Relocation as Empowerment: Response, Welfare, and Life Quality of Street Vendors After Relocation

The presence of street vendors along Magelang-Yogyakarta Highway 5-8 led to the disruption of the smooth traffic, order, beauty and cleanliness of the street. To resolve these problems, the government relocated the street vendors to Mertoyudan Street Vendor Corner. The study aims to analyze how the vendors ’ responses, welfare, and quality of life after the relocation to illuminate the practice of effective empowerment. This study used qualitative method. Results show that the street vendors in Magelang-Yogyakarta Highway 5-8 mostly show positive responses to the relocation policy, in the form of acceptance and approval, while 40 % of them decide to move. The welfare of street vendors, especially seen from the income, has declined. Not to mention the quality of life as measured from the street vendors ’ prosperous income aspect, the fulfillment of material needs, the degree of fulfillment of biological needs, human needs and freedom of choice also show a decline. The study concludes that to function properly, relocation as an effective empowerment should develop creative programs to popularize the relocation sites. Abstrak Keberadaan PKL di sepanjang jalan raya Magelang-Yogyakarta km 5-8 menyebabkan terganggunya kelancaran, ketertiban, keindahan dan kebersihan jalan. Untuk menyelesaikan permasalahan tersebut, pemerintah Kabupate