise as a third problem. Furthermore, several family members commented that the huge crowd of people in such close proximity to res- idents’ houses compromises the privacy of people living along the alley. Despite all these problems, most of the residents that expressed dissatisfaction still accepted the Kutek Sunday Mar- ket’s presence on their street. Vending activities yield nancial benets for the community as a whole and for many indi- viduals. Local residents provide a wide range of supportive services to vendors, such as electricity access, stall tables, and storage space, thereby earning additional income. Moreover, the payments remitted by each vendor in exchange for the trading space and the rubbish disposal service cover the market administrator’s salary as well as neighbourhood improvements. e market provides several benets to the community. Twenty residents  (40%) said they could obtain items to meet their immediate needs within walking distance. Twelve people  (24%) said they were amused and entertained by the presence of the crowd and the various commodities oered. Nine respondents (18%) noted that the market brought with it job opportunities and additional income for local residents. Not only do some of the residents participate in the market as vendors, but many of them gain additional income to improve their livelihood by providing needed services. Each vendor is obligated to contribute to a fund for neigh- bourhood improvements. According to the NA and VA heads and local leaders, the community has used this money to over- haul the alley, improving the drainage channel along the alley and maintaining the border wall that separates it from the university. Before the market opened in  2003, the residents had no joint account for neighbourhood improvement. Since then, thanks to eective management of the funds contributed by vendors, the neighbourhood’s physical condition has been improved without any help from government programmes. us, although the market brings with it several environmen- tal problems – rubbish, restricted circulation, loud noise, and lack of privacy – it also oers substantial social and economic benets. Although the market is located in an enclosed area – on a narrow, dead-end alley where large numbers of people would not normally pass – it has attracted shoppers from all over Depok municipality and even from Jakarta. Most of the respondents  (44.33%) said they visited the market regularly every Sunday. Geographically, the largest portion of shoppers (44.67%) lives in Depok municipality outside the immediate Kukusan area. Kukusan itself provides nearly as many customers  (41.67%), and 13.67% live in Jakarta. Nearly half of the visitors (49.67%) said they come to full needs and already have in mind what kinds of commodities they intend to purchase; the oth- ers stated that their main interest was to enjoy the atmos- phere  (28.67%) or sightseeing with their friends  (21.67%). ese shoppers found the market enjoyable despite the huge crowds and the somewhat messy scene while the market is functioning. In summary, the Kutek Sunday Market delivers benets to all involved actors  – vendors, shoppers, and local residents. ese mutual benets are possible because the par- ticipants abide by accepted rules, as a product of negotiation in social relations. e rules regulate the rights and obligations of all participating actors so as to allow the vending activities to be orchestrated harmoniously. 3.3 Spatial self-organization: From well-ordered to scattered zoning In the process of implementing the vendor registration system from 2003 to 2012, the heads of the NA and VA reached agree- ment on the spatial arrangement of the Kutek Sunday Market. is arrangement situates the location of trading spaces based M. E. SURYANTO, J. ADIANTO, R. T. GABE Urbani izziv, volume 31, no. 1, 2020 95 a b 80 cm 140 cm 80 cm 3 1 4 5 2 Figure 3: Vending activities by residents in front of their houses (photo: Mitchell Edbert Suryanto). Figure 4: a) the size of the stalls and the width of circulation space; b) a diagram showing how adjoining space is controlled by surrounding vendors (photo and illustration: Mitchell Edbert Suryanto). Figure 5: Circulation arrangements for pedestrians (photos 1 and 2) and vendors (photos 3, 4, and 5) (photo and illustration: Mitchell Edbert Suryanto). Accommodating the informal economy in public space: The intricate political and spatial arrangements at an Indonesian street market Urbani izziv, volume 31, no. 1, 2020 96 on the types of commodities sold, as well as identifying park- ing, storage, and loading areas. e arrangement represents a consensus of the two