ABSTRACT

In a city park, where sidewalk vending is legal, there are no vendors. Across the street, where sidewalk vending is against the law, vendors ply their trade in broad daylight. This is a scene from the state of sidewalk vending in Los Angeles, California. Aside from two small zones where it is permitted under heavy regulation, sidewalk vending is illegal in Los Angeles. Yet thousands of vendors continue to operate illegally in the area adjacent to one of the legal vending zones and throughout the city. While legal vending has failed, illegal vending has thrived. What went wrong? What should be done now? Should Los Angeles attempt to revive legal vending by aggressively enforcing the prohibition against illegal vending in the rest of the city? Or should Los Angeles lighten the regulatory burden and broadly legalize sidewalk vending? Does broad legalization enjoy any advantages over the current approach of heavily regulating vending where legal, while generally turning a blind eye to vending where it is against the law?