A major focus of work falling under WIEGO’s Inclusive Cities project is documenting state and organisational practice that shape the livelihoods of home based workers, street traders and waste pickers.  A particular objective  has been to identify and disseminate urban policy approaches and organizational practices that have resulted in securer livelihoods for informal workers. These are published as WIEGO Briefs, and longer, more analytical pieces as WIEGO Working Papers.

Briefs and Working Papers
Home-based Workers
Many of those who work informally live in informal settlements. Access to shelter, water and sanitation is a critical need, particularly in the case for home-based workers, as their homes double up as their workplace. For home-based workers, appropriate zoning that reflects the productive and reproductive roles of the home is a further concern.

Rusling, S. 2010. Approaches to Basic Service Delivery for the Working Poor: Assessing the Impact of the Parivartan Slum Upgrading Programme in Ahmedabad, India. WIEGO Policy Brief (Urban Policies) No. 1.

India – Sara Rusling outlines the Mahila Housing Trust’s approach to slum upgrading in general and the impact of Parivartan slum upgrading programme in Ahmedabad in particular.

Nohn, Matt. 2011. Mixed-Use Zoning and Home-Based Production in India. WIEGO Technical Brief (Urban Policies) No.3.

India – Matt Nohn reflects on mixed use zoning options in an Indian context.

Street vendors
Street vendors are an integral part of urban economies around the world, offering easy access to a wide range of goods and services in public spaces. India is one of the few countries in the world that has a national street vendor policy.

Sinha, Shalini and Sally Roever. 2011. India’s National Policy on Urban Street Vendors. WIEGO Policy Brief (Urban Policies) No. 2.

India – Shalini Sinha and Sally Roever’s urban policy brief analyses the process of securing this policy, its content and implementation.

Randhir, Kumar. 2012. The Regularization of Street Vending in Bhubaneshwar, India: A Policy Model. WIEGO Policy Brief (Urban Policies) No. 7.

India – In Bhubaneshwar, the capital city of the state of Odisha, street vendors have been incorporated into city planning through the creation of legally-sanctioned, aesthetically pleasing vending zones. Randhir Kumar has documented this case.

Roever, Sally. 2010. Organizing Street Vendors: ‘Gente de Confiar’ Radio Programme, Lima, Peru. WIEGO Organizing Brief No. 2.

Roever, Sally. and Lissette A. Linares. 2010. Street Vendors Organizing: The Case of the Women’s Network (Red de Mujeres), Lima, Peru. WIEGO Organizing Brief No. 1.

Peru – Sally Roever has analysed the Red de Mujeres (Women’s Network) and the Red de Comunicadores (Communicators’ Network) in Peru which are two cases of innovative organizational practices.

Dobson, Richard and Caroline Skinner. 2009. Working in Warwick: Integrating Street Traders into Urban Plans. Durban: University of KwaZulu-Natal.

South Africa – The inner city transport interchange in Durban — the Warwick Junction — has been widely acknowledged as a case of good practice. Richard Dobson and Caroline Skinner detail how a small dedicated team of local authority officials, street traders and their leaders turned the area around – attention is paid to sector support, urban design, and urban management (crime and cleaning) solutions with a view to identifying lessons learned for other contexts.

Waste pickers
Millions of people worldwide make a living collecting, sorting, recycling, and selling materials that have been thrown away. Waste pickers are being increasingly recognised as contributors to the local economy, public health and safety, and environmental sustainability.

Refusing to be Cast Aside: Waste Pickers Organizing around the World contains many of the current better practices in policy and organizing across the globe.

Dias, Sonia M. 2011. Recycling in Belo Horizonte, Brazil – An Overview of Inclusive Programming. WIEGO Policy Brief (Urban Policies) No. 3.

Dias, Sonia M. 2011. Integrating Informal Workers into Selective Waste Collection: The Case of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. WIEGO Policy Brief (Urban Policies) No. 4.

Dias, Sonia M. 2011. The Municipal Waste and Citizenship Forum: A Platform for Social Inclusion and Participation. WIEGO Policy Brief (Urban Policies) No. 5.

Dias, Sonia M. 2011. Overview of the Legal Framework for Inclusion of Informal Recyclers in Solid Waste Management in Brazil. WIEGO Policy Brief (Urban Policies) No. 6.

Brazil – Brazil has made significant progress with integrating waste pickers into municipal waste management systems. Sonia Dias’ four policy briefs outline aspects of this case.

Schamber, Pablo J. 2012. Proceso de integración de los cartoneros de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires. Del reconocimiento a la gestión de Centros Verdes y la recolección selectiva – Español (Waste Picker Integration Process of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. From Recognition to Green Management Centres and Selective Waste Collection) WIEGO Working Paper (Urban Policies) No. 24.

Argentina – Buenos Aires is a case of a city that has progressively integrated waste pickers into urban plans. Pablo Schamber details this case.

Chikarmane, Poornima. 2012. Integrating Waste Pickers into Municipal Solid Waste Management in Pune, India. WIEGO Policy Brief (Urban Policies) No. 8.

India – The trade union of waste pickers Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat (KKPKP) and associated cooperatives in Pune provide another model of integrating waste pickers into municipal waste management. Poornima Chikarmane documents this case.