Street vendors in Bogotá, Colombia, and their meanings of informal work

Abstract

This study analyses the meanings street vendors confer upon informal work. Episodic and semi-structured interviews were used to generate and analyze the meanings and vision constructed by 50 street vendors in Bogotá, Colombia. We organized the data through the analysis of thematic networks, starting with initial categories complemented with categories that emerged during the process. Findings show that street vendors confer meaning upon their work as a service, as the only chance to earn a living, and of their autonomy. They construct meanings of work as individualistic, responsible, and helpful workers. Thus, at the same time that they express satisfaction with what they do, they also express nonconformity and dissatisfaction with not having the opportunity to access other types of work. Despite the existence of stigmas and the negative effects thereof that Colombian society maintains about the work and the presence of street vending activities, street vendors carry out their work out as a dignified lifestyle and they see their activities as honorable and as contributing to the well-being of society. This study seeks to contribute to the debate about the meaning that society and academia form about street vendors, their activities and the workspaces they occupy.

Keywords

• bogota
• colombia
• global south
• informal employment
• internally displaced people
• meanings of work
• networks
• stigma
• street vending
• urban informality
• urban spaces