(IN)formal conquers: a critical assessment of manteros’ public space occupation in Barcelona

Abstract

Cities bonded to tourism in the global North are facing a series of issues in their public spaces that have to do with informality, materialized as unofficial street vending. This dynamic phenomenon is generating significant discussions among the civil society through media at the time that policies that attempt to regulate it fail repeatedly. Few evidence of this has been found in literature, so the present research attempts to contribute filling this gap. Hence, it focuses on public space occupation through street vending in Barcelona with the objective to find out the way this takes place -by whom, when and where- and how this modifies public space dynamics, at the time its integration characteristics are seemingly being challenged. Therefore, this research aims at understanding if urban policies towards the regulation of urban space use are a suitable tool to hit this kind of occupation schemes. The qualitative nature of the investigation is supported on ethnographic methods that complement the existing material produced by the local government. For this aim, an extensive body of information has been assembled in form of maps and interviews that shape a first hand assessment executed in a selection of public spaces in Barcelona. The results suggest that the complex situation of the occupation of public space exerted by the manteros of Barcelona cannot be tackled unilaterally. Thus, the research advocates for the implementation of case-by-case strategies, the redefinition of ‘public space’ and the incorporation of new voices to the pre-existing discussions.