Street food in New York City: Perspectives from a holiday market

Abstract

Street food is an ancient phenomenon that has recently drawn increased interest, specially in urban environments. Drawing from qualitative interviews with 30 street food vendors in New York City, the objective of this research is to study the perceptions of street food vendors and investigate their place in urban foodscapes. This was analysed through the case of a street food event at Bryant Park. Results show that street food in the twentieth-first century emerges as a significant part of city profiles where the most relevant issues, from the vendors’ perspective, are the role of public urban spaces, the increasing appeal of street food for people which includes a growing tourism demand, and the social media as a crucial factor to increase revenue. The work considers the implications of international street food events as an avenue for shaping public space and tourism practices in contemporary cities.