Organising Stalls, Nurturing Livelihoods

An orderly market is indeed important. However, a living market is far more important. When spatial regulation can go hand in hand with the sustainability of people’s businesses, a city becomes not only neater but also fairer. Surabaya (ANTARA) - Markets always grow in step with the pulse of a city. Amidst the orderly permanent buildings, there is always space that becomes filled with simple stalls, carts, and even mats for trading. In the city of Surabaya, East Java, this space is known as an ‘overflow market’, born not merely from a lack of regulation, but from the meeting of citizens’ economic needs with the constant flow of buyers. This phenomenon has long been a dual face of urban life. On one hand, overflow markets provide access to cheap food, create business opportunities, and drive the family economy. On the other, their presence often encroaches on roads, disrupts traffic, creates sanitation issues, and leads to an unbalanced competition with traders operating officially inside the market. Therefore, organising overflow markets is never as simple as moving traders from one point to another. Behind each stall lies a family’s income, customers built up over years, and a naturally developed economic ecosystem. The Surabaya City Government’s move to prepare around 2,700 empty stalls in markets owned by PT Pasar Surya Perseroda is an interesting approach. The arrangement does not stop at enforcement but is accompanied by the provision of business spaces without rental fees for relocated traders. This policy demonstrates that enforcing regulations can go hand in hand with protecting micro-enterprises. Information regarding the provision of free stalls, including around 570 stalls at the Sentra Wisata Kuliner, as well as supervision to prevent misuse of the stalls, forms part of a strategy that is more comprehensive than mere disciplinary operations. Overflow markets are essentially a mirror of Indonesia’s informal economic dynamics. The Central Statistics Agency shows that the informal sector remains the main pillar of national employment. Millions of small business actors choose to trade with limited capital because it is relatively easy to enter without complicated requirements. Surabaya is no different. The city is the largest trading centre in East Java with very high public mobility. When buyers gather around traditional markets, terminals, or residential areas, traders follow the consumer flow. This is where the fundamental problem arises. Overflow markets develop based on the logic of market demand, while urban planning works based on the logic of spatial order. These two interests often meet in a situation of mutual collision.