Owners of the Sidewalk: Security and Survival in the Informal City.

• Author: Sierra, Luis M.
• Position: LATIN AMERICA - Book review

Goldstein, Daniel M. Owners of the Sidewalk: Security and Survival in the Informal City. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2016.

Daniel Goldsteins ethnography, Owners of the Sidewalk, examines security and economic survival in Cochabamba, Bolivia's markets. Goldstein analyzes the role of the state in creating the informal economy and the place and space of informal marketers in contemporary Bolivia, especially the role of the fixed-post vendors (fijos) and the ambulant vendors (ambulantes) in the Cancha Market. Historically, the Cancha was a marginal area that eventually became the city's most important and popular market. As the twentieth century became the twenty-first, the market also became the site of increasing personal insecurity and danger for vendors and customers alike. It is in this context that Goldstein examines the role of the state in creating and perpetuating issues of security and insecurity for market vendors. The author's methodological and theoretical interventions make this work essential reading for social...