Challenges in Aligning Population Agenda with Street Food Management for Inclusive and Sustainable Urbanization: Lesson Learned from Street Food Transformation in Thailand

Weerapak Samsiripong, Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University, Thailand
Sirinya Phulkerd, Mahidol University

Population insights are central to urban planning and street food management, which are critical components in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). Underpinned by the Multiple Streams Framework, this study employs a qualitative approach to explore the challenges and opportunities in aligning population agendas with street food management. The findings reveal that there was limited data on the informal sector required for manpower planning and estimation of economic contributions of street food. The limited data led to the exclusion of street food vendors from urban policy design, which exacerbated tensions between street vendors and law enforcement authorities, as manifested in the street food ban rumors. This study highlights the urgent need for research, especially in labor force projection and manpower planning, to provide insights into the contributions of street food vendors to urban foodscapes, thereby informing more inclusive and effective urban food policies.

Keywords: Internal Migration and Urbanization, Spatial Demography, Qualitative data/methods/approaches

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