Social Production of Space: “Lived Space” of Informal Livelihood Operators; the Case of Dares Salaam City Tanzania

Abstract

This paper critically examines the social production of space for informal livelihood activities. While many progressive scholars have embraced the idea of eviction and harassment of the informal livelihood operators, what these scholars have often left unexplored is how informal operators contribute to the social production of space in urban areas. The first half of this paper focuses on the idea of Lefebvre’s conceptualisation of social production of space and the linkage with the informal livelihood activities. The second section focuses specifically on how social production of space is manifested in the operation of the informal livelihood operators. I argue that informal mode of production of space should be considered to inform how spaces for such activities are produced.