Everyday lived experience and ‘carescape’ of women street vendors: Spatial Justice in Al-Hisba Marketplace, Ramallah/Al-Bireh, Palestine

Abstract

The city’s local markets are essential for daily shopping and nurture traditions, spatial practices, and heritage. This study investigates the everyday lived experiences of Palestinian women street vendors operating in the Al-Hisba marketplace, located in the center of Ramallah/Al-Bireh. It investigates the challenges they encountered in the evolving Al-Hisba, against the backdrop of male dominance and the impediments imposed by the Israeli occupation. Within this context, they struggle to survive and to cope with transformative shifts in marketing trends. These challenges offer glimpses of resilience and opportunities to adapt to emerging informalities, the essential practices of spatial making-do, and a growing network of “carescape.” Employing a qualitative approach and actor-network theory, this study draws on the narratives of women street vendors to unravel their tactics of resilience, the dynamics of their carescape network, and the adaptive practices they employ to sustain their presence in Al-Hisba. The findings illuminate the negotiated spatial opportunities of adaptation in the face of uncertainties within Al-Hisba marketplace. This study also contributes to the realm of cultural studies and human behavior, offering insights that inform urban epistemologies. It underscores the importance of local markets in anchoring cities to principles of spatial equity and sense of place.