Vending in Downtown San Jose Perceptions of Small Business Owners About Street Vending by Radha Hayagreev

Vending in Downtown San Jose Perceptions of Small Business Owners About Street Vending Radha M. Hayagreev San JosĂŠ State University Masters in Urban Planning May 2015

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Vending in Downtown San Jose: Perceptions of Small Business Owners About Street Vending.

A Planning Report Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning

San JosĂŠ State University

In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Masters of Urban Planning

By Radha M. Hayagreev

May 2015

Acknowledgements I want to thank all my interview participants without whom this project could not have come to life. I want to express my sincere gratitude to my husband Hayagreev Pattabhiraman who has supported me through every single day of this program. I could have not have sailed through this without the constant encouragement and support of my family. I am sure my father would have been proud of me; it was in his utmost thoughts to facilitate higher

education for the betterment of my career. My mother and sister stand by his thoughts today and also by my side. I have to thank my in-laws who have been magnanimous with their sponsorship and support to me. To my advisor Prof. Asha Weinstein Agrawal, I have become a better researcher owing to the direction you have given my project. I needed the challenge, nudging and clarity to gain perspective of this project.

Table of Contents List of Figures and Tables ....................................................................................................... iv

1.0 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 2 1.1. 1.2. 1.3.

Research Objective .................................................................................................................................. 2 Relevance. ................................................................................................................................................ 2 Report Structure ...................................................................................................................................... 2

2.0 Destination Downtown .......................................................................................... 3 2.1. 2.2. 2.3. 2.4.

San Joseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Downtown Street Vendor Program Area (DSVPA) ............................................................... 3 The Street Vendor Ordinance of San Jose .............................................................................................. 4 Recent Developments to Improve Economic Growth and Investment in Downtown San Jose ........... 6 Informal Economy in San Jose ............................................................................................................... 6

3.0 Informal Economy in Advanced Nations. .............................................................. 8 3.1. 3.2. 3.3. 3.4. 3.5.

Rise of Informal Economy Research in the US....................................................................................... 8 Understanding the Relationship between Formal and Informal Economy. .......................................... 8 Informal Economy and the Local Community ...................................................................................... 11 Key Findings from Literature Review. .................................................................................................. 12 Informal Economy in the US................................................................................................................. 13

4.0 Methodology ........................................................................................................ 15 4.1. 4.2. 4.3. 4.4. 4.5.

Study Design. ..........................................................................................................................................15 Sampling and Procedure. .......................................................................................................................15 Participants .............................................................................................................................................15 Data Collection. ......................................................................................................................................15 Data Analysis. ........................................................................................................................................ 16

5.0 Downtown Businesses and Street Vending ........................................................... 17 5.1. 5.2. 5.3. 5.4. 5.5. 5.6. 5.7. 5.8. 5.9. 5.10. 5.11. 5.12. 5.13. 5.14. 5.15.

Interview Summary. ............................................................................................................................... 17 Participant Introduction. ...................................................................................................................... 18 Sidewalk Uses and Store Patrons. ......................................................................................................... 18 Sidewalk Use Challenges in Downtown San Jose. ................................................................................ 19 Street Vendors and Street Vending. ...................................................................................................... 19 Interaction with Street Vendors in San Jose. ....................................................................................... 20 Sharing the Sidewalk with a Street Vendor .......................................................................................... 20 Influences of a Street Vendor on Formal Businesses. .......................................................................... 20 DSVPA ................................................................................................................................................... 21 Building Culture to Downtown. ............................................................................................................ 21 Formal Businesses as Vendors. ............................................................................................................. 22 Location and Proximity to Customers. ................................................................................................. 22 A Sense of Community .......................................................................................................................... 23 Hurdles to the Downtown Business Community ................................................................................. 23 Study Findings Overview....................................................................................................................... 24

6.0 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 25 6.1. 6.2.

Overview of Findings ............................................................................................................................. 25 Creative Ideas for Vending in Downtown San Jose .............................................................................. 25 ii

6.3. Recommendations ................................................................................................................................. 26 6.4. Study Limitations .................................................................................................................................. 26 Appendix-A â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Consent Form ............................................................................................... 27 Appendix-B: Interview Script ..............................................................................................28 Bibliography ...................................................................................................................... 30

iii

List of Figures and Tables Figure-1: Land-use zoning map showing the extent of “Downtown Street Vendors Program Area (DSVPA)” .................................................................................. 4 Figure-2: San Jose’s Municipal Code’s Peddler Permit Ordinance. ..................................................................... 5 Table-1: Details of the interview participants with the industry and business type. .......................................... 17

Note: The cover photo is by the author.

1.0 Introduction On 26 March 2015, San Jose’s Mayor Sam Liccardo and Councilmembers Magdelena Carrasco and Tam Nguyen signed a memo that included specific recommendations to temporarily waive permit fees for peddlers and street vendors. The memo recommended that it aims to tap a foreseeable $2.7 billion industry and includes peddlers and street vendors as “small businesses,” a first of its kind for the city.1 Two important implications may be derived from the recommendations in the memorandum, which directly relates to this study. Firstly, it identifies and addresses informal businesses, including peddlers and street vendors. This is significant coming from a local government in the United States because so rarely do local jurisdictions address aspects of the informal economy. The second major implication of this memo is the potential changes to the built environment and public realm of the City of San Jose’s “Downtown Street Vendor Program Area (DSVPA).” DSVPA is the study area of this research and is detailed in Chapter 2 of this report. 1.1. Research Objective The primary objective of this research is to explore the perceptions of formal business owners of downtown San Jose regarding street vending. In addition, this research explores their awareness of the DSVPA and their willingness to participate in such programs in the future. In particular, this study was aimed to answer the following research questions: A. How do formal business owners perceive informal businesses and in particular, street vendors?

Sam Liccardo, Magdelena Carrasco and Tam Nguyen, “Temporary Waiver for Peddler Permit Fee and Business License Tax Certificate Fee for Fixed and Mobile Street Vendors.” http://www.sanjoseca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/41684 (accessed April 4, 2015.)

B. How much do small business owners based in downtown San Jose know about the Street Vendor Ordinance in the Downtown Street Vendors Program Area (DSVPA)? C. Do business owners show any willingness to participate in similar programs in the future? Through in-depth interviews conducted with formal business owners, the research questions were explored. 1.2. Relevance. San Jose, the tenth largest city of the United States is also the largest city of the San Francisco Bay Area and the capital of Silicon Valley.2 The nature of commercial downtowns within cities such as San Jose has lost its traditional meaning of being a core economic hub, owing to suburbanization and dissolution of redevelopment agencies.3 Popularly known as a “bedroom community,” 4 San Jose’s recently adopted Envision 2040 General Plan has been received positively within the local community 5 because it shows promising signs of

US Census Bureau, “American Community Survey Briefs. : Employment/Population Ration for 50 Largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas: 2008, 2009 and 2010,” Issued September 2011, http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/acsbr10-09.pdf (accessed October 19,2014.) 3 Allan Hess, “A Vision Still in the Making,” Forum of Design for the Public Realm 15, no.2 (December 2003):20. 4 Stan Ketcham, “Envision San Jose 2040: Shaping the Future,” APA Northern News, September/October 2007, http://norcalapa.org/wpcontent/uploads/2012/05/Sept_Oct07.pdf (accessed September 8, 2014.) 5 Leah Toeniskoetter, “New Blueprint of a City: San Jose’s 2040 General Plan.” November 18, 2011, accessed September 8, 2014, http://www.spur.org/blog/2011-11-18/new-blueprint-city-sanjoses-2040-general-plan. Tracy Seipel, “San Jose’s updated general plan emphasized ‘smart growth, heather communities.” San Jose Mercury News, October 31, 2011, accessed September 8, 2014, http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_19230131. Nathan Donato-Weinstein, “San Jose looks to ditch ‘bedroom community’ status,” Silicon Valley Biz Blog, September 19, 2012, accessed September 8, 2014,

improving the social and economic environment. It is trying to shift focus away from the bedroom community to a vibrant urban center. Post-war US cities, until recent years, were affected by economic forces such as over-regulated policies, high capital costs and policing to enable by-products of mass production such as the shopping malls, automobiles and suburbs to thrive. The inability to compete with these forces has led to the decline of many small businesses too, thus leading the failure and emptying of not only the informal sector but also portions of the socially active and viable formal businesses. 6 This is the current situation of San Jose’s downtown. To describe the shaping of downtown in collaboration with the then powerful Redevelopment Agency, San Jose has followed the ‘ideal’ mixed-use model for downtown districts to achieve the image that Corporate America typically stood for. 7 According to a well known Bay Area based city planner and urban designer John Kriken, … a downtown should contain a balance of open spaces and residential, retail/entertainment, cultural, civic, office, and visitor-‐serving uses, organized into a compact, walkable area so as to maximize amenity, convenience, and economic strength. In the case of San Jose, the means for achieving this model have also followed best practice principles. 8

Although San Jose has invested heavily and followed these principles in its downtown, its current context calls for customized solutions to economic problems rather than following best practice ideals.

downtowns that are built in suburban metropolitan areas like San Jose are also different from those that one would find in large metropolitan areas such as New York, San Francisco or Los Angeles.9 Secondly, we can recognize San Jose as a mid-density type downtown. To achieve mixed-use model in such densities, where a majority of the population still depend on cars poses a challenge in downtown San Jose. Instead of competing with high-density metropolitan areas, ‘San Jose can strive to inculcate a ‘special-role’ for itself. It can serve as the city’s civic, cultural, and visitor-service uses.’ 10 It can also cater to the rising student population, immigrant diversity as well as a growing need for local and green economies within the Bay Area. This study makes an attempt to learn more about San Jose’s downtown to pave way for this ‘special-role.’ 1.3. Report Structure Chapter 2 of this report explains the context of this research based on the history of San Jose’s downtown and past investment. Next, Chapter 3 provides a detailed account of the presence of informal economy in advanced nations such as the United States and Europe. Using a literature review, this chapter sets the premise for this research within San Jose. Chapter 4 discusses in detail the study methodology for this research. Then, Chapter 5 illustrates specific findings from the data collection and finally, Chapter 6 makes conclusions about this study, its limitation and future scope.

There are two main reasons to consider San Jose’s downtown in a customized context. Firstly, with the presence of an airport nearby and high water table, constructing high-rise buildings that are more that 16-17 floors or going below ground for parking structures is not possible. The urban density of

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/blog/2012/09/housingappetite-not-unlimited-for-san.html. 6 John Cross, International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy 20, no. 1, (2000): 42. 7 John Kriken, “Lessons from Downtown San Jose,” Places: Forum of Design for the Public Realm 15, no.2 (December 2003): 30-31. 8 John Kriken, “Lessons from Downtown San Jose,” Places: Forum of Design for the Public Realm 15, no.2 (December 2003): 30-31.

