ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the regulatory framework for street trading in Senegal, examining the land laws and trading regulations which make legal trading almost impossible, and the tension between political tolerance and administrative crackdown that has characterised municipal policy towards street trading over two decades. Formerly a stepping stone to commerce, where a merchant's children received schooling in trade, street trade is now a permanent activity for many vendors, and there are limited opportunities for young street vendors to graduate into more secure occupations. The legal and regulatory situation in Senegal situates the relationship between street vendors and the state between the illegality and tolerance in defiance of the law. The last land reform, in 2011, radically changed Senegalese land tenure, but does little to help street vendors. The growth of street trading and congestion of the sector poses significant urban management problems.
