A Spontaneous Location Theory and How Street Vendors Acquire Spaces (Case Study: Kampala City – Uganda)

This paper presents a 'spontaneous location' theory to explain the choice and appropriation of s treet spaces by s treet vendors for their private enterprises in the central division of Kampala city. It provides for how s treet space locations are chosen and acquired for vending activities. To attain an appropriate sample size, the concept of saturation was used, whereby respondents were selected based on the type of goods sold, how goods were sold, the s treet occupied, time of vending, gender, age, and spatial dis tribution on the s treets. Subsequently, ۹۰ respondents were sampled from ۳۰ s treets. The selection of s treets was based on the exis ting land uses the intensity of vending, and their spatial dis tribution. In the s tudy, direct observations and interviews were used to collect data. Reference was made to location theories and business location decisions. Results indicate that s treet vendors tend to locate their enterprises on roads and paths with high human traffic that offers a market for their goods. We conclude that the ambiguity of government agencies towards s treet vendors and the audacity of s treet vendors as citizens with rights to urban space could promote more random locations of s treet enterprises and set a s tage for further s treet space use contes tation. To avert further conflict arising from the appropriation of spaces, we recommend that s treets identified by s treet vendors for their s treet enterprises be assessed for feasibility and valorized by city authorities to allow the enterprises to take place and generate revenue for the city.