Ibid. 30. Ibid. 31.

2.0 Destination Downtown This chapter title ‘Destination Downtown,’ is named after the General Plan Major Strategy #9, of the City’s Envision 2040 General Plan. 11 This chapter discusses in detail, the geographical extent of the study area namely the Downtown Street Vendor Program Area (DSVPA.) In addition, this chapter explores particular text of the Peddler Permit Ordinance within the City’s Municipal Code. Lastly, chapter-2 gives an overview of the recent developments to improve investment and economic growth in downtown. 2.1. San Jose’s Downtown Street Vendor Program Area (DSVPA) The City of San Jose has identified a specific area in its downtown called the “Downtown Street Vendors Program Area” to be a part of, and governed by the Street Vendor Ordinance or Peddler Permit Ordinance. According to the San Jose Municipal Code number 6.54.035, the DSVPA is described geographically to exist in the following area of San Jose. Figure-1 shows the extent of the DSVPA on a map.

The DSVPA covers an extent of approximately 0.53 square miles in area, as shown in figure-1. This area is adjoining San Jose State University on the east, with the western side and southern side cornered by highway 87 and 280 respectively. The area demarked in a bright red line in figure-1 shows the extent of the DSVPA, created with data from the General Plan zoning document of the City of San Jose. In addition, data from the 2008 memorandum for Peddler Permit Ordinance update was also used to construct the map. With the entire area of the DSVPA designated as Downtown-Commercial land use, San Jose Downtown Association lists a workforce profile of more than 1,300 businesses that are part of the downtown community.13 This study focuses on formal businesses that operate in this specific DSVPA area. It is aimed to investigate the perceptions of business owners in DSVPA and how it aligns to the visions of the Envision 2040 General Plan, particularly Major Strategy #9 Destination Downtown.

“Downtown street vendors program area” means that area bounded by the following streets and portions of streets: to the north, San Fernando Street from Highway 87 to Almaden Avenue, then Julian Street from Terraine Street to 4th Street, then St. John Street, from 4th Street to 7th Street; to the south, Interstate 280, from Highway 87 to 4th Street, then San Fernando Avenue from 4th Street to 7th Street; to the west, Highway 87 from San Fernando Avenue to Interstate 280, then Almaden Avenue, from Julian to San Fernando Avenue; and, to the east, 4th Street, from Julian to St. John Street, then 7th Street, from St. John Street to San Fernando Avenue, then 4th Street, from San Fernando to Interstate 280, except City Hall Plaza which is subject to the provisions of Chapter 13.23 of this Code and shall not be considered as part of the downtown street vendors program area.12

City of San Jose Envision 2040 General Plan. Major Strategy #9 Destination Downtown. 23. (San Jose, 2011) 12 City of San Jose Municipal Code §6.54.035 Downtown street vendors program area https://www.municode.com/library/ca/san_jose/codes/code_o f_ordinances (accessed February 25, 2015)

San Jose Downtown Association, Downtown Workforce Profile, http://sjdowntown.com/at-work/workforce-profile/ (accessed April 4, 2015)

Figure-1: Land-use zoning map showing the extent of the “Downtown Street Vendors Program Area.”

Source: Author’s map, created with data from the City of San Jose’s Zoning map and Council Agenda memo dated 04/29/08, item 9.1c, http://www3.sanjoseca.gov/clerk/Agenda/042908/042908_09.01c.pdf (accessed April 30, 2015.)

2.2. The Street Vendor Ordinance of San Jose According to Title-6 of the San Jose Municipal Code, there are specific and highly restrictive permits given to peddlers who wish to vend goods and services in downtown San Jose. Typically, the Chief of Police designates an approved location for a street vendor/peddler. Prior to vending, all vendors’ need to process licenses and permits with the Department of Police and the City Manager’s office, the responsible agency to issue such permits.

operate from fixed or moving vehicles and locations. They can be selling various types of goods such as food, wares, products, flowers, ice cream, etc. For San Jose, particularly for the DSVPA, a peddler needs to obtain special permits and is assigned a specific location by the chief of police.

Vendors, peddler, peddling and peddler business have been defined in the Municipal Code as indicated in Figure-2 below. To summarize briefly the data from figure-2, peddlers are defined to be those people who are involved in some form of economic activity. They

Figure-2: San Jose’s Municipal Code’s Peddler Permit Ordinance. "Vendor" means a person that sells, displays or offers for sale, disseminates, or provides goods, wares, merchandise, food, products, materials, or any other thing or representation of value to the general public at a fixed location within a special event boundary under an approved location permit issued pursuant to Chapter 6.54 of the code. 6.54.060 - Peddler. Peddler" means any person who participates in peddling. (Ords. 25115, 28534.) 6.54.070 - Peddling. "Peddling" means: A. Traveling by foot, motor vehicle, mobile unit or any other type of vehicle, from place to place, and selling or vending any goods, wares, merchandise, food, products, or any other thing or representation of value on any street, sidewalk, right-of-way, park or other public place; or B. Selling or vending any goods, wares, merchandise, food, products or any other thing or representation of value from a fixed location approved by the city on any street, sidewalk, right-of-way, park or other public place. (Ords. 25115, 28534.) 6.54.080 - Peddler business. "Peddler business" means any of the following: A. A business engaged in peddling; or B. A business engaged in supplying, providing, selling goods, wares, merchandise, food, products, or any other thing or representation of value on consignment to be peddled by another person; or C. A business engaged in supplying, providing, or renting mobile units or motor vehicles for use by another person in peddling. (Ords. 25115, 25598, 28534.) 6.54.100 - Peddler categories. A. This chapter shall regulate the conduct of the following categories of peddling: 1. Pedestrian peddlers; 2. Motor vehicle-based and mobile unit peddlers; 3. Approved location peddlers; 4. Annual or special events peddlers; 5. Arena peddlers; 6. Flower peddlers. B. Ice cream trucks, unless otherwise specified, are regulated under Chapter 6.39 of the code. (Ords. 25115, 28534.) 6.54.110 - Peddler business permit required. A. It shall be unlawful for a person to maintain, manage, operate, conduct, control, engage in or own a peddler business that operates within the city unless the business is maintained and operated in strict compliance with a valid peddler's business permit issued by the chief of police, the regulations issued by the city manager, and in accordance with any other requirements of the State of California or County of Santa Clara. B.A peddler business permit is a business permit for purposes of Chapter 6.02 of the code. (Ords. 25115, 28534, 29253.) Source: City of San Jose, California – Code of Ordinances. Supplement 25, Ordinance no. 29532, “Title 6 – Business Licenses and Regulations, Chapter 6.54- Peddler Permit Ordinance.” Online content updated March 27, 2015. https://www.municode.com/library/ca/san_jose/codes/code_of_ordinances ?nodeId=14367 (accessed April 6, 2015.)

2.3. Recent Developments to Improve Economic Growth and Investment in Downtown San Jose

envisioned goals of destination downtown and “build a more vibrant downtown in San Jose.”18

San Jose’s recently adopted Envision 2040 General Plan recognizes its downtown as a “major center for employment and commercial activities, supported by high density housing. It is also the City’s central location for cultural and recreational activities, a place where people can meet and satisfy the human desire for social interaction.” 14 The urban design policy CD-6.1 of the Envision 2040 General Plan aims to “recognize downtown as the most vibrant urban area of San Jose,”15 and as “the cultural heart of San Jose, providing employment, entertainment, and cultural activities more intensely than in any other area.”16

Out of the most recent developments, two major ones have received much attention among local media, planners and urban designers alike in the San Francisco Bay Area region. The first one is the improvement of the City Hall plaza by the internationally sought after public-life expert, Gehl studio in collaboration with the Tech Museum, San Jose.19 The second one is very recent and it is street life space activation in San Pedro Square Market. Both these projects have been funded by generous grants amounting to $339,000 by Knight Foundation. 20

San Jose downtown include past programs such as the Downtown Streetscape Master Plan (last updated 2003), the Downtown Street Vendor Ordinance (last updated 2008), Property Based Business District (PBID) program of San Jose Downtown Association. The San Jose Pop-up event was created in parts of the downtown to encourage independent businesses to occupy underutilized indoor and outdoor spaces in downtown, including vacant storefronts and shipping container stores.17 While the past few months have seen a rise in workshops and community events that increase the visibility for downtown San Jose, the goals of all collaborating agencies have been to focus on creating vibrant street life in downtown San Jose. In the summer of 2014, three organizations namely San Jose Downtown Association, SPUR and Transform were funded generously to the amount of $433,700 from Knight foundation, to help realize the

Although the many projects discussed above are structured to build vibrant downtown and street life for San Jose, within the context of investments, vibrancy is discussed as economic and social improvement along streets. We must understand it in terms of the revenue generating players such as formal and informal businesses. We need to clarify the role of informal and formal businesses along streets that improve social life for the community. The subsequent chapter explores the role of informal economy in urban street life in the US and the relationship it shares with the formal economy along the sidewalks of such streets. 2.4. Informal Economy in San Jose Besides the DSVPA, the only direct relation that San Jose currently has with the informal economy is the presence of the nations largest flea market, a private property managed by the Bumb family since March

City of San Jose Envision 2040 General Plan. Chapter-5: Interconnected City. (San Jose, 2011) 15 City of San Jose Envision 2040 General Plan, Chapter-4: Quality of Life. CD-6.1 (San Jose, 2011) 16 City of San Jose Envision 2040 General Plan. Major Strategy #9 Destination Downtown. 23. (San Jose, 2011) 17 San Jose Downtown Association Press Release October 24, 2014. Temporary stores ‘pop-up’ downtown. http://sjdowntown.com/wpsite/wpcontent/uploads/2014/11/SJPopUpFinal_10_23_14-2.pdf (Accessed March 5, 2015.)

Knight Foundation Press Release July 8, 2014. “Three Silicon Valley organizations to help build a more vibrant downtown in San Jose with $433,700 in support from Knight Foundation.” http://www.knightfoundation.org/press-room/pressrelease/three-silicon-valley-organizations-help-build-more/ (Accessed March 5, 2015.) 19 Knight blog. “Collaborating to reimagine downtown San Jose.” http://www.knightfoundation.org/blogs/knightblog/2015/1/20 /collaborating-reimagine-downtown-san-jose/ (accessed April 4, 2015.) 20 San Jose Downtown Association Press Release March 31, 2015. “Downtown San Jose garage to receive “facelift” as winner of Knight Cities Challenge.” http://sjdowntown.com/wpsite/wpcontent/uploads/2015/03/SJDA_KCCRelease3_31_15-1.pdf (Accessed April 6, 2015.)

