Displacement and the New Spaces for Informal Trade in the Latin American City Centre

• Published in: Urban studies (Edinburgh, Scotland) Vol. 46; no. 7; pp. 1485 - 1506
• Main Authors: Bromley, Rosemary D.F., Mackie, Peter K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England Routledge Journal, Taylor & Francis Ltd 01.06.2009; SAGE Publications; Longman Group; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: America; Andes. Andean States; Barometers; Bgi / Prodig; Cities; Displacement; Downtowns; Gentrification; Informal Sector; Latin America; Light emitting diodes; Low Income Groups; Market surveys; Markets; Middle Class; Peru; Public space; Residential buildings; Social change; Social classes; Social research; Streets; Tourism; Tourists; Trade; Trade development; Trading; Urban areas; Urban Renewal; Urban studies; Peru; Retail trade; Gentrification; Informal sector; Urban administration; Urban area; Inner city; Location
• ISSN: 0042-0980; 1360-063X
• DOI: 10.1177/0042098009104577

Using evidence from Cusco, Peru, the paper examines the effects of the planned displacement of informal traders from city-centre streets. Although more than 3500 traders were relocated to new off-centre markets, the research identifies the emergence of 'unplanned' alternative city-centre locations for informal trade, especially the new courtyard markets. The municipal-led changes, influenced strongly by concerns to enhance tourism, reveal a process which displays many of the hallmarks of gentrification. Lower-class traders were displaced from city-centre streets for the benefit of middle-class tourists and local people. There was also gentrification of the trading activity itself: by manipulating stall allocation and pricing structures to exclude the poorest traders from the new higher-quality municipal markets. The changing pattern of informal trading can be viewed as an unconventional 'barometer' of the progress of policy-led gentrification, applicable to other cities in the developing world.