Bangkok's Street Vendors Are Not the Enemies of Public Space

For a moment, it seemed like Bangkok was going to lose the very street food culture that’s defined the city for decades. Local newspaper The Nation reported last Tuesday that the city was planning to ban food stalls in all 50 of its districts as part of an effort to “clean up” the streets and “return the pavements to the pedestrians.” All would disappear by end of this year—the sweet and sticky aroma of coconut (a staple Thai ingredient), the sizzle of noodles hitting the wok as vendors fire up an order of pad thai, and the chaotic charm that draws some 20 to 30 million international tourists to the city each year.

After a public outcry, garnering media attention across the globe, Thailand’s chief of tourism was quick to clarify. Vendors wouldn’t be totally barred from the streets, Uthasak Supasorn, the head of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, told Agence France-Presse. “Bangkok has some of the best street food in the world, [and] you cannot take it away from the people of the world,” he said. Instead, Bangkok Metropolitan Authority will set more regulations to improve food safety and waste management while enforcing measures to unclog sidewalks from “obstructions” like food carts, chairs, and umbrellas. Already, according to AFP, almost two-thirds of the city’s 30,000 street vendors have been removed or relocated to open up space.