1960.21 This too, has been threatened by the Urban Village Plans around the regional BART station on its neighboring property. While one does not come across any street vendors during a regular working day in downtown San Jose; festivals such as ‘Christmas in the Park,’ marathon 5K runs, music festivals etc. bring in a lot of festival related vendors into downtown. Recent programs and increased investment are coming into downtown programs such as the Pop-up stores, City Hall Plaza public life, etc. but not with specific intent to addressing either the soon-to-vanish flea market and its 2000 odd vendors, nor the increasing homeless population numbers that have been visible in downtown San Jose.

Wikipedia, “San Jose Flea Market”, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Jose_FleaMarket (Accessed on March 5, 2014)

3.0 Informal Economy in Advanced Nations. A brief background about the rise in informal activity in US is discussed in section 3.1 of this chapter. Then, sections 3.2 and 3.3 review research publications in the informal economy of advanced nations, looking at studies published from 1970’s up to the present. These sections discuss two main themes regarding the relationship between formal and informal economies in advanced nations. Firstly, in what ways are formal and informal economies linked? Second, how does the informal economy benefit the local communities in advanced nations? In conclusion, the chapter discusses informal activity in San Jose.

3.1. Rise of Informal Economy Research in the US Although there exists a large number of studies on informal economy in developing nations, this topic has only been recently explored topic in the context of advanced nations such as the US. The landmark document that formally recognized and defined the “informal sector” was the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) 1972 report on Kenya. This document spearheaded a series of discussions and debates amongst researchers and scientists of advanced nations such as United States and Europe to observe the role, importance and impact of informal economy not just in the developing world, but also in the developed world. While the concept of informal economy was researched and worked by the Institute of Development Studies of the University of Nairobi, ILO gave it a broader context and visibility that was instantly picked up by the scholars of the First World.22 The works of the past forty years of research have been significant to understanding informal economy in the US better and also for this study. Urban

Paul Bangasser, International Labor Office, Employment Sector, “The ILO and the Informal Sector: An Institutional History,” Geneva, Switzerland. (2000) Accessed on November 15, 2014. http://www.ilo.int/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_emp/docume nts/publication/wcms_142295.pdf

significance, social and economic impact of informal economy in these studies is detailed in the following sections. Particularly, the findings help validate my study premise and method of inquiry. It also provided significant direction and clarified many assumptions regarding informal economy in the US. The most important significance of this research review came to the forefront while crafting particular interview questions for my study. For example, questions such as “Are there certain types of street vendors that could benefit your business?” was framed in the hope to reveal possible links that could exist between formal and informal businesses. Details of the questions are discussed in chapter-4 and Appendix-B of this report

3.2. Understanding the Relationship between Formal and Informal Economy Under the restriction of review only in advanced economies, it comes as a surprise that there exists an inherent relationship between formal and informal economies in post-industrialized nations such as UK and USA. This review consists of eighteen journal articles written in the past forty years, most of them relating to the US and a couple from the UK context. There is a general consensus among many scholars that research and studies in informal economy must always go in tandem with the formal economy.23

Most studies reveal the nature of study and the dependency while defining the informal economy in their studies. Some of them reflect definitions of informal economy only after making clear the formal economy and its boundaries. Jonathan Gershuny, “The Informal Economy: Its Role is PostIndustrial Society,” Futures: The Journal of Policy, Planning and Future Studies 11, no.1 (1979): 5; Jonathan Gershuny, “Technology, Social Innovation, and the Informal Economy.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 493 (Autumn 1987): 48; John Gaber, “Manhattan's 14th Street Vendors' Market: Informal Street Peddlers' Complementary Relationship With New York City's Economy,” Urban Anthropology and Studies of Cultural Systems and World Economic Development 23, no. 4 (Winter 1994): 373-408;

With just one exception, most of the findings of the eighteen articles have been derived from qualitative research methods such as semi-structured interviews and ethnographic observations. This finding was important to my study because of the three things. Firstly, the DSVPA area, at the time of this study proposal (August 2014) did not have any street vendors conducting their businesses. Secondly, the previously recognized finding of a linkage between formal and informal economy made this study feasible in this area. Owing to an apparent link, feasibility of this study is identified through the lens of formal economy. Thirdly, using in-depth, semistructured interviews as my study method provided rich insight into perceived informal economy in San Jose. The detailed methodology is discussed in chapter 4 of this report. Another finding from the literature review that was equally important was that we could categorize three distinct types of linkages between the formal and informal economy in advanced nations. They are visible and synergic links, invisible and complementary links and distinct and contrasting links as detailed subsequently. 3.1.1. Visible and Synergic link Four studies revealed visible spatial connections and synergic relationships between formal and informal businesses in public places. The spatial connections were between business owners and vendors along a street in New York and factory workers and the community in a post-industrialized town in UK. In Gabers’ (1994) work on New York’s 14th street vendors, he found that street vendors rented floor space outside formal business establishments along a busy commercial street.

Saskia Sassen, “The Informal Economy: Between New Developments and Old Regulations,” The Yale Law Journal Company 103, no.8 (Summer 1994): 2289-2304; Louis Emmerij, “ “The Informal Sector Revisited.” The Brown Journal of World Affairs 11, n0.2 (Winter/Spring 2005): 91-99; Daniels, P.W. “Urban Challenges: The Formal and Informal Economies in Mega-Cities.” Cities 21, no.6 (Winter 2004): 501511 and Carroll Bourg, Review of The Informal Economy in advanced and Less Developed Countries, edited by Alejandro Portes, Manuel Castells and Lauren Benton. Social Forces 68, no.3 (Spring 1990): 969.

There were instances where there existed a mutually beneficial connection between merchants and street vendors from the foot traffic generated by the presence of vendors. This, Gaber concluded, was a “positive synergistic relationship.” 24 The work of Gershuny (1979,1987) in UK reinforces this visibility in the form of goods and services provided to the community.25 Mollona’s work in Sheffield, UK clearly indicates a visible connection between engaged and skilled workers of a factory and the prolific informal sector, in which they were willingly participating on a regular basis.26 All the studies are based on ethnographic observations and in-person interviews. There are a smaller number of observations of visible and synergic links between formal and informal businesses in advanced nations when compared to the studies in the developing world. This can be a potential area for exploration within the informal economy in the US. 3.2.2.

Invisible and Complementary links

Eight studies show that indirect and invisible links exist between formal and informal economies in advanced nations. They exist in the form of subcontracting and outsourcing mechanisms and as shared resources for production of services and goods. Portes and Sassen-Koobs’ work in the late 80’s indicate proliferation of informal activity in the US owing to the restructuring of the manufacturing processes. Indirect subcontracting from large formal establishments to small informal businesses existed in the construction and garment industry. 27 The

John Gaber, “Manhattan's 14th Street Vendors' Market: Informal Street Peddlers' Complementary Relationship With New York City's Economy,” Urban Anthropology and Studies of Cultural Systems and World Economic Development 23, no. 4 (Winter 1994): 375; 25 Jonathan Gershuny, “The Informal Economy: Its Role is PostIndustrial Society,” Futures: The Journal of Policy, Planning and Future Studies 11, no.1 (1979): 5 and Jonathan Gershuny, “Technology, Social Innovation, and the Informal Economy.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 493 (Autumn 1987): 48. 26 Massimiliano Mollona, “Factory, Family and Neighborhood: The Political Economy of Informal Labor in Sheffield,” The Journal of Royal Anthropological Institute 11, no.3 (Autumn 2005): 531. 27 Alejandro Portes and Saskia Sassen-Koob, “Making it Underground: Comparative Material on the Informal Sector in

studies by Robinson (1988) and Snyder (2004) show that formal workers who needed creative outlet resorted to invisible forms of subcontracting arrangements and enjoyed the advantages of being small time entrepreneurs. These types of workers cater to a niche audience owing to highly specialized skills.28 The study by Waldigner and Lapp (1993) in New York also confirms this. Additionally, the study shows links between formal and informal economy to occur in hidden places of production, using shadow labor force or “concealed employment” and in homeworkers.29 While most of these studies show informal activity as a hidden or concealed form of economic activity that lies in the margins of the formal economic framework, it has proven to be socially beneficial when the link is made visible through complementary dependency of formal and informal activities.30 Social benefits are recognized immensely and this will be discussed as a separate theme in Section-3.2. Complementary dependency and links develop when informal activity serves as an economic buffer in unemployment or as additional source of income in low-wage labor markets.31 Besides these solutions to economic conditions, another format of complementary dependency occurs in the form of shared resources or constant access to the formal economy resources such as goods, services, markets, technologies, etc.32 Studies in San Jose by Zloniski indicate the very nature of immigrant-populated regions that have a presence of informal labor activity in main manufacturing processes as well as service industries. This study shows that presence of informal activity has social

Western Market Economies,” American Journal of Sociology 93, no.1 (Summer 1987): 30-61. 28 Cyril Robinson, “Introduction: Exploring the Informal Economy,” Social Justice 15, no. 3/ 4 (Winter 1988): 3-16 and Karrie Snyder, “Routes to the Informal Economy in New York’s East Village: Crisis, Economics, and Identity,” Sociological Perspectives 47, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 215-240. 29 Roger Waldigner and Michael Lapp, “Back to the Sweatshops or Ahead to the Informal Sector?” International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 17, no.1 (Spring 1993): 6-29. 30 Klarita Gerxhani, “The Informal Sector in Developed and Less Developed Countries: a Literature Survey,” Public Choice 120, no. 3/ 4 (Autumn 2004): 267-300. 31 Jan Losby et. al, Informal Economy Literature Review (Washington, DC: ISED and The Aspen Institute, 2002), 11,15. 32 Ibid.

benefits and exists primarily to serve the immigrant community by using shared resources from the formal economy.33 Most studies that reveal invisible and complementary links use interviews to structure their data collection and analysis. This is combined with in-depth analysis of economic trends reveal clues about the presence of informal hidden economies that lie within the gaps of the formal structure in advanced nations.34 3.2.3. Distinct and Contrasting Nature of Formal and Informal economies Two well-known and important studies discuss in detail, the contrasting nature between formal and informal economies. One is the Street Vendor Project report by Sluszka and Basinski, based on a survey of 100 New York street vendors in 2006. This study is very comprehensive of the demographic and economic profile of the New York street vendors. Interestingly, the study reveals problems that the vendors face with business owners on a daily basis. Most formal businesses view the vendors as competition and want to evacuate them. 35 The second study is by Renia and Loukaitou-Sideris (2007), which confirms this finding in historic LA streets. The study reveals a systematic urban policy augmentation to aid the decline and eradication of street vendors in LA during the late 80’s to early

Christian Zlolniski, “The Informal Economy in an Advanced Industrialized Society: Mexican Immigrant Labor in Silicon Valley,” The Yale Law Journal 103, no. 8 (June 1994): 2305-2335. 34 Alejandro Portes and Saskia Sassen-Koob. “Making it Underground: Comparative Material on the Informal Sector in Western Market Economies.” American Journal of Sociology 93, no.1 (Summer 1987): 30-61, Jonathan Gershuny, “Technology, Social Innovation, and the Informal Economy,” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 493 (Autumn 1987): 47-63 and Saskia Sassen, “The Informal Economy: Between New Developments and Old Regulations,” The Yale Law Journal Company 103, no.8 (Summer 1994): 2289-2304. 35 Alejandro Portes and Saskia Sassen-Koob. “Making it Underground: Comparative Material on the Informal Sector in Western Market Economies.” American Journal of Sociology 93, no.1 (Summer 1987): 30-61, Jonathan Gershuny, “Technology, Social Innovation, and the Informal Economy,” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 493 (Autumn 1987): 47-63 and Saskia Sassen, “The Informal Economy: Between New Developments and Old Regulations,” The Yale Law Journal Company 103, no.8 (Summer 1994): 2289-2304. .

