Everyday use of urban street spaces: the spatio-temporal relations between pedestrians and street vendors: a case study in Yuncheng, China

In contemporary Chinese cities dynamic street vendors are a common presence, frequently occupying spaces where many people regularly walk, leading to functional changes to the streets. This research aim was to examine the everyday use of urban streets at a micro-scale, to explore spatio-temporal relations between the fixed built environment and the ways in which vendors and pedestrians co-produce walkable space and walking behaviours over time. Using field observation and behaviour mapping, we compared spatio-temporal data and spatial patterns of street activities over four daily periods of three urban street spaces in the medium-sized city of Yuncheng. The results indicate that such activities produce environment-behaviour interactions and socio-spatial relations, which leads to an understanding of how city life occurs. The conclusions suggest that vending is important for giving life to urban areas and increasing residents’ physical activity, so that urban governors and designers should consider how to facilitate it better.