How does Street Vending Economy Help Rural to Urban Migrants Integrate into Cities?

Abstract

Street vending is a form of informal economy. The main participants of street vending economy consist of exploited workers, rural-urban migrants who are in low level of socioeconomic households, common workers, and some individual households. Most of the studies and articles have explored how to regulate the street vending economy and how to facilitate the relationship between vendors and city authorities, but the important constitute of street vending economies, rural migrants, has received little attention from scholars and there is little research about it. What role does street vending economy play in the lives of this segment of this population which itself faces a number of challenges in migrating and integrating into the city? We have found out that street vending functions as a platform which helps these people to better integrate into the cities. Through desktop research and case studies, this paper explores how street vending economy helps rural to urban migrants integrate into the city from four perspectives: identity integration, integrating in economic level, integrating in social level, and females' empowerment.