90’s.36 The study uses review of historical documents to describe the contrasting nature of formal and informal activity along the sidewalks of LA. While the methodology differs across the studies, it might be useful to explore further the contrasting nature between formal and informal economy in order to define the scope and nature of their existence in the 21st century.

3.3. Informal Economy and the Local Community As mentioned earlier in section-3.2.2, informal economic activity has been found to have many social and economic benefits to the local communities in advanced nations. The presence of informal economic activity provides additional jobs and income to households, provides services to the immigrant/low income populations, develops a sense of culture in the community and provides unique opportunities to specialized skill workers. Out of the sixteen articles reviewed in this specific topic, most of them depended on ethnographic field observations and in-person interviews while a couple of them conducted surveys of street vendors. The studies discuss informal economic activity in the US (New York, LA and one from San Jose) and some from UK. 3.3.1. Provide Additional Jobs and Income Ten studies observe that participation in informal economic activity has led to provision of additional jobs and income to families. A majority of them discuss that the additional jobs are welcomed into the households in the form of providing goods and services to the community at large or as contracting opportunities, which might be seasonal. Cross’s study (2000) and Sluzka and Basinski’s report (2006) find that selling food and merchandise in street markets, farmers markets and flea markets, particularly in smaller communities add to the additional incomes of families participating in such 36

Ehrenfeucht, Renia, and Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris. “Constructing the Sidewalks: Municipal Government and the Production of Public Space in Los Angeles, California, 18801920.” Journal of Historical Geography 33. No. 1 (Jan 2007): 126120.

informal activities.37 Gershuny’s study of 1979 in UK found that informal activity participation provided jobs within households.38 Zlolniski’s work in San Jose (1994) indicates that the informal activities provide small incomes that help balance family incomes and budgets. Sometimes, vending is used as a means to come out of poverty.39 This is an important finding because it lends to more insights into the social structure of certain urban communities. Siblings within the family recommend jobs to each other within informal networks for growth and survival.40 Emmerij’s study also makes similar observations about employment and contracting jobs amongst household and family members.41 Additionally, the study by Losby et. al., (2002) reveals that informal economic activity participation enables women to earn an income while Yohn’s work (2010) elevates it by specifying that it provides opportunity for women to be entrepreneurs.42 3.3.2. Provide Services and Goods to Immigrant/Low Income Populations Six studies observe that the informal activity participation lends itself to providing goods and services for low income / immigrant populations in urban areas. The popular work by Sassen in New York (1994) and Wilsons study (2010) make observations that the growing low-income population in urban areas turn towards affordable informal economy such as vendors for their goods and services. They also observe that a majority of the

Sara Sluszka and Sean Basinski, “Peddling Uphill: A Report on the Conditions of Street Vendors,” The Street Vendor Project of the Urban Justice Center. (2006) and John Cross, "Street Vendors, and Postmodernity: Conflict and Compromise in the Global Economy," International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy 20, no. 1, (2000): 29 – 51. 38 Jonathan Gershuny, “Technology, Social Innovation, and the Informal Economy,” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 493 (Autumn 1987): 47-63. 39 Christian Zlolniski, “The Informal Economy in an Advanced Industrialized Society: Mexican Immigrant Labor in Silicon Valley,” The Yale Law Journal 103, no. 8 (June 1994): 2305-2335. 40 Ibid. 41 Louis Emmerij, “ “The Informal Sector Revisited,” The Brown Journal of World Affairs 11, n0.2 (Winter/Spring 2005): 91-99. 42 Losby, Jan et. al., Informal Economy Literature Review (Washington, DC: ISED and The Aspen Institute, 2002) and Susan Yohn, “The Primacy of Place, Collaborations, and Alliances: Mapping Women’s Businesses in Nineteenth-Century Brooklyn,” Journal of Urban History 36. no. 4 (2010): 411-428.

low-income population comprises of immigrants. 43 Newmann and Burnett’s study (2013) of Seattle’s food truck vendors observe that vendors create cultural landscapes for immigrant community by providing access to local and ethnic food.44 This is supplemented by the study by Losby et. al., which observes that the informal activity caters to “ethnic residential communities.”45 Zlolniski’s study (1994) makes a specific observation of informal dental services, food and merchandize vending that caters only to the immigrant community.46

community.48 Additionally, it contributes directly to the cultural diversity of the neighborhood. 49 In particular Gerxhani’s study in 2004 indicated that social networks of informal economic activity could be used as a possible category for defining the informal sector at large.50 It is important to note that the social benefits to the community, especially when it relates to providing goods and services through participation in informal economic activity, leads to creating closer social ties within the members of the community.

Although there are many studies that confirm informal economic activity rendering itself to immigrant communities in advanced nations, there is scope for more research within such urban realms to dig a little deeper into this specific topic.

Two studies in the recent years by Snyder in New York (2003, 2004) have revealed a new insight about the connection between local communities and informal activity. In addition to the provision of goods and services to the local community, participation in the informal sector provides a unique opportunity for specialized skill workers. Interestingly, the study observes that informal sector participation is viewed as a career strategy for creative and special skill workers. 51 These studies also observe that informal economic activity is used as a way to express personal identity. 52 It will be useful to conduct further research to explore this particular aspect of the informal economy.

3.3.3.

Develop a Sense of Community

Seven studies make specific observations that the presence of informal activity in a neighborhood develops a sense of community. An important study by Sixsmith (1999) observes that informal economies create a “sense of belonging to an established neighborhood group of unemployed people” and that those people involved in such activities felt “integrated within their local community.” 47 Mollona’s work in UK (2005) and Sluszka and Basinski’s work in New York, US (2006) observe that the informal economy contributes to the social and ethnic ties and helps develop better social relationships within the local neighborhood and

3.4. Key Findings from Literature Review Although there has been a lot of work on informal economy in the developing world, it is unavailable in much depth for developed nations. Research in the US informal economy spans only about 40 years and this might probably be the reason for its limited exploration. The gaps in research regarding the

Saskia Sassen, “The Informal Economy: Between New Developments and Old Regulations,” The Yale Law Journal Company 103, no.8 (Summer 1994): 2289-2304, and Tamar Wilson, “An Introduction To The Study Of Informal Economies,” Urban Anthropology and Studies of Cultural Systems and World Economic Development 39, no. 4 (Winter 2010): 341-357. 44 Lenore Newman and Katherine Burnett, “Street Food and Vibrant Urban Spaces: Lessons from Portland, Oregon,” Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability 18, no. 2 (2013): 233-248. 45 Losby, Jan et. al, Informal Economy Literature Review (Washington, DC: ISED and The Aspen Institute, 2002): 17. 46 Christian Zlolniski, “The Informal Economy in an Advanced Industrialized Society: Mexican Immigrant Labor in Silicon Valley,” The Yale Law Journal 103, no. 8 (June 1994): 2305-2335. 47 Judith Sixsmith, “Working in the Hidden Economy: The Experience of unemployed men in the UK,” Community, Work and Family 2, no. 3 (1999): 271.

Massimiliano Mollona, “ Factory, Family an Neighborhood: The Political Economy of Informal Labor in Sheffield,” The Journal of Royal Anthropological Institute 11, no.3 (Autumn 2005): 525-548 and Sara Sluszka and Sean Basinski, “Peddling Uphill: A Report on the Conditions of Street Vendors,” The Street Vendor Project of the Urban Justice Center. (2006) 49 Ibid. 50 Klarita Gerxhani, “The Informal Sector in Developed and Less Developed Countries: a Literature Survey,” Public Choice 120, no. 3/ 4 (Autumn 2004): 267-300. 51 Karrie Snyder, “Working ‘Off the Books’: Patterns of Informal Market Participation within New York’s East Village,” Sociological Inquiry 73, no. 2 (Summer 2003): 284-308 and “Routes to the Informal Economy in New York’s East Village: Crisis, Economics, and Identity,” Sociological Perspectives 47, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 215-240. 52 Ibid.

specificities of informal participation can be explored further. There are proven links between formal and informal economies in some regions of US and UK, according to the review. They can be categorized as a. visible and synergic links, b. invisible and complementary links and c. distinct and contrasting links. Since there have been proven links between formal and informal economies, it will be important to gain a first hand exposure to these aspects in downtown San Jose through this study. Owing to a negligibly small amount of vending presence in downtown San Jose, it is important to inquire what the existing business owners think about informal activity, particularly street vending in San Jose. As detailed in Appendix-B of this report, the proven links between formal and informal economies are leveraged to craft particular questions such as “In what ways do you think street vendors can influence your business?” It was common to find varied definitions of the informal economy for advanced nations. In fact, there also seemed much debate about the terms used to describe this phenomenon primarily because of its heterogenic nature. For this particular study, I wanted to explore the connotation of street vending, as formal business owners in downtown San Jose perceive it. This exploration has directly resulted in the question “What comes to your mind when I say ‘street vendor’?” For the scope of analysis, the definition as per San Jose’s municipal code §6.54.070 is used to make a comparison between participant’s perception and city definition of street vendor. 6.54.070 -‐ Peddling. "Peddling" means: A. Traveling by foot, motor vehicle, mobile unit or any other type of vehicle, from place to place, and selling or vending any goods, wares, merchandise, food, products, or any other thing or representation of value on any street, sidewalk, right-‐of-‐way, park or other public place; or B. Selling or vending any goods, wares, merchandise, food, products or any other thing or representation of value from a fixed location approved by the city on any

street, sidewalk, right-‐of-‐way, park or other public place. (Ords. 25115, 28534.)53

The presence of informal economy has resulted in certain social benefits to the local community. The direction that the literatures have encompassed for social benefits is an untapped and unexplored aspect of the 21st century urban form in the US. The literatures have proven results connecting informal economy to many social benefits such as providing additional jobs and income to households, provides services to the immigrant/low income populations, develops a sense of culture in the community and provides unique opportunities to specialized skill workers. Using the existing knowledge that there exist some social benefits associated with informal economy I ask direct and indirect questions to participants. For example, “What, in your mind could be the potential benefits of including street vendors, especially in downtown area of San Jose?” and “ Are there certain types of street vendors that could influence or benefit your business?” Detailed interview script is in Appendix-B.

