Many of Bolivia's poorest and most vulnerable citizens work as vendors in the Cancha mega-market in the city of Cochabamba, where they must navigate systems of informality and illegality in order to survive. In Owners of the Sidewalk Daniel M. Goldstein examines the ways these systems correlate in the marginal spaces of the Latin American city. Collaborating with the Cancha's legal and permanent stall vendors (fijos) and its illegal and itinerant street and sidewalk vendors (ambulantes), Goldstein shows how the state's deliberate neglect and criminalization of the Cancha's poor-a practice common to neoliberal modern cities-makes the poor exploitable, governable, and consigns them to an insecure existence. Goldstein's collaborative and engaged approach to ethnographic field research also opens up critical questions about what ethical scholarship entails.

About the Author
Daniel M. Goldstein is Professor of Anthropology at Rutgers University, the author of Outlawed: Between Security and Rights in a Bolivian City and The Spectacular City: Violence and Performance in Urban Bolivia, and the coeditor of Violent Democracies in Latin America, all also published by Duke University Press.

Reviews
"... a cogent and compelling critique of how the move toward neoliberal economic policies has affected the lives of formal (those with fixed stalls) and informal (street) vendors." -- Arthur D. Murphy * American Ethnologist *
"Weaving the background histories and theoretical discussions throughout the more narrative storytelling presentation, results in a thoughtful ethnography that contributes much to the field of anthropology as well as to the body of literature focused on markets in Latin America."
-- Alana Nicole DeLoge * Bolivian Studies Journal *
"By being transparent about his methodology and research experiences, he successfully breaks down conventions associated with academic writing. The result is a highly readable and engaging ethnography that showcases the daily struggles of men and women in the Cancha. . . . This book will be of value to Latin American specialists from multiple disciplines, including history, anthropology, and political science, as well as students seeking an inside look at the promises and pitfalls of ethnographic research in informal spaces." -- Nicole L. Pacino * Canadian Journal of History *
"Goldstein's narrative writing style, joined with short chapters and excellent accompanying photographs, make this book accessible to students at all levels. -- Kathleen Schroeder * Journal of Latin American Geography *
"The book is a great read for scholars interested in Latin American cities, in issues of the street, in the informal economy, but also for scholars conducting original ethnographic work in diverse urban settings." -- Veronica Crossa * Journal of Latin American Studies *
"Goldstein's book is a must read for all students of informality and politics in cities of the South."
-- Claire Benit-Gbaffou * International Journal of Urban and Regional Research *
"A strong example of engaged anthropology. . . . This is a lovely ethnography that illuminates important elements of 'informality,' markets, and neoliberalism."
-- Miriam Shakow * Journal of Anthropological Research *
"An excellent study and a wonderful read. . . . Goldstein not only covers most of the important detail of a Latin American informal-sector market but does so in a way that allows one to feel the essence of its dynamism, creativity, and truth." -- Peter M. Ward * Latin American Research Review *



Book Information
ISBN 9780822360452
Author Daniel M. Goldstein
Format Paperback
Page Count 352
Imprint Duke University Press
Publisher Duke University Press
Weight(grams) 476g