association heads, all vendors, and res- idents of the alley. e spatial arrangement has successfully accommodated each party’s interests without compromising neighbourhood security as shown in Figure 3. As the number of vendors continued to grow and many oc- casional vendors started participating, the NA and VA heads were overwhelmed and struggled to register the new members and allocate market sites to them. e penetration of occa- sional vendors into the Kutek Sunday Market started in 2010. ese are ambulatory vendors who use wheeled carts or bicy- cles to move from one market to another in the course of a day. ey do not trade at the Kutek Market regularly every Sunday, so they cannot be assigned a permanent trading spot. However, the NA head allowed them to operate in the market because they agreed to pay the prescribed contribution. Since the number of vendors was uctuating, the NA head discon- tinued new registrations in 2012. Many local residents, mainly people living in the alley, also began to engage in occasional trading activities, using their front terraces as a trading space and turning the interior of the house into a production space. In 2010, six local residents were participating in this way, but by 2015 this number had tripled. At rst, they operated on a occasional basis, but now they have become permanent sell- ers. Figure  4 shows the presence of ambulatory vendors and local residents among the traders at the Kutek Sunday Market, which complicates the development of spatial arrangements. eir uctuating numbers and exible locations compel the NA and VA heads to locate them in any available vacant spac- es, such as between stalls of permanent vendors. is series of ever-changing incursions obnubilates the regulated spatial arrangements. Remarkably, the permanent vendors and residents allow and accept the additional vendors, even though their presence re- duces everyone else’s trading space. e permanent vendors tol- erate the others as a token of appreciation for their profession. ey recognize that their survival as street vendors depends on mutual support and cooperation. Furthermore, they hope that the presence of occasional vendors can increase everyone’s prof- it because they sell complementary commodities that can draw additional customers; this factor also encourages their mutual cooperation. Rather than seeking to bar the occasional sellers, the permanent traders become the decision-makers that deter- mine possible locations for new occasional vendors. erefore, despite the negative impact on visible spatial order, vendors do not object to the presence of additional occasional vendors inside the Kutek Sunday Market, as long as they provide com- plementary commodities to generate more shoppers and avoid engaging in direct competition with already-established sellers. e market has north and south gates, which allow visitors to enter from two directions as shown in Figure 5. Security is an important concern because various criminal acts have occurred in the university area. On the other hand, the north gate is an opening in the university’s perimeter wall, created by local residents to access the university area whenever the south gate was closed. Consequently, all shoppers travel from the south end of the market to the north end and then return south when they wish to leave the market. is circulation pattern causes severe blockages and a high density of people in the market during the peak hours of 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. To alleviate these density and circulation diculties, the NA and VA heads and local residents reached an agreement to use the west street for service access for loading and unload- ing commodities. is area has also become a vehicle parking space for vendors. Many visitors ride motorcycles to visit this market. According to the NA head, about  100 motorcycles enter the market every Sunday. is large number of vehicles requires provision of considerable parking space that can be easily monitored for security purposes, but without compli- cating pedestrian circulation throughout the market as shown in Figure 6. 