Dynamics of street vending phenomenon in the Kisumu Municipality, Kenya

Abstract

Street vending is the sub-sector of informal businesses that operate in urban spaces meant for other uses. It was believed that street vending would be absorbed by modern sector with time but instead it has grown to providing alternative jobs to a large urban population who cannot get formal employment. People migrating to urban centres, school leavers and retrenched workers find work in street vending. Vendors provide goods and services cheaply and conveniently to the urban population. Its ability to expand and offer employment was recognized in 1970 when developing countries were experiencing low rate of economic growth and increased unemployment. Integration of street vending activities in urban land use is affected by negative perception of local authorities. However, there is still little research on how street vending can be integrated in urban plans. Against this back drop, this study assessed dynamics of street vending in phenomenon in Kisumu Municipality. The objectives of the study were to: examine the nature and patterns of street vending activities. Study population constituted street vendors in the central business district, customers buying from street vendors and Kisumu Municipality administrators. Purposive sampling was used to sample Kisumu Municipality administrators. A multistage sampling technique was used to select the owner of the street vending enterprise to respond to questionnaires. Customers who participated in the study were introduced by street vendors who responded to questionnaire. Content analysis was used to analysis qualitative data from focus group discussion and interviews through creating themes, categories and patterns. Quantitative data was analyzed using percentages, multinomial logistic regression and Pearson Chi square (χ2 ). Street vendors were found to sell food, personal items, household items, household suppliers, hardware items and services at comparatively cheaper price and conveniently to the customers. Street vendors were found to operate from Monday to Sunday while Saturday and Sunday records the highest number of street vendors. The peak periods for street vendingwere between 10.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m. and 4.00 p.m. and 8.00 p.m. The vendors were found to station themselves on pavements, near a bank and business premises, hospital, parks and any open space with high pedestrian traffic when selling. Vendors were found to sell different products at different locations. The locations that street vendors took up were influenced by attractiveness, accessibility, number of customers, competitors, allocation by municipality and original site where vendor started. The study concludes that street vendors identify the locations where they vend on their own without any guideline. The sites taken at random by vendors make the pattern of street vending look haphazard within the urban built environment. This make Local Authorities view street vending as disorganized activity giving bad image to the town. The main study recommendation is that there is need to guide planning of street vending to integrate them in urban land use.