From Meatballs to Souvenirs: Street Vendors' Strategies of Resilience During Revitalisation in Yogyakarta

Abstract

While most studies on street vendors and revitalisation focus on displacement and relocation, this article considers the resilience strategies of Malioboro's street vendors who decided to stay put. It is shown that street vendors who decided not to relocate from Malioboro, Yogyakarta, had different strategies of resilience. Spatio-temporal strategies were identified that circumvent restrictions around place and time to sell. Economic resilience strategies were linked to the type of products sold in order to better fit new standards around how the street should look and feel. Cultural strategies that were encountered had to do with the way products were displayed, the clothes vendors wore, and the display of fixed prices. Finally, informal political strategies were developed to prevent eviction. Some street vendors organised themselves to resist relocation in Yogyakarta. Despite these efforts, in 2022, the street vendors of Malioboro were all relocated indoors, away from the street.