The informal sector is often seen as being composed of a lump sum of people's failures, or is defined as arising out of limitations in the formal sector itself: It is, as a consequence, looked upon as stagnant. However, the informal sector can also be seen as being constantly built upon and transformed by people 's own organised responses to given situations, often at times of crisis. This article aims to examine street vending as an informal sector activity undertaken by women in general and in the contextof Chilefrom thisperspective.Moreover,women instreetvending challenge cultural valuesandbeliefsthat reinforce the stereotypes. Thus the street as a physical and symbolic space becomes the scenario upon whichl women defy the values which reinforce their subordination.
Recent scholarship contends that the rise of shopping malls, gated communities, and gentrification as well as citizens' withdrawal to the private realm have eroded public life in U.S. and Latin American cities. Malls' suburban location and security policies exclude the poor and restrict free speech; residents and fences in gated communities exclude outsiders; and police and businesses in downtowns and high-rent districts limit poor people's access to public areas. I expand this discussion with an analysis of the accessibility of Santiago, Chile's retail areas, the social relationships present there, and marginalized groups' informal resistance to their exclusion. The city's distinct segregation pattern, transit system, and state-licensed street markets permit greater contact between rich and poor and foster vital public spaces. I adapt Lofland's typology of fleeting, quasi-primary, and intimate secondary relations in public to examine social interactions in street markets, flea markets, and shopping malls. The distinct mix of relationships within these markets reflects the characteristics of users, varying degrees of accessibility to diverse populations, and state policies toward markets. Marginalized groups' informal resistance is pervasive in each setting. In contrast to the dominant view that public space is declining in contemporary cities, Santiago residents are not universally reclusive, antisocial, or reluctant to engage in cross-class public encounters, and the city retains vital public areas. The findings demonstrate that our understanding of public space is incomplete without an awareness of social relationships and informal resistance alongside structural constraints to the accessibility of urban locales.
