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INCLUSIVE PLANNING FOR THE URBAN POOR
International Conference on Urban Planning and Policy Development
Delhi, India

The International Conference on Urban Planning and Policy Development “World Class Cities FOR ALL!!! - Inclusive Planning For The Working Poor “ was hosted by StreetNet International, the National Alliance of Street Vendors of India (NASVI), and the Delhi University Dept. of Social Work, from 14-16th April 2008, in Delhi, India.

The decision to hold the three-day conference was taken by the StreetNet International Council at its May 2007 meeting and was attended by all StreetNet affiliates and representatives from NASVI and SEWA. An extended International Council meeting was held after the conference on the 17 and 18th of April, 2008. The objective of the conference was to change the mindset of the planners and judges and to encourage a move towards inclusive planning for the urban poor and to strengthen the participation and input that street vendors’ organisations make to the planning and policy processes.

The conference was opened by Shikha Joshi, secretary of NASVI , who presented the welcome note and emphasised that various developments at the global level in the name of the beautification of the city with the rise of private companies in the retail business due to globalisation. She said that these have severely affected the lives and livelihood of the street vendors and hawkers worldwide. The conference was formally inaugurated by Prof. Arjun Sengupta, Chairman, National Commission on Enterprise in Unorganized Informal, Government of India (NCEUIS) by the lighting of a symbolic lamp. Nozipho Lembethe, International Administra- tor of StreetNet, introduced each of the foreign delegates to the international conference. Arbind Singh (NASVI) briefly introduced the delegates from NASVI who had travelled from different parts of the country.

Prof. S. K. Tandon, pro-Vice Chancellor, University of Delhi, welcomed all the delegates as a co-host of the conference. Quoting the words of town planner Jane Jacobs it was noted that "cities are vibrant living systems, not the products of grand, utopian schemes, concocted by overzealous planners".

Prof. Sanjai Bhatt, Head of the Department of Social Work, University of Delhi, said that participants had travelled from their countries and towns and villages because of a commitment to the basic values of social justice and human rights. He said in the context of the approaching Common-wealth Games (2010) in Delhi NASVI's call for World Class Cities FOR ALL!! and the demand for inclusive planning that would involve the urban poor in the decisions that affect them in the preparations for the Games was an important proactive step, which deserved full support.

The next speaker Dr. Arjun Sengupta, Chairman, NCEUIS, said a review conducted by the Commission had highlighted the fact that street vendors play an important economic role and that they should be involved in the sub-processes of urban planning.

Renana Jhabvala, President, SEWA Bharat, noted with appreciation the part played by Ela Bhatt whose pioneering work it was of initiating the organisation SEWA and the movement of women workers in the informal economy 30 years ago. She conceived the idea of StreetNet in 1995 and this was taken forward concretely in 2000 when work was begun to do consultative workshops in Asia, Africa and Latin America to lay the foundation for StreetNet and its launch in 2002. Jhabvala said it was a concern that we have seen not a decrease but an increase in development that is ignoring the needs of street vendors.

Bringing up the issue of retail malls which were threatening the jobs of the urban poor, she said that there are two approaches to deal with the issue - one to oppose these and the other to compete. She said that following the protests over retail malls being developed, the government had decided not to grant licences for development to the foreign companies.

Another important consideration was that it is the street vendors who represent the cultural uniqueness of the country, which attracts the tourists, rather than the shopping malls. Lastly, she said as women are being driven out of the unorganised sector in India due to the increase in violence, it has become imperative to have women's markets.

Krishna Prasad Shah, Vice President, NASVI, who spoke next, drew attention to the importance of the life of the vendors in small towns in India and their struggles for basic facilities and the new process of participation in the planning of new 'vending zones'.

Kim Heung-Hyun, President of StreetNet International, concluded the opening session by emphasising the concerns on planning that ignores the basic needs of the poor.
Shared Experiences on Policies and Planning

In Session 2, the participants were divided into two groups to share their country specific experience of policy and planning. Many delegates related how their experience is of being at the receiving end of laws which were passed in another era and as such, these are hopeless in meeting the current needs of the people. There is also ignorance of the issues that affect street vendors, market vendors and hawkers. The call was for laws to be fully implemented and where applicable, to be replaced with new policies in consultation with street vendors' organisations. In some cases, such as in Uganda, it was heard that the attempts to negotiate a resolution to the crisis of eviction with government was successful. Market vendors who were confronted with eviction from the markets as result of urban renewal by a private developor, approached Parliament for assistance. This was successful in putting the issues of the women market traders' vulnerability to loss of a livelihood and hence the importance of the rights to a livelihood on the agenda. Government also halted the sale of public land on which markets are located.

