The Politics of Street Food

Contested Governance and Vulnerabilities in Dhaka's Field of Street Vending

The Politics of Street Food

Contested Governance and Vulnerabilities in Dhaka's Field of Street Vending

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In Bangladesh, the sale of food in public space is often contested: Street food is needed, but not wanted. 100,000 street vendors sell dishes, snacks, fruits, and beverages in the megacity of Dhaka. Street food is important for urban food security as mobile labourers and the poor rely on cheap, readily available and nutritious food. The authorities argue that encroachments of streets and footpaths are illegal and disorderly, and that street food is unhygienic. They therefore evict the vendors regularly. But the hawkers are somewhat protected through the informal rules of the street. While some of them are highly vulnerable to poverty and police raids, most navigate well through these contested governance regimes and can successfully sustain their livelihoods and contribute to urban food security.


In this book, different conceptual perspectives are integrated on the basis of Bourdieu's Theory of Practice. It provides fresh insights into the role of street food in urban food system and contributes to a deeper understanding of the vulnerabilities of the urban poor, the informal governance of public space, and the dominant discourses on street vending. From a relational and critical perspective, this book captures "the politics of street food" and sketches innovative solutions towards fair street food governance.

"nicht nur für Wissenschaftler empfehlenswert"

Anna Hofsäß, Südasien, 2014/1

"Das Buch ist gut strukturiert und gibt die Resultate einer ausgezeichneten Forschungsarbeit wieder"

Norman Backhaus, Geographica Helvetica 71, 2016/3

"[E]ine anschauliche und fundierte Studie […] sehr lesenwert."

Barbara Degenhart, Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftsgeographie 60 (1–2), 2016

"…ein ausgesprochen lesenswertes und anregendes Werk […], das einen wichtigen Beitrag für die Megastadt-Forschung sowie damit verbundene Fragen nach Informalität und urbaner Governance darstellt. Allen an diesen Themenfeldern Interessierten kann das umfassende und sehr gut ausgestattete Buch wärmstens zur Lektüre empfohlen werden."

Prof. Dr. Boris Braun, Geographische Zeitschrift 102, 2014/4
Series Megacities and Global Change / Megastädte und globaler Wandel
Volume 13
ISBN 978-3-515-10619-1
Media type Book - Paperback
Edition number 1.
Copyright year 2013
Publisher Franz Steiner Verlag
Length XVIII, 386 pages
Illustrations 57 b/w tables, 66 Fotos, 37 Abbildungen und 7 Karten (z.T. auf 16 Farbtafeln)
Size 17.0 x 24.0 cm
Language English