1 2 3 Figure  6: Parking space on the south side (photos 1 and 2) and north side (photo 3) of the Kutek Sunday Market (photo and illustration: Mitchell Edbert Suryanto). M. E. SURYANTO, J. ADIANTO, R. T. GABE Urbani izziv, volume 31, no. 1, 2020 97 Vending activities require stalls for displaying commodities. e size of each stall depends on the number of commodi- ties that a vendor wishes to sell, and the larger stalls are not easy to move. e administrator, which consists of the NA and VA heads and local residents, provides rental stalls, made from second-hand wood and bamboo by unemployed young residents. Initially, the NA and VA heads and local residents decided to place the rental stalls at the north end of the alley, where pedestrians and motorcycles do not pass through. As the number of rental stalls has grown, small green spaces have been repurposed as additional rental stall storage areas, so that the stalls do not disturb circulation on weekdays or on market days as shown in Figure 7. e land where the rental stalls stand belongs to the communi- ty. e administrator, as the stall owners, make the consensual agreement with the residents, which brings mutual benet for all parties. e sellers have space for selling their goods to earn income. e residents also earn income, from the electricity fee paid by the sellers. e neighbourhood, which is represented by the NA head, earns income as well to fund the self-help neighbourhood improvement. It also provides employment opportunities for the unemployed residents to earn income for their families. Meanwhile, for the shoppers, the market provides various goods and services they need within walking distance in the neighbourhood. erefore, the obtained mutu- al benets to all parties from the consensual agreement allow the public space and some parts of the individual properties to be utilized for the market. Although vendors have generally adhered faithfully to the mar- ket’s rules, several matters sparked conict. As the VA head admitted, vendors failed to keep up with the abundant rubbish they were generating. Not only did they have inadequate time and sta to handle their rubbish, the waste disposal bins in the area were insucient. Eventually, local residents led com- plaints with the VA head, demanding an immediate solution. To overcome this impediment, the NA and VA heads and local residents deliberated on the issue and agreed to hire a waste disposal ocer, who would be paid by additional contribution from vendors. e service is carried out by local residents, pro- viding a job opportunity for unemployed persons. Meanwhile, each vendor accesses electricity, if needed, from the nearest res- ident’s house. While setting up their stalls, the vendors install cables to access electricity and pay the residents for it directly. 4 Discussion Mutual benets, which are shared with all involved parties, become the main consideration for producing vending space within a neighbourhood. e space is produced and devel- oped through social relations, as described by Lefebvre (1991), through consideration of the economic and quality-of-life con- siderations of vendors, residents, and shoppers. To achieve the expected benets, all involved parties created spatial self-or- ganization and appropriated the available existing space for vending activities. Local residents provide vending space, parking, circulation management for pedestrians, goods, and vehicles, waste disposal service, and rental stalls in exchange for aordable compensation from vendors. e low price of various service provisions allows vendors to sell commodities within the purchasing ability of the designated shoppers. e mutual benets also compensate for the negative outcomes the market imposes on the community, such as piles of rubbish, circulation blockages, loud noise, and privacy transgressions. e social relations, which are manifested in agreements to achieve the concurred mutual benets, are also rened as issues arise that require immediate solutions. e increasing number of ambulatory and occasional vendors in the market led to changes in the registration system and the regulations gov- erning selling locations. e increasing number of vendors has also compelled spatial expansions, which have required more residents to agree to permit vendors to trade in front of their houses. Originally, the Kutek Sunday Market took advantage of the crowds participating in other recreational activities at a university complex. Today, however, the vending activities 1 2 Figure 7: Storage of wooden stalls along the street (photo and illustration: Mitchell Edbert Suryanto). Accommodating the informal economy in public space: The intricate political and spatial arrangements at an Indonesian street market Urbani izziv, volume 31, no. 1, 2020 98 are themselves a primary destination. Despite having a less advantageous location ever since the tragic accident of 2003, the market has continued to attract increasing numbers of vendors and shoppers. is case study shows that the number of pedestrians already coming into a particular area does not always determine the locations selected by street vendors, but that accessibility and proximity to large numbers