Doctoral Dissertation Research: Producing Urban Space and the Transformation of Informal Retailing in Delhi, India

发展中国家的大城市正在经历快速的转型，但现有的学术研究往往侧重于城市转型的表现，而不是多个利益相关者之间的先前互动，这些互动决定了城市空间的使用方式和使用者。 这个博士论文研究项目将探讨如何谈判和多个利益相关者之间的斗争，通过在印度德里的非正式零售部门的检查产生城市空间。 非正规零售部门是德里城市贫民的重要生计来源，但它正受到大型零售公司扩张以及将非正规经济活动定为犯罪的分区政策的威胁。 非正规零售商制定适应和抵抗战略来应对这些威胁，与市政当局、邻里协会、房地产开发公司和非政府组织等多个利益攸关方进行复杂的谈判和斗争。 通过对非正式零售商和主要知情人的深入采访，博士生将比较当代印度城市多个利益相关者之间的斗争和谈判如何在德里三个独特的地点产生多样化的城市空间。 这三个研究地点代表了正规零售业扩张的一系列阶段，非正规零售商和其他利益相关者之间的权力动态各不相同。 通过比较三个独特的研究地点，该项目将展示城市空间是如何产生的，而不仅仅是对结果和表现的分析。 此外，还将展示城市贫民如何在全球性的城市转型压力下，创造基于当地的生计策略，以及这些策略如何影响发展中国家独特空间的创造。本项目将分析多个利益相关者之间的谈判和斗争如何影响城市环境的转型。 它将展示城市发展项目和分区政策如何在德里非正规零售业的背景下取得成果。 虽然城市规划者、不断壮大的中产阶级和私营部门公司都在寻求创建一个“世界级”城市，但他们的城市发展愿景威胁到非正规零售商的生计。 该项目将展示非正规零售商为维持生计而采取的适应和抵制战略如何影响城市空间的生产。 它将通过分析那些似乎没有能力科普对其生计的威胁和对其环境施加影响的人的能力，对发展中国家城市化的动态提出新的见解。 这项研究的结果将有助于关于如何平衡两个目标的政策辩论，一个是减少大量边缘化人口的脆弱性，另一个是促进公平的经济增长和稳定。 作为博士论文研究改进奖，该奖项还将提供支持，使有前途的学生建立一个强大的独立的研究生涯。

Megacities in developing nations are undergoing rapid transformation, but extant scholarship tends to focus on the manifestation of urban transformation rather than the preceding interactions among multiple stakeholders that determine precisely how and by whom urban space is used. This doctoral dissertation research project will explore how negotiations and struggles among multiple stakeholders produce urban space through an examination of the informal retail sector in Delhi, India. The informal retail sector is an important source of livelihood for Delhi's urban poor, but it is under threat from the expansion of large retail firms as well as zoning policies that criminalize informal economic activity. Informal retailers develop adaptation and resistance strategies in response to these threats, engaging in complex negotiations and struggles with multiple stakeholders, such as municipal authorities, neighborhood associations, property development firms, and nongovernmental organizations. Through in-depth interviews with informal retailers and key informants, the doctoral student will compare how the struggles and negotiations among multiple stakeholders in contemporary urban India produce diverse urban space in three unique locations in Delhi. The three research sites represent a range of stages of formal retail expansion, with varying power dynamics between informal retailers and other stakeholders. By comparing three unique research sites, this project will demonstrate how urban space is produced beyond the analysis of outcomes and manifestations. It also will show how the urban poor create locally based livelihood strategies in spite of globally induced pressure for urban transformation, and it will show these strategies influence the production of unique space in developing nations.This project will analyze how negotiations and struggles among multiple stakeholders influence the transformation of the urban environment. It will show how urban development projects and zoning policies come to fruition in the context of Delhi's informal retail sector. While urban planners, the growing middle class, and private sector firms are seeking to create a "world-class" city, their vision of urban development threatens the livelihoods of informal retailers. This project will demonstrate how the adaptation and resistance strategies employed by informal retailers to maintain their livelihoods influence the production of urban space. It will contribute new insights regarding the dynamics of urbanization in developing nations by analyzing the ability of those who are seemingly disempowered to cope with threats to their livelihoods and to exert influence on their environment. The results of this research will contribute to policy debates on how to balance two objectives, one to reduce the vulnerability of a large and marginalized population and another to foster equitable economic growth and stability. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.