A focus on needs: toward a more nuanced understanding of inequality and urban informality in the global North

ABSTRACT

In recent years, there has been an increase in work on urban informality in Northern cities. While this newfound focus is welcome, a problem arises when it comes to conceptualizing various practices under study. Specifically, I argue for the importance in differentiating the informality of need – defined here as practices undertaken to fulfill basic needs like housing and income generation – from the informality of desire – defined as activities that serve interests of leisure, aesthetics, and convenience. Using the case of the Red Hook food vendors in Brooklyn, New York, I show how ignoring needs can lead to imprecise conceptualizations, misunderstood intentions, and misread political subjectivity when it comes to informal actions. I move on to show how existing theories concerning informality in the North fail to provide tools for understanding the specific characteristics of needs-based informal practice. I close the paper by arguing that need-driven informality deserves its own set of conceptual tools, and I determine that by turning to Southern theory on informality and inequality, Northern scholars can open helpful new pathways for theory.

KEYWORDS:

• Informal urbanism
• informality of need
• street vending
• public space

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Ryan Thomas Devlin received his doctorate in City and Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley. Since then, he has lived and taught urban policy in New York City. His work focuses on the informal use of urban space in cities of the global North, and he is currently working on the issue of informal housing arrangements in New York and its suburbs.

Notes

1 Yelp review page for “Red Hook Food Vendors” https://www.yelp.com/biz/red-hook-food-vendors-brooklyn-2?sort_by=date_asc [Accessed 25 July 2018]

2 NYC Food Guy Why you MUST go to the Red Hook Ballfields and how to get there. [online] http://nycfoodguy.com/2009/05/06/redhookballfieldsintroduction [Accessed 25 July 2018)

3 Soccer, swimming y salsa: the Red Hook Latino food stalls. [online] http://gothamist.com/2004/08/25/soccer_swimming_y_salsa_the_red_hook_latino_food_stalls.php [Accessed 25 July 2018]

4 Interview with Red Hook food vendor, October 2007.

5 Save soccer tacos! [online] https://www.seriouseats.com/2007/06/save-soccer-tacos.html [Accessed 23 July 2018].

6 The threat to Red Hook's street food paradise unites New York foodies. [online] http://www.grubstreet.com/2007/06/the_threat_to_red_hook_unites.html [Accessed 23 July 2018].

7 The absolute last straw: city wants to kick out Red Hook food vendors. [online] http://gowanuslounge.blogspot.com/2007/06/absolute-last-straw-city-wants-to-kick.html [Accessed 23 July 2018].

8 The threat to Red Hook's street food paradise unites New York foodies. [online] http://www.grubstreet.com/2007/06/the_threat_to_red_hook_unites.html [Accessed 23 July 2018].

9 Interview with Red Hook food vendor, August 2007.

10 Interview with Cesar Fuentes, head of Red Hook Vendors Association, March 2008.

11 Interview with Cesar Fuentes, head of Red Hook Vendors Association, March 2008.