EXPLORING THE DYNAMICS OF STREET TRADING AS STREET SPATIAL (IN) JUSTICE IN MUSINA TOWN

Abstract

Street trading takes place on the most contested public spaces-streets. Street spaces are therefore sites of spatial
justice and injustice and consequently inclusion and exclusion. This paper explores the dynamics of street trading
as street spatial (in)justice in Musina Town. The study adopts a qualitative research approach. Data were collected
in the form of structured interviews with Musina Local Municipality officials and semi-structured interviews with 30
street traders from Musina Town CBD. The key findings reveal that issuing of trading licenses is a controlled form of
spatial justice, which limits the expansion of street trade and confines the traders to a particular space. The findings
reveal that the ‘‘Right to the City’’ claims depend on the users’ purpose for being in the street. Understanding the
street trading dynamics and nature of space contestations and negotiations by street traders’ and other street users
helps planners to delineate their implications on street spatial justice and stimulates the creation of new innovative
approaches to co-create more inclusive and just spaces with street traders as co-producers of spatially (un)just street
spaces.