The Resilience of Street Vendors and Urban Public Space Management in Aba, Nigeria

Abstract

Street vendors in some cities of developing countries (Aba in Nigeria inclusive) have exhibited uncommon resilience to attempts by public space management authorities at their eviction from the streets. This study seeks to ascertain reasons why vendors in Aba have continued to return to the streets despite all forms of harassments meted to them by city authorities. The survey research design was use for the study. It involved questionnaire administration and personal observation in data collection. 400 randomly selected vendors were surveyed. Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient was used to analyze the strength of association between the resilience of the street vendors, and their survival options. Findings revealed a significant negative correlation between the availability (or not) of alternative means of survival to street vendors, and their proclivity to continue the act of street vending. It also showed that struggle for survival, exacerbated by pervasive and endemic poverty has kept vendors on the street despite the attendant dangers surrounding the enterprise. The study recommends among other things, the setting up of an agro-industrial zone in the Southern-Aba region to provide alternative jobs for street vendors; the formulation and implementation of an inclusive municipal and national policies on street vending, which will incorporate the spatial dynamics of the urban informal sector in town planning, as well as consider urban space allocation as an important policy tool to create employment for the massive unemployed youths in Nigeria.

Keywords: Resilience, Street Vending, Urban, Pubic Space