3.5. Informal Economy in the US There has been a growing interest within the past three decades to understand the role of informal economy is evident with the challenges of urbanization in the global south. But recently it has been observed that there is a presence of such informal activity are emerging owing to the economic restructuring from modern industrial to service intensive, tech-savvy, advanced capitalistic countries such as the United States.54 Informal businesses in the US have been historically concentrated in mega-cities such as New York and

City of San Jose, California – Code of Ordinances, Supplement 25, “Title 6 – Business Licenses and Regulations, Chapter 6.54Peddler Permit Ordinance.” Online content updated March 27, 2015. https://www.municode.com/library/ca/san_jose/codes/code_o f_ordinances?nodeId=TIT6BULIRE_CH6.54PEPEOR (accessed April 4, 2015)

Sassen, Saskia. “The Informal Economy: Between New Developments and Old Regulations.” The Yale Law Journal Company 103, no.8 (Summer 1994): 2289.

Los Angeles. 55 It has been recently observed that there have been some forms of informal activity thriving closer to home, in Silicon Valley. Most of NY and LA’s informal economy are observed as street vendors displaying and selling wares but the ones in Silicon Valley are more service based workers such as janitors, gardeners etc.56 In cases where street vendors exist, we can make empirical observations of their day-to-day activities to gather information first hand. Particularly for San Jose, where street vending policies are restrictive in nature, 57 the resulting environment has eliminated such activities at best. It would be a challenge to use the current context to decipher from direct observation, the role of informal economy. But the opportunity to gather insights about informal participation from existing formal businesses will give us important data for future economic structures for Silicon Valley in particular, and to a large extent, for the nation.

Daniels, P.W. “Urban Challenges: the formal and informal economies in mega-cities.” Cities 21, no.6 (Winter 2004): 502. 56 Tamar Wilson, “An Introduction To The Study Of Informal Economies,” Urban Anthropology and Studies of Cultural Systems and World Economic Development 39, no. 4 (Winter 2010): 343-347. 57 City of San Jose, California – Code of Ordinances, Supplement 25, “Title 13 –Streets, Sidewalks and Public Places: Chapter13.20-Street and Sidewalk Use Restrictions.” Online content updated March 27, 2015. https://www.municode.com/library/ca/san_jose/codes/code_o f_ordinances?nodeId=14367 (accessed April 4, 2015)

4.0 Methodology This chapter discusses detailed data collection methodology as it was conducted for this particular research. The study design, sampling and procedure, participant details, data collection method and data analysis process is described in detail in sections below. 4.1. Study Design A number of studies over the past forty years have researched informal activity in US, yet only a handful of them are focused on street vendors in downtown areas. The existence of a link between formal and informal activity is particularly revealing, because this study will build upon that finding to gain insights in Downtown San Jose, specifically in the DSVPA. It is evident from the past studies that qualitative data collection in this topic proves to be much more enriching and insightful. Although the presence of street vendors is negligible in downtown San Jose, using semi-structured interviews provided this study with a flexible framework to tap potential and important perspectives of formal business owners about street vending.

and appointments and another to conduct the interview. In most cases, the business owner had to be contacted through the employer at the establishment to schedule an appointment. Almost all the owners who were sent emails during the recruitment process did not respond positively. The most effective way to catch a business owner was to meet them in action, at their store, during business hours and on weekdays. All business owners who volunteered to participate were requested to sign a consent form as per university standard rules and were given the option to choose to go off record, if they wished to. All of the participants for this study went on record with everything they said. 4.3. Participants A total of eight business owners were interviewed in the DSVPA area. Details of the participants with their business name, type and industry is shown in table-1 in Chapter-5. Three of them were owners of clothing retail, two of them ran salons, two restaurant owners and one was the owner of a shoe store. In this study, I refer to the owners by their first names.

4.2. Sampling and Procedure

4.4. Data Collection

The interviewees selected for this study had to meet two important criteria. First, they should be owners of business establishments for a minimum of one year. Second, their business must be located in downtown San Jose within the Downtown Street Vendor Program Area.

This study used in-depth interviews to collect data. The primary purpose of these interviews was to identify the knowledge, participation and perception of small business owners regarding the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Street Vendor Ordinanceâ&#x20AC;? in the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Downtown Street Vendor Program Area (DSVPA) in the city of San Jose.

Recruiting for interviews was conducted using a combined effort of convenience and snowball sampling. On approval from the San Jose State University Institution Review Board, all of the efforts of the researcher were focused on walking the streets of downtown San Jose to knock and talk with business owners to obtain interview appointments.

The rationale for employing selected subjects was that they would provide expert information regarding the topics based on their experience of operating out of downtown San Jose.

The typical experience of the interview process ranged form two to three days, one for introductions

Prior to formal interviews, one pilot interview was administered. The purpose of the pilot interview was to assess the effectiveness of the interview guide. Since there was no modification to the guide after the pilot, it has been included as the formal interview fro 15

this report. Formal interviews were then conducted from December 12, 2014 to February 28, 2015. The interviews were of varied timing with a minimum of 8 minutes to a maximum of 24 minutes. The average time for these interviews was approximately 16 minutes. All interviews were inperson, at an appointed time and within the premise of the business establishment. Following IRB protocol, prior to starting the interview, the participant was asked to sign and date a consent form and also mark permissions for audio recording for transcriptions and named and quoted in publications. Appendix-A shows the consent form used to for this study. All participants have consented to all the above criteria of interview and were given a SJSU mug as a token of appreciation. Interviews were conducted using an interview script, which consisted of seventeen questions in total. Appendix-B shows the detailed interview script. The questions were divided into four groups based on the main topic it covers namely, a. current business needs, b. street vendor ordinance, c. city street vendor program and d. future of San Joseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s downtown programs. The questions were open ended so as to use a flexible structure to allow opportunity for clarification and deeper understanding of the participantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s knowledge. The interview questions were divided into four groups. They were 1. Group one of the interview questions was about the current business information, topics that include how long they have been operating their business, their current need and use of the storefront and sidewalk space. 2. Group two has perception related questions for topics like street vendors, vending in downtown

San Jose and influences of vending on their business. 3. Group three has specific questions about the DSVPA, their awareness of it and their willingness to participate in such programs and some specifics relating to the places and types of vending they might consider. 4. Group four was about the how important the business owners felt on the street they were in and a willingness to be involved in future programs such in DSVPA. 4.5. Data Analysis Interviews were transcribed verbatim. The data analysis process included developing a comprehensive table that could provide a platform for both deductive and inductive coding. The table was formatted in a way to answer directly the interview questions but also look for patterns and themes that emerged from the interviews. Each column of the table represented a partipant while each row represented an interview question. Additional comments were included as additional rows in specific columns of the participant who spoke about it. The foremost task was to skim the table to highlight repeating words that were visible across the interviews. Multiple scanning of answers led to grouping of themes that were already pointed out from the existing literatures. Although the interviews do not lend themselves to directly observing the formal businesses and street vendors, it paves way for learning from previous or future interactions with vendors. Additional themes that came about outside the questions asked were in the context of multiple people talking about the topic. This proved interesting and was also included as a finding in this study.

5.0 Downtown Businesses and Street Vending This chapter details the subtleties of all the findings that were learnt from conducting the in-depth interviews with business owners in downtown San Jose. Refer to Appendix-B for the detailed interview script. The topics and questions for this study are leveraged from the literature review (chapter 3) and overall research objective (chapter 1.) All the interviews are analyzed as described in section 4.5 and are discussed as themes and subthemes in this chapter. The themes that are gathered reflect various social and economical influences of informal businesses over formal businesses. Based on the questions detailed in Appendix-B this chapter reveals insightful themes relating to street vendors and vending in general, and how storefronts and sidewalk uses are connected. The themes also reflect key topics such as knowledge of the DSVPA, willingness to participate in similar vending-related program in the future. In addition to the themes generated to cover research questions, additional insights such as challenges and hurdles currently faced by owners in downtown San Jose is revealed. The themes that are discussed in detail are listed below. • • • • •

Sidewalk uses and store patrons Sidewalk use challenges in downtown San Jose Street Vendors and street vending Interaction with Street Vendors in San Jose Sharing the sidewalk with a street vendor

• • • • • • •

Influences of a street vendor on formal businesses DSVPA Building culture to downtown Formal businesses as vendors Location and proximity to customers A sense of community Hurdles to the downtown business community

5.1. Interview Summary Much similar to the literature review conclusions, this particular study makes specific findings regarding the relationship between formal and informal economy the role it could shape in influencing formal businesses, its impact on the community and future programs that include such types of economic activity. The common attributes of all owners, regardless of the length of time they have been in downtown, was that they had a deep sense of community and a keen interest to be an important part of it. Specific to street vending, none of them had heard of the Downtown Street Vending Program Area, they all said they would be willing to work with street vendors under certain conditions. Interestingly, all of them would be interested in taking part in some form of vending activity in the future, if given an opportunity.

Table-1: Details of the interview participants with the industry and business type. First name of business owner Abin Josh Walter Stewart Rich Mark Adam Maria

Name of business establishment

Industry / Type of business

Store type

Duration in San Jose’s DSVPA.

The Dosa Place 4th Street Pizza The Heel Bar Brixton Hue Hibiscus Salon First Article DH Company Diaz Menswear

Service / Restaurant Service / Restaurant Service / Shoe Repair Service/ Salon Service / Salon Retail / Apparel Retail / Apparel Retail / Apparel

Brick and mortar Brick and mortar Brick and mortar Brick and mortar Brick and mortar Shipping Container Shipping container Brick and mortar

2 years 8.5 years 6 years 4 years 2 years 6 months 8 months 30 years 17

5.2. Participant Introduction Table 1 above summarizes the interviewees and gives details regarding the nature, duration and type of business. The first names of all owners will be used to attribute quotes in subsequent sections. Five interviewees belonged to the service industry. All of them occupy regular brick and mortar stores. The restaurant owners are Abin and Josh. Abin runs an Indian restaurant and Josh runs a sports bar/pizza restaurant. Stewart and Rich run salons and Walter runs a shoe repair store. Retail clothing owners are Maria, Adam and Mark. Adam and Mark occupy container store spaces that are converted into retail outlets. Maria occupies a regular brick and mortar store. While all three sell menswear clothing, Maria sells imported Mexican clothing and accessories; Adam and Mark take pride that they source their products locally in the Bay Area, particularly in San Francisco and also from Portland. As detailed in Table-1, the duration of time that the business owner has been operating in downtown San Jose is recorded. Maria is operating for thirty years in downtown San Jose while Mark and Adam, although business owners for fifteen and four years respectively, have occupied downtown locations for the past couple of months as part of the San Jose Pop-up project that opened for the ‘Christmas in the Park’ festival in Fall 2014. Abin and Rich have been San Jose downtown for two years, Josh for eight and a half and Walter for six years. Stewart runs his current salon for four years before he shut his previous salon, also in San Jose downtown for ten years. 5.3. Sidewalk Uses and Store Patrons At the beginning of the interview, just after introductions, I asked questions relating to the current need and use of the sidewalk space, the changes and improvements made to the store and storefront and if the sidewalk space could be used to lure more patrons into their business. The most important finding was that all owners, regardless of what they invested into the sidewalk,

either static signs or storefront redesign, did so to attract more patrons into their store. There is an inherent connection between the storefront and the sidewalk use. These findings also reveal that the storefront and sidewalk use has an influence over the patrons of the business. This can be attributed to be a social connection along the sidewalks. The link also is directly connected to financial feasibility to invest in any activity along the sidewalks. It comes as a surprise that every owner had previously considered some form of informal activity on the sidewalk to lure more patrons into their business. While one of them had participated in such activities, the other seven were contemplating their ideas. All the options discussed were innovative and had a direct connection to the type of business. Maria and Josh found that conducting business on the sidewalk meant an additional employee and that it was financially un-feasible at the given moment. Maria says, That’s happened, we talked about it before but we would need to have an extra employee for that. That’ll be a thought if it wasn’t so expensive.

