Valparaíso and street vending: Sporadic spatiality and/or saturated spatiality?

Abstract

This article discusses the spatial dynamics of urban appropriations by street vending and socialization of downtown Valparaiso (called “Plan”). The ideas of urban informality and informal economy are discussed to finally focus on street vending and its alleged spatial impact on public spaces. Similarly, it is suggested that formal and informal urban appropriations transform the urban space into a large multi-presence retablo of socialization, showcasing and sales; and furthermore, in a large machine of social and economic exchanges becoming an actual social construction of the public space. To discuss such dynamics, two concepts are suggested: sporadic spatiality and saturated spatiality. The lack of a spatial analysis of these urban appropriations has resulted in a deregulation in land use, leading to a perceived spatial saturation of the public space.