Street Vendor Governance in San Francisco: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

Street vendors in San Francisco have been subject to public space regulations and enforcement justified in the name of improving public safety and health. However, these regulations can negatively affect vendor livelihoods by limiting the territorial location of their activities, leaving policy enforcement largely disconnected from understanding the entrepreneurial aspirations of street vendors. With the emergence of street vendor associations, there is increased push toward creating an equitable planning approach; yet this remains uncharted territory for municipal government, producing new questions about how authorities should interact with street vendors to advance a common good. This thesis examines whether and how organized street vendors in San Francisco might be able to influence regulation to secure more equitable participation in governance and build legitimacy for vending in public space. It argues that without structural shifts in governance, current approaches risk reproducing inequities, calling for new procedures that develop long-term co-stewardship of the public realm.