Stewart and Rich, both ran salons, had no specific need for outdoors servicing. Stewart hinted on considering setting up a stall at a nearby farmers market to attract new customers. Both these owners are aware of their storefronts needing to be transparent to attract attention, to allow people in the neighborhood to look into the store and come inside for services. Rich contemplates further, he says, If we had anything it could possibly be a waiting area on a nice summer day but outside of that I don’t think we could use it.

Interestingly, Walter had considered employing a shoeshine service on the sidewalk. Abin had participated and supported a university led car-wash program outside his store bi-annually. While one half of the participants use the sidewalk space for their current business needs, the other half did not use the sidewalk space for any of their current needs. Out of the four that did use the 18

sidewalk space currently, three of them used it to put out the A-frame static sign everyday. In the case of Maria, she had requested from her owner, large flowerpots to enhance the aesthetic built environment outside her store. The half that did not use the sidewalk for any current needs did, however, discuss other features used to welcome their customers. Mark and Adam, the shipping container occupants, felt that they made a design statement by occupying a non-traditional store space. Abin had recently re-laid his leaking roof with new roof, repainted his restaurant and added a fence. Walter has invested in removing metal grills on his store window and door to make it more welcoming to look inside his store. These four mentioned that they had spent considerable amount of money to redecorate their store, with little or no help from the City. 5.4. Sidewalk Use Challenges in Downtown San Jose While all of the owners had contemplated using or wanting to use the sidewalk outside their store for their business needs, two of them mentioned having faced much trouble with such ventures previously. The trouble that was associated with these particular cases was issues of disorderly use and vandalism. Stewart used to put out a static A-frame sign outside his store that got vandalized. He says; About a year ago we had a sign, we spent $400 on a sign to attract attention and one afternoon some drunken kids were trying to jump over it and they broke it. And so we chased them down and they ran off…if we had a sign that doesn’t get vandalized that would be perfect.

Josh reported having used the outside space for customer seating till about a year and a half ago. He also discussed having many problems with it. It just caused too many problems. Random people that aren’t customers sitting there, not only that, it was loud and with our ABC license, people would drink alcohol there. You had bouncers all the time… people are doing stupid stuff with alcohol and it was bad for us, so we have to pull it out…Not going back to it.

5.5. Street Vendors and Street Vending Early in the interview, just before I described the San Jose’s DSVPA, I asked the interviewees, “What

comes to your mind when you hear the term ‘street vendor’?” The phrase ‘street vendor’ has resulted in different connotations from each business owner. All of the interviewees, except Abin, understood what a street vendor was and gave an immediate response to the question. All participants related vending to food related activities. Street vendors were described as a people who conduct business on the street. Their economic activities are described based on, a. the activity they perform or b. the goods they sold. Vendors were also associated as those that people see in other places nationally and internationally. This was interesting because the interviewees made reminiscent connections with a social or cultural activity when describing vendors in such a manner. While one half of the participants described vendors based on the activity they performed, the other half described them with respect to the goods they sold. In both cases, there is a recurring association of vending activity to food related events. Walter describes street vendors as “people that aren’t there on a regular basis, they just move along, set up a table.” People selling in the street, in a cart, little kiosks, guys pushing carts, cart guy, guys popping flipping grills and baking trays to sell stuff, things that are mobile & living around in the neighborhood and food truck vendors are some descriptions of vendors based on their activity. Five owners described vendors as directly associated with the type of goods they sold. Two of them mentioned merchandise such as sunglasses while most of them described food such as fruit, coffee, bacon wrap, Mexican seasoned fruit cups, ice cream and the most popular, hot dogs. With five out of eight participants describing a vendor as someone they had seen outside of San Jose, particular cities such as Berkeley, San Francisco, Asia, Vietnam and Santa Cruz were mentioned when activity based descriptions were discussed. In two instances, cultural activity was used to describe street vendor. Adam described Mexican food and to Mark; it was a reminiscence of his Asian childhood and the mixed-use culture within those types of streets.

So it’s interesting what they do there, right, I think that’s why it resonates with a lot of Asian countries… they have housing and then underneath they’ll have shops. And people would just pop up in a shop and no matter what it is, right, and I think that’s what I think street vending is and I grew up there like as a little kid I grew up 10-‐12 years old and that’s what I always thought that would be and then I come here and it’s like so quiet here. You know, there’s like nobody on the streets or anything. So having that experience of people, kind of being able to interact with street vendors and all, SF I think, kind of embodies what that really means.

5.6. Interaction with Street Vendors in San Jose All of the owners have, at some point, interacted with a street vendor. Four of them have interacted with a street vendor in San Jose. Mark mentioned San Jose’s ‘Christmas in the Park’ festival, art and wine festivals, where he describes such occasions as “experiences of people interacting with each other and that it is more than just food, its about the wares, about people making art and people doing things.” Adam and Rich describe late night pub-food in San Jose, Rich also describes the arena as a place where people sell merchandise, Josh remembers buying a hot dog from a street vendor in San Jose. 5.7. Sharing the Sidewalk with a Street Vendor Seven out of eight owners were willing to share the sidewalk space with a street vendor on specific conditions. Josh felt that he would be “downright pissed” if there was a street vendor outside his store, he explains “because it was not right for restaurants who rent and pay taxes to have to compete with someone who walks around the street and not pay all the stuff.” The conditions that each owner had for sharing the sidewalk with a street vendor were extremely interesting. Each owner was very cautious about the vendor not being a direct competitor to his business. This was specified from all owners. Some owners were particular about the vendor being a responsible person and doing something constructive. Most of them mentioned being fine with sharing space with food vendor while the restaurant owner Abin would share his sidewalk with anyone else besides food vendors, while the rest of the owners welcomed the idea of food vending. Maria was specific to mention that if there was a particular day of the week for

vendors, it would work well, just so that everyone knew it was the day of the week for such vending activities that everyone attended. Rich and Stewart mentioned sharing the sidewalk depending on a type of person who is constructive and fits into the downtown culture. To quote Stewart, Depends on the business I suppose, if it creates any congestion in front of our storefront, absolutely not, but if it’s a responsible business and it’s concerned about the neighborhood and responsible. Someone that is kind of organized and how they present themselves, professional, someone that’s obviously represents a friendly face, someone who understands the neighborhood, beholden to the neighborhood, kind of understands what type of clientele, why they would be there in the first place. So just that kind of responsibility.

5.8. Influences of a Street Vendor on Formal Businesses Four owners expressed positive influences of having street vendors outside their store, three of them expressed neutral opinions and were particular about the type of vending while one owner said that it was a bad influence to have vendors outside his store. Four owners were of the opinion that having a street vendor outside their store would be positive influence to their business, especially if it makes people pause or stop at their store. Walter and Adam’s experience in downtown have been similar. They both are of the opinion that a street vendor might definitely be positive influence to the foot traffic outside their business. Walter explained It might just be positive because people would stop, people would stop to look at it, it’s amazing that I’ve been here for six years and I still have people that works City Hall and walk past me for the last five or six years and didn’t know I was here. I have a bright red sign outside in front and they didn’t know we were here. They went back to work and talked to people that they had to get some shoes fixed as they would go down the street they didn’t know we’re here and they’ve been here for six years themselves. So whatever makes people stop.

And in Adam’s words: I mean, I sit here all day long and see all these students just walk right by not even like look at our shop; they like keep going and leave. If there was like a food cart or coffee cart or something like that I think that would be great to be in this area, they would set up here regularly.

It gives people a chance to stop in front of my store possibly for a reason other than shopping and even if they’re coming in and looking through it’s giving them an opportunity like have an excuse to stop and look versus coming to my store as like where their destination is. So if they’re passing by for lunch because they’re grabbing a hotdog or like a pretzel or something quickly you know maybe they’ll kind of munch on it and come through my shop and look around like it’s got more points of interest to stop.

While one favored food vendors to lure more folks and thereby more people, the restaurant owner said it was hard for vendors to lure more patrons into his establishment. One owner was of the opinion that the vendors being outside his store would possibly be a negative influence to his business. He says, If someone wants a pizza and then goes to get a hot dog, it might not help us at all. I don’t think I like the look (of having a street vendor outside his business), it kind of cheapens the look of the place, that’s just my opinion, and people have different opinions on that.

5.9. DSVPA Nobody had heard of the DSVPA and the Street Vending Ordinance. When they were shown a map of the place to clarify details regarding this, (Figure-1, Chapter 2.2 of this report) the reactions to the possible outcomes of such a program was revealing. Four of them contemplated about the pros and cons of this program. Walter and Abin were thinking about the resulting consequences to their current business and future participatory role in such a program. In response to considering this program for the downtown in particular, most interviewees mention that they were fine with vending in downtown areas. While most of them clarified that it was fine as long as the vendors do not take away their current business, Josh was neutral to downright curious as to why the City was very keen on outdoor spaces and the like. His establishment is located on East Santa Clara Street, close to one of the recently approved Urban Villages. On further education about the City Hall revitalization and Urban Village plans, Josh contemplated considering the parklet only if a. it was more affordable and b. if he worked around other important high priority tasks on his to-do-list for his establishment. Although acknowledged as a good idea Maria thought that it would result in a nice

environment and bring more people into downtown San Jose. The other four namely Mark, Adam, Stewart and Rich though that the DSVPA and Street Vendor program was great. In Stewarts words, Yeah… if something is done through the channels, and people have supported it, how can I be against that? That sounds great! I am definitely very big on downtown exploring new ideas, to have an identity, make people feel like they’re more a part of something that is developing and growing. People see different vendors and different things everyday, I think that kind of provides a spirit of forward thinkingness I guess, as long as they’re safe, clean and responsible places and areas.

