Informal vendors, urban relation and field work

A reflection

Abstract

In this article, the author reflects on her field work experiences with informal vendors in Cali, Colombia. Based on this, she reveals, first, her mistakes and fears, but also the challenges and opportunities that can arise during the process. Second, she highlights the ability of these vendors to transform the street, "dangerous" and "hostile", into a safer, more interesting and, above all, an ideal space for socializing. In this way, she proposes to nuance the approaches and preoccupations that predominate in the urban literature on the particularity of the social relations in the cities, as cold, indifferent and formal.