How accessible are our Urban Spaces? https://morungexpress.com/how-accessible-are-our-urban-spaces 19th August 2025 Small street vendors – predominantly women from neighbouring villages of urban areas – play a vital role in the urban economy by supplying essential daily goods, including seasonal fruits and vegetables, as well as locally sourced and wild produce.
Inadequate infrastructure and mismanagement only compound the daily struggles faced by women street vendors.
Despite their critical role in sustaining the local economy and providing essential goods, these women continue to work under precarious and undignified conditions, with little institutional recognition or support.
Poor and basic infrastructures also create layered disparities and subtle forms of exploitation when it comes to accessing vending spaces even among small vendors. ..Without institutional support or local connections, these itinerant vendors frequently face marginalisation – not only from authorities but sometimes from fellow vendors as well – highlighting the complex hierarchies and inequalities that exist even within the informal economy.
Urban spaces are increasingly becoming indifferent to the presence and needs of women vendors who play a crucial role in sustaining the local economy
There is an urgent need to reimagine urban planning and governance in ways that actively include marginalised communities