5.10. Building Culture to Downtown All of them vouched that programs under the Peddler Permit Ordinance could be leveraged to suit the novel character, culture and identity of downtown San Jose. In comparison to designating the Flea Market area or Urban Villages as a possible space to host such programs, owners revealed a growing interest in the subject. They had particular notions of how a downtown should be and why such programs suit such spaces; they actually felt invested during this discussion. A handful of remarks are shown below to indicate this invested feeling. According to Walter, Downtown, I mean, I’ve grown up here so I love San Jose and I would like to see it succeed. It’s not succeeding right now, I think by having vendors down here you’re probably going to have a lot of the folks that ride the bus lingering around.

Stewart explains downtown as follows: I think downtown is probably the most condensed walking area in the county so that easily makes more sense. Now Flea Markets are Flea Markets, not everyone goes to Flea Markets. I like them but it’s not for everybody. So when you think downtown, it represents the student culture, the working culture and living cultures.

Adam remarks: Well, I think activating the streets is important for downtown that’s why they wanted to stay within this area trying to create a critical mass downtown. I think something like San Jose Flea Market is also a designated retail kind of center, you know, it’s more street vendor style. Here within itself has its own kind of street vendor

area as well. So it’s similar but with this one you could kind of roam around I guess somewhat.

Rich remarks: I think if you were trying to bring business and activity, people, back to downtown this has been an ongoing process for at least thirty years that I can remember, I’m a local boy and I think that that’s awesome. I think that the way that other particularly restaurants have used their sidewalk space and I assume they’ve been permitted to do so, I think it’s fantastic. Chacos is uses in fact the street space because the sidewalk spaces were small. Cafe Stretch they have an outdoor space, Cafe Foscata uses their outdoor space quite originally, it’s fantastic to see people out.

And Maria says: I think Santa Clara (street) has no room for that, very, very, narrow, there’s lot of traffic. Well, then street vendors if it wasn’t on the sidewalk it would be in the street, right, so that would or maybe the parking, near the parking situation. We depend on our parking, but that would be every day, weekend or every day.

5.11. Formal Businesses as Vendors When asked if they would like to take part in any form of vending activity in the future and if they would consider occupying the sidewalk for any of vending needs, every owner showed willingness to take part in it. Each vendor has specific ideas for the exact nature of activity they would invest in. Five of them were concerned with activity directly benefitting their business, two of them had ideas to use it as marketing purposes while one had already rejected a similar proposal offered to him by the City.

money to large restaurants to open up down here and then they leave. You know, when they don’t give anything to little guys.

While the business owners had good ideas about the type of vending they wanted to participate in, they were conscious of their neighbors, of the community around them besides catering to their economic needs. There were some creative vending discussions by downtown owners, one had plans to open a cart at the farmers market to run a marketing event, another one had interests in organizing a music event around his store while the restaurant owner was clear about vending food, particularly appetizers. Josh, who had been approached by the City to take part in setting up a parklet, had rejected the idea. He had very bad experience in the past with the outdoor seating and considered it a burden. He says, It would be nice to have seating outside, we'd have to have out eyes outside sometimes, but it is a good thing, I’m not saying it a bad thing, you know. We are still downtown San Jose, still lot of bad people in this area, that’s the problem. The reality of it and what the politicians say and everything is little different.

5.12. Location and Proximity to Customers

Walter, the shoe shop owner, wanted to set up a shoeshine stand outside. He described the reasons to choose it as follows;

While six out of eight owners occupied traditional brick and mortar stores, two owners Mark and Adam, occupied a remodeled shipping container in a plaza as their first store. Adam has been in the online business before he occupied the shipping container store as part of the San Jose Pop-up project in Fall 2014. He describes his store as “the non traditional brick and mortar store.” It is important to note the non-traditional store occupancy because both businesses have contemplated being a vendor for their business needs. According to Adam,

I would put a shoe shine stand out there and I’ve looked into it, … it’s just more money, it would take me at least $3000-‐5000 to set it up. That’s what I would do because it won't conflict with anybody else’s business and I say we’ve got to be conscious of everybody’s business. We can’t just go and let somebody put a palm reader out there either because we got one down there, you know, you can’t let somebody doing nails there because we’ve got that too. The food that they sell, I wouldn’t want it to be in front of his (coffee shop owner neighbor) place. We’re all struggling to make it down here and everybody’s doing without city money. I will say that’s one thing that has irritated me is that the city has given

There are a lot of street vendors in San Francisco. Like on Brigade Street, there is a lady with a little stand and has a ton of sunglasses, all that stuff is just really cheaply imported sun glasses that she’s selling for ten dollars and she’s buying for a dollar a piece, or whatever it is. They’re not a small business starting out, I'm a small business and I have a very small footprint that I'm using as my store. I actually thought about doing the street vending thing with a little cart and I would be able to sell my T-‐shirts out of this cart but I'm still a small localized business, that is I'm working with the Downtown Association, I'm working with City Hall and doing things like that. I'm part of the general community not just

some person selling something, so depending on who those street vendors would be I’d rather them be a part of the community either like a San Jose Made type vendor versus just any park person that has some kind of product they’re just trying to sell. You know, there’s a little bit of difference about being a part of the community. I’ll be open to, I think those kinds of things, in San Francisco they have street vendors around just in front of the plaza on a weekly basis or daily basis.

Adam also goes to mention that his store was like “eyes on the street” for the particular plaza he was located in. While Adam views this as a positive contributor to the streetscape, another owner views this as an additional burden to his piling set of things to do on a business day. This might be because of multiple reasons; a. He is faced with more problems having to deal with homeless people and being very close to City Hall, b. He already has a thriving business and might not need to lure more customers into his store at the moment, c. Any additional effort is not considered as high priority unless it generate extra revenue, and he was positive that when he did have extra seating previously, it did not bring in more customers. 5.13. A Sense of Community All the owners felt very important in their community and felt important to their street and area they occupied. They all expressed a sense of awareness of their role in their community, be it as a business owner or just a friendly neighbor. Almost all of them recommended to me new leads to their colleagues and friends for this study. According to Stewart, community and neighborhood connections were very important to the identity of his business and he always made it a high priority. His business had moved closer to residential complexes of downtown from the transit service lines about 10 years ago. He says, We were on First Street for ten years and never really had a presence in the community and here it was pretty evident right away that people will come in. And you know, when people, when your neighbors come in and they tell you they want you to succeed then you know you’re part of the neighborhood. So I think we represent something great in the neighborhood, we’re bright, we’re positive, we know we have tonnes of clients from the neighborhood, there are close to 1000 people in those apartments, so we try where it’s possible to

welcome those people by a great service and we’ve adjusted our hours accordingly. But we also attract people from outside of downtown, which is also good.

Abin, the restaurant owner expressed that he felt very important to the community around him. Not only did his business cater to the local diverse population of residents, but to the Silicon Valley high-tech workers and also the international student community of San Jose State University. While all of them recognized their current role in the community, they did consider street vending in downtown as a good location if it was constructive. When determining possible roles as vendors, they considered the community, downtown as well as their business needs to come up with highly creative vending proposals as discussed in Section 5.7. In many ways, business owners, by belonging to the existing community, can be ideal stakeholders and investors to elevate existing programs in downtown San Jose. 5.14. Hurdles to the Downtown Business Community With an array of willful participation ideas on one side, many issues did sneak up regarding everyday concerns in downtown San Jose. Some of the recurring concerns were that of homeless population problem in downtown San Jose. Rich, the salon owner describes the problems in downtown at night. He says; One of the pieces of advice that we’ve got in opening a downtown location was just maybe you can make friends with the police or make friends with the officers so that when we have something happen or they’re stopping by because downtown the culture changes literally night and day. The sun goes down and it’s a different crowd that comes out on the streets. City Hall closes at the end of the business day and the person who’s walking in front of our shop is now a different person. This is just in downtown; many don’t say that for that reason. I think if there were more attention paid to loiterers, homeless folks, I know that they need some place to be but that’s a whole set of other problems.

Rich, the salon owner describes many problems faced by his customers as well as employees because of homeless people and troublemakers at a bus stop adjacent to his store. He said; 23

The crowd that’s attracted by the bus stop, by this particular bus stop and the smoke shop they tend to congregate, be noisy and I think that it affects the street traffic, the foot traffic negatively. They are afraid to walk by, they’re afraid to check in so our customers parking is very tough in those occasions where our customers have to walk from one of the garages nearby or get super lucky with parking right in front. We end up walking our clients back out to their vehicles … depending on the time of day or who it is we’ll walk them out. And so a street vendor that would assemble that kind of crowd doesn’t help our business hinders our business.

Josh, the restaurant owner, remarked on the homelessness issue and how it affected his current business. He said; Its almost like its that look, for example, when homeless people are outside begging, its a bad look for the restaurant. I kind of feel like, if someone sits outside and sell something our customers just want to come in and eat, come here for a reason, they don’t want to be bothered by anything. That’s kind of my take on that.

Stewart describes the hassle and effort taken to remove or move homeless people outside his store. He says; We have to consider these things, some people don’t know how to deal with homeless people and vice versa, homeless people are protective of their corners and their areas, we had a lady sleeping out here, it took a long time to get her out of here, happens all the time. To me that is a big part of the equation… (I) Don’t want to attract unnecessary attention to this thing.

It was evident that there was a big homeless problem lurking around the corner of every owner’s business life. This is definitely a concern to all planning efforts and programs invested to make downtown a better place to live and work in.

San Jose. Although street vendors are not visible in downtown for direct observation, previous experiences with vendors revealed specific answers from business owners. Similar to previous studies, we can establish an inherent link between formal and informal businesses. The nature of links between formal and informal business are different, when compared to previous findings, this study reveals ‘visible and synergic links’ as detailed previously in section 3.2.1. When discussing vendors on a street, seven out of eight owners were willing to share their sidewalk spaces with street vendors on certain specific conditions. The conditions under which they would establish such links and that it would be a discretionary one between them and the vendor outside their store. Although the awareness of the DSVPA was minimal, most formal business owners were wiling to establish different links with the vendors, if needed. While all of them were more than willing to participate in some type of vending activity, they did discuss the current problems they faced on a daily basis in downtown. These included problems around homelessness, vandalism, cleanliness and politics. Similar to earlier studies, this study reveals a number of indirect benefits to the local community as detailed in sections 5.9 to 5.14. There are certain social influences revealed in terms of pedestrian activity on the sidewalk, that the formal business owner attributes to informal activity. The owners have a deep sense of community in general, to their neighborhood and customer in particular.