of people are essential to make a street market possible. is study demonstrated the ability of local residents to engage in spatial self-organization to deal with the adversities present- ed by the market. e spatial provisions for relocating vending activities were accommodated through the establishment of social relations among the involved parties, which resulted in a mutually acceptable agreement. Social relations, in this case, are not neutral but involve careful economic calculations that enable all parties to benet. Without the possibility of achiev- ing shared benet, the social relations could not lead to viable spatial arrangements. However, the potential of mutual bene- t has motivated eorts to create and preserve a harmonious spatial order among commercial and domestic activities, all occurring in a narrow alley. is nding shows how informal- ity operates in the framework of its formal counterparts, as mentioned by Dovey  (2012). is self-regulation transforms the public space and some parts of individual property to a shared arena  (Ostrom,  2005) with a distinctive and delicate “new social order”. It also works to encourage mutual benets for all involved parties as positive outcomes, and simultaneous- ly minimizes the negative impacts to the surrounding neigh- bourhood. It is the agility and survivability of informality, as stated by Obeng-Odoom  (2011) and Peters  (2013) in the modernized city. However, informality should not be considered as the act of agility and survivability itself, as Obeng-Odoom  (2011) and Peters (2013) describe, but the act of accommodating the vari- ous interests of the involved actors. e location of the market was selected according to a consensual agreement between the head of neighbourhood, residents, and vendors, which brought a new weekly activity to an isolated alley. e created spatial and social system connects the isolated alley with points of ac- cess for the shoppers, which prots the vendors and residents, as does the waste removal service. It brings employment for the residents and vendors, and also funding for neighbour- hood improvement. It alternates with the zero-sum approach of formality to attain a consensual spatial and social system for accommodating the interests of the involved actors, then creates a new contiguous space that connects with its formal counterparts. erefore, in this case, informality is not just an alternative, contested space but rather one that is inter- connected and interdependent with the formal system. is cooperation brings mutual benets, thus minimizing the neg- ative impacts of the informal sector. It gradually becomes an integral part of the whole social and economic system, with only blurred lines separating the formal and informal. 5 Conclusions e presence of the informal economic sector, including street vendors, in urban spaces has generated environmental prob- lems despite its immense contribution to urban livelihoods. erefore, it is critical to seek ways to integrate the informal economy into the urban environment so as to maximize the benets and reduce the downsides. Street vending plays a piv- otal role in sustaining livelihoods, not only for traders but also for local residents and regional shoppers. Prohibiting vending activities completely is certainly an undesirable solu- tion, because doing so would negatively aect many people’s livelihood and sustenance. In this case, aer the market was evicted from its previous location, vendors pursued the Kutek area as a new location that would still be accessible to their customers. e market’s occupation of a residential street in Kutek area has required extensive cooperation and negotiation to achieve mutual benets for both vendors and local residents. Vendors have preserved their livelihoods and residents have received job opportunities and other ways to earn additional income. To achieve their desired objectives, vendors and local residents operate a self-organized system to manage vending and its supportive activities. e system determines the space, circulation and utility arrangements, as well as managing oth- er issues. It evolves in accordance with local conditions to maintain the benets sought by each stakeholder group. is case study shows that communities can display considerable capacity to construct a self-organized system that meets their immediate needs. However, self-organized systems tend to have limited capacity and oen require cooperation with outside parties to succeed. is cooperation is important because the formal and informal are interdependent and become an integral economic system with a vague distinction. Suitable interventions in social