No national policies had been drawn up with the involvement of street vendors' organisations with the exception of India, where the problems of implementation means that in many states street vendors, are still harassed. Broadly, the situation in all the countries for street vendors appeared to be similarly fraught with daily conflicts and difficulty.

In the second session Participation in Planning - Experiences of Street Vendors' Organizations, the following StreetNet delegates were invited to share their experiences.

Orlando Mercado, CTCP, Nicaragua, a street vendor, said that a major struggle took place between the police and street vendor community in 2002. 364 vendors were jailed. It took a two-month period of drawn-out negotiations before their freedom was restored. The main concerns of the street vending community of Nicaragua, were the absence of adequate health facilities, education and social justice. He asked how it was even thinkable that the street vendors who comprise such a large proportion of the population, cannot have a voice in the developmental policies of the State. It is the informal economy that creates about 50% of the Gross Domestic Product and pays 80% of the taxes as against the 20% contribution made by the formal sector.

Martha Santayo, FNOTNA, Mexico, said her parents were also street vendors and they were traumatised by the police atrocities and had to fight for their rights. She said that she believed that it is not only the government which is responsible for the present condition; we should also share the responsibility for our problems where appropriate. She asserted that the street vendor should be treated the same as other working citizens of the country. Street vendors were ready to pay taxes to the government but in return demand fixed places for street vendors in the city as well as social justice and social security for them. She finally said that we must be united to fight for the cause of the street vendors.

Angelique Kipulu Katani, LDFC, Congo, said that the Congo is a big country, rich in minerals and agriculture but with the majority of people living in poverty. In the 1990s the Congo faced a severe economic depression which led to the loss of employment and livelihoods for many. Now approximately 85% of the people are in the informal sector. Even the rest, 15% , are indirectly dependent on the unorganised sector to supplement their income. Initially, she worked for a union whose main objective was to organise the workers in the organised sector. She related how her union had been approached by women who were trading across the border. She negotiated with the authorities who banned the trade because the amount of traffic was allegedly posing a public danger. As a result of her intervention, the women were able to continue to earn a living. There was inhumane treatment of women, confiscation of their property and some were even jailed. As the existing framework of the union did not provide for working with the informal sector workers, the policies and by-laws were modified to accommodate the informal sector. Katani ended by saying that an international platform is required to address issues of the vendors and the current conference is a good effort towards achieving this objective.

Lameck Kashiwa, AZIEA, Zambia said it had been a longprocess getting the state to be involved in the issues of the informal economy worker. However, this need had become more urgent because of the explosive growth of the informal sector and the massive retrenchments after the introduction of structural adjustment policies by the IMF and World Bank. He raised the issue of the failure to consult by the Government. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the European Union and the Zambian Govern-ment, provided that the government consult with the stakeholders i.e. the 'marketeers', in the process of developing a new market for them. After the MOU was reviewed by AZIEA, market organisations intervened to make a formal input on the kind of markets they needed. They listed following priorities: storage, security, electricity, water, garbage collection and management, formal forum for disputes, funds for health and growth, emphasis on open markets, education for 'marketeers' ' needs and so on. He said that the Government must be aware of 'Who we are' and 'What we need' in the informal economy. The current laws of Zambia do not provide a forum to discuss problems with the informal economy as a sector and the lack of consultation remains a continuous struggle.

Sheik Fall, Street Vendor Project, New York, introduced his organisation as one that was envisioned and raised by a street vendor who had eventually taken up the profession of law. He outlined how the street vending community in New York had realised it was important to identify concerns and strategies to create structures that would be used to negotiate with the authorities. The socio-demographic profile of the street vending community in New York is different from those in other nations, particularly Asian, African and Latin American regions. Many of the vendors are foreign emigrants.