5.15. Study Findings Overview My study revealed many anticipated social and economic influences of street vending in downtown

6.0 Conclusion 6.1. Overview of Findings Similar to previous studies, we can establish an inherent link between formal and informal businesses. The nature of links between formal and informal business are different. When compared to previous findings, this study reveals ‘visible and synergic links’ as detailed in section 3.2.1.

must not hinder the existing pedestrian traffic or cause nuisance in the sidewalk. Although it is reassuring to hear about specific conditions and peculiarities of each owner, the overall positive willingness to work with street vendors is reassuring. 6.2. Creative Ideas for Vending in Downtown San Jose

The links are determined from responses relating to the ‘influences that street vendors could bring into to formal businesses.’ One particular finding revealed that street vendors on sidewalks could influences the store. Firstly, they could potentially bring more foot traffic outside the store. Secondly, this could lead to luring more patrons into the store. In fact, the general consensus was that street vendors would slow down traffic outside their store, and it would be a challenge for the formal businesses to lure those people into their stores. Similar to earlier studies, this study reveals a number of indirect benefits to the local community as detailed in sections 5.9 to 5.14. There are certain social influences revealed in terms of pedestrian activity on the sidewalk, that the formal business owner attributes to informal activity. The owners have a deep sense of community in general, to their neighborhood and customer in particular. All the owners were very conscious about belonging to the neighborhood and catering to its community. They felt like they were an important part of their neighborhood and this reflected in the conditions that they were willing to work with a street vendor outside their store. Although they did not mind sharing their sidewalk spaces with a vendor, there were particular conditions in which business owners were willing to work with them. The particular conditions included factors such as, a presentable image of the vendor, particular emphasis on the type of good sold and that it should not compete directly with any of their business or the neighboring stores. In addition, they

All of the owners were aware of the activities that were currently lacking in downtown San Jose, and they had ideas to improve such environments. By being experts of the downtown community and culture, business owners might be ideal resources and stakeholders to elevate downtown public life programs. When exploring the possible inclusion of formal businesses into a form of vending, various aspects of the street dynamics are revealed. Firstly, all of them had very creative ideas regarding the type of vending they would like to perform, if they participated in future street vending programs. Some of them contemplated using the sidewalk to set up a small scale, complementary activity that enhanced their current business as described in detail in section 5.11. The second is addressing the concept of ‘eyes on the street,’ the popular quote from Jane Jacobs ‘Death and Life of American Cities,’ where safety on streets is discussed when more people (and windows) looking out and react to the passer-by on it. 58 The formal business owners reaffirm this. To quote Josh, It would be nice to have seating outside, we'd have to have out eyes outside sometimes, but it is a good thing, I’m not saying it a bad thing, you know. We are still downtown San Jose, still lot of bad people in this area, that’s the problem. The reality of it and what the politicians say and everything is little different.

This above statement, although it reaffirms the concept of safe streets when there are eyes looking

Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities (New York, Random House, 1961), 29-74.

into it, reveals the complexity that it generates to the business owner. Any complementary, extended activity of a formal business is additional expense and responsibility for the owner to run and maintain. This is an important finding to reveal further concepts in the following recommendation section. 6.3. Recommendations The findings from this study can be leveraged into specific recommendations for future planning programs and research opportunities for downtown San Jose. 1. Since there is a direct connection revealed between sidewalk use and luring more patrons into businesses, we can create or design programs to encourage a wide variety of sidewalk uses. Exampled of such uses are sidewalk seating, parklet seating, aesthetic enhancements, outdoor economic activity and street vending to benefit the formal business.

6.4. Study Limitations As with the case of any research, especially qualitative research, a small sample size might be limiting. Although a variety of business owner types have been represented, this study might benefit from including more business owners in downtown San Jose. Considering that the data collection for this study was only eight weeks long, this study might benefit from more time. It is likely that this study might be beneficial to more participating agencies such as the City, SFPD and Downtown Associations, just to dwell deeper into the homeless populations issues that have risen from the findings. Although most participants were not screened for business earnings, income etc. it might be good to analyze such determiners if the scale of this research is expanded to other types of business establishments such as museums, offices, etc.

2. By including the formal businesses and their expertise into downtown public life / street life programs, we can make direct impact on creating the visions of the Envision 2040 General Plan goals and give unique identity, culture and character to the built environment and public realm of downtown streets.

A handful of planners that I spoke to early in this research process were of the notion that street vending as an option for San Jose might never work in the current conditions. This study reveals that street vending might work in downtown San Jose, if designed in consultation with the formal business owners.

3. There is an immediate need to rework the restrictions imposed by the Peddler Permit Ordinance. Using a community-based review, we can include the business owners of downtown San Jose, the displaced flea market businesses and the high-rise corporations of downtown San Jose to redesign the ordinance to be more inclusive of the informal economy.

There exists a gap in research in the topic of formal and informal economy in market streets and street vending. This is true for San Jose in particular, and US in general. A broader sample of business owners in other Bay Area cities, downtowns and market streets should be explored. It would also be a good idea to include the small but negligible number of street vendors that are sprinkled in downtown San Jose.

4. Conduct more studies in downtown San Jose to understand the climate and future visions for downtown. The proximity of a strong urban planning program nearby can be advantageous in this sphere of influence.

More studies need to be conducted to understand the economic and spatial connotations of market streets, from a vendorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perspective. The flea markets, farmers markets are good areas to find such vendors. Particularly, their thoughts about locating along downtown sidewalks can be researched.

Appendix-A – Consent Form IRB Protocol S1404055 | 10 Interview Consent Form Responsible Investigator: Ms. Radha Muralidhara Faculty Advisor: Prof. Asha Weinstein Agrawal. Title of Project: Vision for downtown streets in San Jose: Small business owner perspective. Please read the following information carefully, which explains your rights as a research participant.

1. You have been asked to participate in an interview that aims to ascertain your views about the Downtown Street Vendors Program Area and the Street Vendor Ordinance. 2. You will be asked to participate in a 30 or 40-minute interview during which you will be asked questions that address topics related to point-1 above. 3. There is no anticipated risk to you from participating in this interview. 4. There is no anticipated direct benefit to you from participating in this interview other than the extent to which you value contributing your knowledge and helping local governments as they design and envision vibrant urban downtown centers. 5. This interview will be audio recorded, you can choose to go off the record if you wish (Check the appropriate box below.) I will also be making notes. I will be attributing some of your remarks as quotes in my report. I will be using your name and your business establishment type along with it. You can also opt out of being quoted and being named in the publication. 6. You will be given a token of appreciation for your participation in this research. 7. Questions about this research may be addressed to Ms. Radha Muralidhara at (408) 726-1997. Complaints about the research may be presented to Prof. Hilary Nixon, Chair, San José State University Department of Urban and Regional Planning, (408) 924-5854. Questions about research subject’s rights or research related injury might be presented to Pamela Stacks, Ph.D., Associate Vice President, Graduate Studies and Research, at (408) 924-2479. 8. No service of any kind, to which you are otherwise entitled, will be lost or jeopardized if you choose to not participate in the interview. 9. Your consent is being given voluntarily. You may refuse to participate in the entire interview or in any part of the interview. You have the right to not answer questions you do not wish to answer. If you decide not to participate in the interview, you are free to withdraw at any time without any negative effect on your relations with San Jose State University or with any other participating institutions or agencies. Please check the appropriate box based on your choice. ❏ I agree to be recorded in this interview. ❏ I agree to be named and quoted in the publication. ❏ I would like to go “off the record.”

……………………………………………. Participant Signature …………………………………………….. Participant Name ……………………………………………... Date Place

Ms. Radha Muralidhara Graduate Candidate 2015 Urban and Regional Planning Department San José State University One Washington Square San José, CA 95192-0185

Appendix-B: Interview Script Interview Script I - To be read before interviews: This project is part of my masters’ thesis class in urban and regional planning at San Jose State University. My research project is about understanding perspectives of small business owners’ views and opinions about street vending and specifically about the DSVPA in downtown San Jose. This interview will probably take about thirty to forty minutes. Before we start, let me go over the information about confidentiality, to make sure you understand it and are comfortable with it. First, let me explain that this conversation is being audio taped, and that I will take notes. I will be using your insights and comments as an expert opinion in your business type and will validate the information using direct quotes in my report. I do plan to include your name and affiliation in an Appendix to the report, which lists all our interviewees. Is that acceptable? II - Research Topics (for investigator’s reference) 1. Your awareness of The Downtown Street Vendors Program Area and the Street Vendor Ordinance. 2. Your support for increased or decreased street vending, the cause and reasons. 3. Your willingness to participate in such street vending programs in the future. III - Interview Questions A. Current business 1. How long have you been operating your current business on this street? 2. Do you use the sidewalk space of the street for any of your current business needs?

3. What kinds of changes and improvements have you made to your storefront in order to attract more patrons into your business? 4. In what ways can you use the sidewalk space to lure more patrons into your business? B. Street Vendor Ordinance 1. What comes to your mind when you hear the term “street vendor”? 2. Have you seen, interacted or worked with street vendors in downtown San Jose? 3. If yes, please explain and go to. B.3 and B.4. If no, then go to question no. B.5. 4. Will you agree to share your sidewalk with a street vendor? 5. If yes, go to B.4. If no, go to B.6 6. What types of street vendors would you like to work with? 7. Are there certain types of street vendor business that could benefit your business? 8. In what ways do you think street vendors can influence your business establishment? 9. In fact, Josh reported having used the outside space for customer seating till about a year and a half ago but reported having many problems with it. C. City Street Vendor Program 1. Have you heard of the "Downtown Street Vendor’s Program Area"? What do you think about it? (Explain using a map in Figure-‐1, if necessary. Also explain that the Street Vendor Ordinance governs give information about the program area. ) I am showing you a map of the area designated as the Downtown Street Vendor Program Area by the City of San Jose. This area is governed by the Street Vendor ordinance. The City, along with the permitting offices such as the San Jose Police Department, allows for street vendor permits to vend merchandise and food in this area. They determine the exact location and the type of merchandise. What do you think about this area?

2. What, in your mind could be the potential benefits of including street vendors, especially in downtown area of San Jose? 3. If the city permitted a street vendor to conduct his business outside your establishment, which types of businesses would you welcome? Why? 4. If you were permitted by the city, would you consider occupying space on the sidewalk to display, market or vend your goods/ services on the sidewalk? 5. To what extent would you like to participate in it? 6. Can you give me an example of what kind of activity you would perform as part of the vending, if permitted? 7. Future of San Joseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s downtown. 8. In your opinion, to what extent does your business impact the streetscape of downtown San Jose? 9. How can your business be more involved in contributing towards the DSVPA?

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Street Vending in Downtown San Jose: Perceptions of Small Business Owners About Street Vending.

Credits: Report Author and Primary Researcher Radha M. Hayagreev San JosĂŠ State University Masters in Urban Planning Contact: radhamhayagreev@gmail.com May 2015