With the bill for hawkers on the anvil, soon set to become an act in parliament, can we not begin to prepare a blue print for integrating the same in city’s overall development plan? Hawkers have tremendous sense of place, product and pricing for their sustenance. Maximum exposure to potential consumers and yet least interference to existing system, collective demand of the consumers at a given time and place and the price range at which it may be afforded by potential profile of user group are well understood by the hawkers and such considerations very aptly reflect in their very existence as it is.

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It would be worthwhile to study these existing nodes of hawker concentration and perhaps consolidate them with required planning inputs and legal frame works. It would also be equally prudent to plan and provide for these in newer developments right from the conceptual planning stage. For example, it becomes an integrated dimension of every town planning scheme.

It would be also timely to even start developing typologies for such activities. One typology to consider could be under the over-bridges. With more flyovers getting built, it is emerging to be the new urban artefacts of any town and cities. Flyovers inherently also imply intensity and volume of people and foot fall. This also complies with the presumed need for certain utility provisions. Thus if we overlay all these scenarios, vending zones integrated to such traffic elements become most conceivable typology. If derived so, it can then become a basic design brief for bridges and flyovers to plan them integrally and thereby resolve traffic-related issues as well as satisfy functional, infrastructural, economic and aesthetic demands.

Yet another typology to derive is the linear open spaces along the roads. A classic case to observe is the thin strip of ambiguous open space along the road from Nehrunagar circle to Jhansi ki Rani statue. With the city road of important hierarchy, with provision of bus stops for city and state transport, with recreational facilities in the vicinity among other factors, it becomes the most sought after location for spontaneous activities. No wonder the parallel city spots it and already thrives through it. Conversely, the linear open spaces fenced from all sides, as they exist now, have remained unused.

If these could be always designed as activity and cultural zones with informal commerce, recreation and leisure as combined dimension would make the city a hub of culture and activity. Complimenting, rather than challenging, each other. For example, traditionally temple sites have always remained a favourite place for vegetable vending and seasonal or ritual object vending, proving convenient both to people and informal commerce. Shrinathji is a case in point where chowks and streets near temple are densely occupied early in the morning by tea, breakfast, vegetable and ritual souvenir vendors. During the day, they pave way for vehicular movement and formal commerce. Why can’t stretches like Jhansi ki Rani be developed as tree-sheltered cultural zone with joggers’ track, children’s muse, family picnic point, open-air exhibition ground, internet kiosks, sitting benches for elderly or youth’s nukkads along with informal vending stalls?

Yet another typology is widened footpath with designated stretches of seating, vending as well as planting. In the original proposal for the Bandra-Kurla development it was envisaged and included by mandate in urban design guidelines for each plot owners to provide informal vending as part of the designed road sections, within the pedestrian footpath. 

One more situation important to recognise as typology for informal vending is the neighbourhood parks and gardens. If tonic juices are required by the health conscious joggers early morning, if flowers are required by the religiously inclined near shrines, if recreation largely implies food, why can’t these be integrated and designed as part of the park and plaza development?

And finally, it is important to designate formalised informal activity courts, distributed in every zones of the city. May it be Maninagar station plaza, railway station at Kalupur, Gujarat University grounds, SG Road junctions, Nehrunagar junction, Sardar Patel Stadium and others as designated destinations for flea markets, food stalls and fun points.

It is high time we recognised that these elements are very much part of us, as places and people of India. They are a required entity in all dimensions of policy and planning.

They come up any way because we need them and we need them where they are and as what they are. If not planned for, they come across as encroachment and nuisance; but if planned for integrally, they add vitality, convenience and plurality to our cities.