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Of Market Vendors and Waste Collectors: Labour, Informality, and Aesthetics in the Era of World‐Class City Making

Of Market Vendors and Waste Collectors: Labour, Informality, and Aesthetics in the Era of... A growing literature demonstrates the significance of aesthetics within processes of world‐class city making, as decisions about who gets to live and work in the city are increasingly made on the basis of codes of appearance. However, less attention has been paid to how such codes are (re)produced and (re)directed by informal workers and their organisations in everyday practice. Drawing upon a multisided ethnography in Kampala and Delhi, this paper explores the ways in which market vendors and waste collectors have responded to the proliferation of three aesthetic technologies: the identity card, the uniform, and the code of conduct. We show that workers have appropriated these technologies in creative ways in order to defend their livelihoods against the threat of displacement. However, this act of appropriation has come at the cost of the exclusion of the more vulnerable workers, who now find their activities policed not only by the state but also by a range of non‐state organisations. These findings contribute to debates on labour organisation and world‐class city making by demonstrating the ways in which aesthetic rationalities emerge through an encounter with the tactics of everyday life. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Antipode Wiley

Of Market Vendors and Waste Collectors: Labour, Informality, and Aesthetics in the Era of World‐Class City Making

Luthra, Aman; Monteith, William
Antipode , Volume 55 (4) – Jul 1, 2023
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21 pages

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References (60)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
Antipode © 2023 Antipode Foundation Ltd
ISSN
0066-4812
eISSN
1467-8330
DOI
10.1111/anti.12784
Publisher site
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Abstract

A growing literature demonstrates the significance of aesthetics within processes of world‐class city making, as decisions about who gets to live and work in the city are increasingly made on the basis of codes of appearance. However, less attention has been paid to how such codes are (re)produced and (re)directed by informal workers and their organisations in everyday practice. Drawing upon a multisided ethnography in Kampala and Delhi, this paper explores the ways in which market vendors and waste collectors have responded to the proliferation of three aesthetic technologies: the identity card, the uniform, and the code of conduct. We show that workers have appropriated these technologies in creative ways in order to defend their livelihoods against the threat of displacement. However, this act of appropriation has come at the cost of the exclusion of the more vulnerable workers, who now find their activities policed not only by the state but also by a range of non‐state organisations. These findings contribute to debates on labour organisation and world‐class city making by demonstrating the ways in which aesthetic rationalities emerge through an encounter with the tactics of everyday life.

Journal

Antipode – Wiley

Published: Jul 1, 2023

Keywords: aesthetics; governmentality; informality; labour; visibility; work

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