ABSTRACT
Street vending is an integral part of urban life and economy in most cities of the world, and almost every city in Asia, including Singapore. Yet vendors are often seen as eyesores pursuing undesirable activities. Pedagang kaki lima (PKL), as they are called in Indonesia, are often associated with many problems. The whole informal sector, which includes street vending, is often marginalized, even though it accounts for 72 percent of employment in Indonesia (BPS 2009). In most cases, the authorities forcibly evict street vendors in the name of urban order and cleanliness. In this, the authorities deny existing local practices in favor of the image of a modern, Western-style environment. Meanwhile, the vendors resist eviction and negotiate space for their activities, and continue to be part of the urban society and environment. We will investigate this phenomenon in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