Kim Heung Hyun, KOSC, South Korea at the outset explained that KOSC had been formed as result of the struggles of South Korean street vendors in Seoul during the hosting of international sporting events when street vendors had been repeatedly evicted from the streets in preparations for the sporting events. This proved the point that history repeats itself as in both India and South Africa, where international events are being hosted in 2010, the issue is now on the organising agenda. The World Class Cities For ALL Campaign demands of "No evictions without relocation" and for "Social Dialogue" are relevant everywhere. He said that the attitude of the Government has been to reduce the number of vendors to one tenth of their strength in Korea, even if it meant the hiring of gangs to do this. He added that KOSC has a history of 20 years but the organisation has been through a very critical period. The vendors have been making a consistent effort to make alternative proposals to counter the big supermarket and businesses of multinational companies with whom they are forced to compete.

Arbind Singh, NASVI, India, stated that the National Policy on street vendors of the Government of India was adopted in 2004 and implementation at state level is a very slow process in which NASVI is involved. Further revisions have been recommended. Now the Government of India is also considering a Law for Street Vendors which the courts must recognise. Before the law is enacted, he said, that some states like Bhubaneswar and Pune, have proactively introduced the new state policy. In Pune, the policies have failed the interests of the poor; however, the same policy with participation by street vendors is showing positive results in Bhubaneshwar (see below).

In the next session Ajay Narayan, Finance Director of Lease Plan, an international company working in over 150 cities, discussed potential partnerships involving corporate social responsibility (CSR) with the street vending sector in strategies that focused on zoning and land use plans, the demarcation of vending zones, as well as infrastructure, housing, transport and sanitation through cooperation between the government, non-governmental organisations and the corporate sector.

In the afternoon session the participants broke into two groups to share their individual and country specific experiences on changing the mindset of planners, judiciary, executive and legislative organs of the government. Both groups reported that unjust laws and policies that see the street vendor as a 'nuisance' and even as 'criminal', have signalled the dire need for law reform and the need to raise the awareness of those in decision-making positions through a combination of approaches that include making formal approaches through collective bargaining and litigation as discussed at StreetNet workshop on Collective Bargaining in Senegal in 2007, by using the media and also by drawing on the sympathy of the consumers and the public.

Further, a concern was identified that there is the need to organise more effectively for rights to be fully understood, not only by street vendors as a sector, but equally by the courts and the planners who are tasked with interpreting and implementing the law.

Women delegates emphasised the need for equal status of women vendors to be raised by challenging the gender prejudice of courts and planners. Women's gender demands are different from men's, eg demands for childcare, and healthcare as well problems of harassment at work.

On the third day the final session was chaired by Helen Creed from the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection, Government of Western Australia. Anandan P. Menon, Programme Office, ILO cited various advocacy efforts that have been made in India in the past few years to support research and formulation of the national policy. He said that women's role is important and research by the ILO on poverty and rights of street vendors is being done.

Amod Kanth, General Secretary, Prayas (organisation of street children and homeless) was part of the committee formulating the National Policy on Urban Street Vendors of India. Citing the recent and ongoing instance of city renovation for the Commonwealth Games in 2010, Mr. Kanth said that the city is known as the engine of growth and while its growth is fuelled by the labour of the working poor, the moment the city is created, the poor are immediately removed out of sight. He emphasised that inclusive planning was crucial.

Municipal planning for 'Vending Zones'

The presentation of Ashok Kumar Pattanaik, Deputy Commissioner, Bhubaneshwar Municipal Corporation (BMC) looked at the result of the efforts to implement the state-level policy.

Bhubaneshwar, a confluence of modern and ancient traditions, is regarded as a "Paradise for Street Vendors" largely as a result of the successful implementation of the policy by the state. Pattanaik said that Article 19 (I) g in the Constitution of India provides for the running of trade and businessesfrom pavements. He said that the situation of street vending is governed by Bhubaneshwar Municipal Corporation (BMC) with the street vendors and their organisations.

The findings of a survey conducted by AORVA in Bhubaneshwar had found that there were around 17 000 street vendors in the city, but this information is currently being updated.

He said the problems of street vendors cannot be tackled in isolation and numerous programmes have been initiated by the BMC for street vendors. These include:

structures for lodging grievances and regular meetings;
introducing Citizens' Report Card and Citizen's Charter,
timely evaluation;
a data base of street vendors;
a programme of micro-enterprise, linking beneficiaries with banks;
provision of social security;
BMC declaration of new 'Vending Zones' in consultation with the vendors;
planned relocation of vendors in consultation with vendors to alternative trading sites;
on going effort to identify new sites and land for 'Vending Zones'.

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