The conflict between street vendors and local authorities: The case of market traders in Ankara, Turkey

Abstract:
This book chapter discusses the management of market space in Ankara, Turkey, and the relations between municipal government and the traders’ association. The Chamber of Marketplace Traders (CMT) is a membership based association of the traders that was originally in charge of the distribution of stalls and spatial location of traders in the marketplace. However, local politicians have increasingly started to use stall distribution to expand their access to patronage. As a result a conflict has emerged between the CMT and the city council. The CMT has used strike action to protest against the city council, and more importantly the traders have used their relationships with their customers to spread their message, collecting signatures from their customers to put pressure on the city council.