Street Multi-functionality and City Order: The Case of Street Vendors in Harare

The current invasion of the city center in Harare by street vendors has resulted in a plethora of urban headaches with varying responses from the city authorities. This paper examines the repercussions of street vending to city planning and order in Harare. This study uses mixed methods but is dominantly qualitative. Guided interviews and focused group dimensions (FGDs) were used to solicit rich qualitative data from thirty vendors operating in the city center. In addition, a mini-questionnaire was also utilized to collect quantitative data. Data were analyzed through content analysis and comparative analysis. The study found out that street vending in undesignated sites has caused pandemonium in the city despite being a source of livelihood to the majority of urbanites who have been plunged into poverty by economic doldrums. The vending market dynamics have played a part in the location of vendors in the ‘undesignated areas’ since these seem to give better returns as compared to the city’s designated vending sites. The efforts by city authorities to restore order has being partly hampered by political interference that seems to support street vending. In light of this, it is recommended that addressing the chaos in the city center does not require city planners alone, but the generality of socio-economic practitioners who should create a functional state that provides economic opportunities to the urban poor. Apart from that, licensing of all the vendors operating in Harare will greatly assist the move to make them pay taxes and levies that will help boost the revenue of the city. However, the levies should be kept at minimum level such as ‘a dollar a day’. Keywords: Street vending, urban poverty, urban livelihoods, vending markets, city revenu