Policies of Exclusion: Space, Time, and the Informal Economy in Chicago

Abstract

Encouraged by neoliberal policies promoting entrepreneurialism and free markets, many cities have begun to try and formalize informal industries using schemes including new regulations and licenses. However, given the importance of controlling urban space, many of these policies often continue to marginalize vulnerable workers who operate in public space. Comparing the outcomes of formalization for three industries in Chicago between 2012 and 2015—pedicabs (bicycle operated cabs), food trucks, and street vendors, this article finds that an effect of formalization has been policies of exclusion in the form of spatial and temporal bans, severely limiting where and when informal workers are allowed to operate. The findings suggest that a simplistic emphasis on formalization, without an accompanying discussion on uneven geographies or considerations on the intersection of uses and the users of space, is misplaced.