de- velopment, urban planning, and design can help to enable the informal economy to function lucratively and benecially in urban areas. Such interventions must accommodate the in- terests of all involved parties so as to avoid resistance or new impediments in the future. Further multidisciplinary studies on how to integrate the informal and formal economic sectors in urban space are needed to validate the benets of informal sectors to urban communities and to explore multiple ways to reduce their possible downsides. Mitchell Edbert Suryanto Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, University of Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia E-mail: mitchell.edbert93@gmail.com M. E. SURYANTO, J. ADIANTO, R. T. GABE Urbani izziv, volume 31, no. 1, 2020 99 Joko Adianto Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, University of Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia E-mail: joko.adianto@ui.ac.id Rossa Turpuk Gabe Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, University of Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia Email: rossa@ui.ac.id Acknowledgments We would like to express gratitude to Directorate of Research and Community Engagement at the University of Indonesia (DRPM UI) for administering the Hibah Publikasi Artikel di Jurnal International Kuartil Q1 dan Q2 (Q1Q2) Tahun Anggaran 2019 scheme under grant number NKB- 0305/UN2.R3.1/HKP.05.00/2019, and Faculty of Engineering at the University of Indonesia (FTUI), Department of Architecture for their support in this research. We also wish to express our sincere gratitude to the head of Neighbourhood Association 1 (Kutek area) for approving our research and participating actively in it. In addi- tion, great appreciation is also due to Soiman, Mohammad Hassan, Mohammad Ibnu, Agus Widodo, Adi Nugroho, Rudi Haris, and Alex Wibowo for their tenacious efforts and excellent contributions during the data collection stage. References Adianto, J. (2009) Trotoar sebagai ruang pejalan kaki dan pedagang kaki lima [Pavements as spaces for pedestrians and street vendors]. Jakarta, Directorate of Higher Education, Ministry of Education and Culture Republic of Indonesia. Typescript. Anjaria, J. S. (2006) Street hawkers and public space in Mumbai. Eco- nomic and Political Weekly, 41, pp. 2140–2146. Bhowmik, S. K. (2005) Street vendors in Asia: A review. Economic and Political Weekly, 40(22-23), pp. 2256–2264. Boeri, S. (2003) Multiplicity. Milan, Skira. Brown, A. (2006) Contested space: Street trading, public space, and livelihoods in developing cities. Warwickshire, Intermediate Technology Publications Ltd. Chai, X., Ziqiang, Q., Pan, K., Deng, X. & Zhou, Y. (2011) Research on the management of urban unlicensed mobile street vendors: Taking public satisfied degree as value orientation. Asian Social Science, 7(12), pp. 163-167. DOI: 10.5539/ass.v7n12p163 Chen, M. A. (2007) Rethinking the informal economy: Linkages with the formal economy and the formal regulatory environment. Available at: https://www.wider.unu.edu/publication/rethinking-informal-econo- my (accessed 8 Oct. 2018). DOI: 10.1093/0199204764.003.0005 Chirisa, I. (2009) The geography of informal sector operations (ISOs): A perspective of urban Zimbabwe. Journal of Geography and Regional Planning, 2(4), pp. 66–79. Chiu, C. (2013) Informal management, interactive performance: Street vendors and police in a Taipei night market. International Development Planning Review, 35(4), pp. 335-352. DOI: 10.3828/idpr.2013.24 Cohen M., Bhatt, M. & Horn, P. (2002) Women street vendors: The road to recognition. New York, Population Research Council Inc. Cross, J. C. (2000) Street vendors, modernity, postmoderni- ty: Conflict and compromise in the global economy. Interna- tional Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 20(1/2), pp. 29–51. DOI: 10.1108/01443330010789061 Danesh, A. H. (1999) Corridor of hope: A visual view of informal economy. New York, University Press of America. Deguchi, A. (2005) Reevaluating street vendors in Asian cities and Asian Urbanism. Paper presented at the 8th International Conference of the Asian Planning Schools Association, Asian Planning Schools Associa- tion, 11–14 September, Penang, Malaysia. Typescript. Deguchi, A., Takaki, K., Miura, K. & Kitamura, H. (2005) The lively space and function of ‘Yatai’ in Fukuoka City. Journal of Asian Urban Studies, 6(2), pp. 1–10. Dewar, D. & Watson, V. (1990) Urban markets: Developing informal retail- ing. London, Routledge. Donovan, M. G. (2008) Informal cities and the contestation of public space: The case of Bogota’s street vendors, 1988–2003. Urban Studies, 45(1), pp. 29–51. DOI: 10.1177/0042098007085100 Dovey, K. (2012) Informal urbanism and complex adaptive assem- blage. International Development Planning Review, 34 (4), pp. 349–367. DOI: 10.3828/idpr.2012.23 Dunn, K. (2014) Street vendors in and against the Global City: VAMOS Unidos. In: Milkman, R. & Ott, E. (eds) New labor in New York: Precar- ious workers and the future of the labor movement. Ithaca, ILR Press. DOI: 10.7591/9780801470752-008 Estrada, E. & Hondagneu-Sotelo, P. (2011) Intersectional dignities: Latino immigrants street vendor youth Los Angeles. