Spatial tactics : a case study of street hawkers

Abstract

Conflicts around street space are an everyday occurrence in a modern city, a prominent example of which would be the constant strife between street hawkers and law enforcement officers. Hong Kong is well known as one of the most densely populated modern cities. The Hong Kong government has been regulating hawker activity through limiting licenses and restricting fixed-pitched stall sizes. Under strict surveillance from the Hawker Control Teams, hawkers employ a variety of spatial tactics to avoid prosecution and at the same time maximize their display areas in order to attract customers. The project aims to understand the ways in which hawkers manage and accumulate spatial resources, within the standard boundaries of narrow 3 by 4 ft. stalls. It analyzes the types of spatial tactics applied in stalls, which are the hawkers’ response to tightening regulation, and provides a glimpse into the spatial negotiation and manipulation in the relationships between hawkers and Hawker Control Teams.