BEHIND THE CURTAIN OF PUBLIC SPACES: REVEALING THE NARRATIVES OF CORPORATE STREET HAWKING IN GLOBALIZING ACCRA, GHANA

ABSTRACT A common challenge shared across cities of the Global South is the seemingly impossible task of drawing a consensus on the right interventions and regulatory framework for street hawkers. This impediment, for many countries, originates from not only the pervasive nature of how this sector is characterized, but also the fluidity associated with their perceptions among urban planners and policy makers. This study highlights that while urban planners and state authorities perceive street hawking as a nuisance and try to forcefully evict them from spaces they occupy, some enterprises have modified traditional street hawking to develop what we term “corporate street hawking” in Accra, Ghana. This article presents findings drawing upon semistructured interviews with 47 street hawkers in Accra.