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 40(1), pp. 102–131. DOI: 10.1177/0891241610387926 Faruque, Q. & Haque, Q. F. (2010) Institutionalization of healthy street food system in Bangladesh: A pilot study with three wards of Dhaka City Corporation as a model. National Food Policy Capacity Strengthen- ing Programme (NFPCSP), Final Report PR #7/07. Dhaka, Bangladesh. Fidler, P. & Webster, L. (1996) The informal sector and microfinance in West Africa. Washington, DC, The World Bank. Franke, A. (ed.) (2006) B-Zone: Becoming Europe and beyond. Barcelona, Actar. Harjoko, T. Y. & Adianto, J. (2012) Topology and the web of informal economy: Case study of Kakilima and its twisted networks in the mar- ket of Kebayoran Lama, Jakarta. Asian Journal of Environment-Behaviour Studies, 3(7), pp. 57–68. DOI: 10.21834/aje-bs.v3i6.248 Hossain, N. (2004) The social logic of spontaneous retail development in Dhaka. Protibesh: Journal of the Department of Architecture, 9(1). Hossain, N. (2014) Socio-spatial dialectic of retail environment in devel- oping countries: Perception of retail trends in Dhaka. Asian Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 2(4), pp. 10–21. Idayanti, S. (2007) Identifikasi pedagang kaki lima di Jalan Pancasila dan sekitarnya [Identification of street vendors in Pancala Street and its surroundings]. Tegal, Lembaga Penelitian Universitas Pancasakti Tegal. Indira, D. (2015) A study on the organizing of street hawking business. International Journal of Management and Commerce Innovations, 2, pp. 280–288. International Labor Organization (2002) Women and men in the informal economy: A statistical picture. Geneva, ILO. Internet 1: https://goo.gl/maps/Lpb3nTYjb8QXxHoM6 (accessed 3 Apr. 2015). Isin, E. (1999) Citizenship and identity. London, SAGE. Iyenda, G. (2005) Street enterprises, urban livelihoods and pov- erty in Kinshasa. Environment and Urbanization, 17(2), pp. 55–67. DOI: 10.1177/095624780501700205 Accommodating the informal economy in public space: The intricate political and spatial arrangements at an Indonesian street market Urbani izziv, volume 31, no. 1, 2020 100 Jiang, S. S., Jou, S. C. & Wu, S. L. (2010) Urban redevelopment and neoliberal governance: empirical model for (re-) developing the Taipei Main Station Special District. City and Planning, 37 (2), pp. 167-191. Jimu, I. M. (2005) Negotiated economic opportunity and power: Per- spectives and perceptions of street vending in Urban Malawi. Africa Development 30(4), pp. 35–51. DOI: 10.4314/ad.v30i4.22239 Kabeer, N. (2004) Re-visioning “the social”: towards a citizen-centred social policy for the poor in poor countries, IDS working paper no. 191. Brighton, Institute of Development Studies. Koolhaas, R. (2005) Lagos wide & close: An interactive journey into an exploding city. Amsterdam, Submarine. Koolhaas, R. & Cleijne, E. (2007) Lagos: How it works. Baden, Lars Müller Publishers. Lefebvre, H. (1991) The production of space. Oxford, Blackwell. Libratono, L. (2012) Preferensi and informasi spasial pedagang kaki lima: Studi kasus pasar Bekasi Baru [Prefence and spatial formation of street vendors: A case study of the Bekasi Baru Market]. Master’s thesis. Jawa Barat, University of Indonesia, Architecture Graduate Department. Ligthelm, A. A. & Van Wyk, A. M. A. (2004) Informal trading in Tshwane: Regulatory, spatial and economic framework report. Johannesburg, Bu- reau of Market Research South Africa. Lincoln, M. (2008) Report from the field: Street vendors and the in- formal sector in Hanoi. Dialectical Anthropology 32(3), pp. 261-265. DOI: 10.1007/s10624-008-9062-9 Lindell, I. L. (2008) The multiple sites of urban governance: In- sights from an African city. Urban Studies, 45(9), pp. 1879–1901. DOI: 10.1177/0042098008093382 Loukaitou-Sideris, A. & Ehrenfeucht, R. (2011) Sidewalks: Conflict and negotiation over public space. Massachusetts, MIT Press. DOI: 10.7551/mitpress/7423.001.0001 McCann, E. J. (2002) Space, citizenship and the right to the city: A brief overview. GeoJournal, 58, pp. 77–79. DOI: 10.1023/b:gejo.0000010826.75561.c0 Morrell, E., Tuerah, N. & Sumarto, H. S. (2011) Local authority and pro- poor urban management in Indonesia’s transition to democracy. Inter- national Development Planning Review, 33(1), pp. 49–66. DOI: 10.3828/idpr.2011.4 Mörtenböck, P. & Mooshammer, H. (2007) Trading indeterminacy: Infor- mal markets in Europe. Field Journal, 1(1), pp. 73–87. Munoz, L. (2012) Latino/a immigrant street vendors in Los Angeles: Photo-documenting sidewalks from ‘back-home’. Sociological Research Online, 17(2), pp. 21. DOI: 10.5153/sro.2693 Obeng-Odoom, F. (2011) The informal sector in Ghana un- der siege. Journal of Developing Societies, 27(3&4), pp. 355–392. DOI: 10.1177/0169796x1102700406 Ong, A. (2006) Neoliberalism as exception: Mutations in citizenship and sovereignty. Durham: Duke University Press. Ostrom, E. (2005) Understanding institutional diversity. Princeton, Prince- ton University Press. Parthasarathy, D. (2003) Urban transformation, civic exclusion and elite discourse. City: A Quarterly on Urban Issues, 4, 9-28. Perera, L. A. S. R. & Amin, A. T. M. N. (1996) Accommodating the infor- mal sector: A strategy for urban environmental management. Journal of Environmental Management, 46(1), pp. 3-15. DOI: 10.1006/jema.1996.0002 Peters, R. (2013) Surabaya, 1945–2010: Neighbourhood, state and econo- my in Indonesia’s city of struggle. Singapore, NUS Press. DOI: /10.2307/j.ctv1qv2vv Rakodi, C. (2005) The urban challenge in Africa. In: Keiner M., Kol-Schretzenmayr M. & Schmid W. (eds.) Managing urban futures: Sustainability and urban growth in developing countries. Ashgate, Hamp- shire & Burlington. DOI: 10.4324/9781315249827 Robins, K. & Askoy, A. (1996) Istanbul between civilization and discon- tent. City, 1(5–6), pp. 6–33. Rojas, M. (2008) Experienced poverty and income poverty in Mexico: a subjective well-being approach. World Development, 36(6), str. 1078- 1093. DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2007.10.005 Roy, A. (2005) Urban informality: Toward an epistemology of plan- ning. Journal of the American Planning Association, 71, pp. 147–158. DOI: 10.1080/01944360508976689 Satterthwaite, D. (2003) The links between poverty and the environ- ment in urban areas of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 590(1), pp. 73–92. DOI: 10.1177/0002716203257095 Shields, R. (1998) Lefebvre, love, and struggle. London, Routledge. Suharto, E. (2004) Accommodating the urban informal sector in the public policy process. London, Central European University Centre for Policy Studies. Suparwoko, S. J. & Sriyana, J. (2006) Profil pedagang kaki lima (PKL): Studi kasus daerah Tumbuh Cepat di Kabupaten Sleman [Profile of street vendors: A case study of the Tumbuh Kembang area in the Sleman Dis- trict]. Sleman, Direktorat Penelitian dan Pengabdian Masyarakat − UII. Suparwoko, S. J. (2008) Renovasi jalan dan bangunan pedagang kaki lima (PKL) berbasis aspirasi stakeholders: Studi kasus Jalan Kaliurang Yogyakarta [Building renovation of street vendors based on stakehold- ers’ aspirations: A case study of Kaliurang Street, Yogyakarta]. Paper presented at Seminar Nasional Peran Arsitektur Perkotaan dalam Mewu- judkan Kota Tropis, 6 August, Semarang, Indonesia. Typescript. Suriansyah, Y. (2005) The existence of street vendors as a reflection of urban life: Case study of the Gasibu area in Bandung, West Java, Indo- nesia. Journal of Asian Urban Studies, 6, pp. 43–50. Susilo, A. (2011) Faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi pedagang kaki lima menempati bahu Jalan di Kota Bogor: Studi kasus pedagang sembako di Jalan Dewi Sartika Utara [Factors affecting street vendors to occu- py sidewalk in Bogor City: A case study of vendors of basic food in Dewi Sartika Street]. Master’s thesis. Jakarta, University of Indonesia. DOI: 10.25015/penyuluhan.v2i2.2131 Valentine, G. (2005). Tell me about …: using interviews as research methodology. In: R. Flowerdew & D. Martin (Eds.) Methods in Human Geography, London, Pearson Prentice Hall. Yankson, P. W. K. (2000) Accommodating informal economic units in the urban built environment: Petty commodity enterprises in the Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana. Third World Planning Review, 22, pp. 313– 334. DOI: 10.3828/twpr.22.3.p4507l68258554v1 Yankson, P. W. K. (2007) Street trading and environmental management in central Accra: Decentralization and metropolitan governance in Ghana. Research Reviews, 1, pp. 37–55. DOI: 10.4314/rrias.v23i1.22967 Yeo, S. J., Hee, L. & Heng, C. K. (2012) Urban informality and every- day (night)life: a field study in Singapore. International Development Planning Review, 34(4), pp. 369–390. DOI: 10.3828/idpr.2012.22 M. E. SURYANTO, J. ADIANTO, R. T. GABE