| Abstract | Ever since the dualistic classification of urban economy was introduced in the early
seventies, the concept of 'Urban Informal Sector' generated a great deal of interest among
scholars of several disciplines and development policy makers all over the developing world. The
prospect of utilizing informal sector (IS) enterprises for generation of income and employment
opportunities for the urban poor by providing production and marketing assistance has been a
focus of attention since then. Although there is a large and diverse an-ay of literature available
on assisting informal sector by providing credit, technical assistance, skill development, and
supply of raw materials, tools, etc., only a tiny portion of this literature has given adequate
attention to physical accommodation as part of a production and marketing assistance strategy.
Neither this tiny portion nor the literature on urban environmental management reflects the
realization that accommodating informal sector not only boosts the informal economy and the
social status of its operators but also enables better urban environmental management.
Accordingly, it is argued that accommodating informal sector, both in physical and economic
terms, complement pursuance of the three broad goals of sustainable urban development i.e.,
fostering economic growth, enhancing social equity, and reducing urban environmental problems.
The present study attempts to substantiate this argument and thereby justify why informal sector
should be given physical accommodation and how best the problem can be dealt with in the
urban built-environment. The study proposes that the urban voids existing in inner city areas as
an opportunity available to find solution for this accommodation problem.
Within this framework, the study initially asce1tains the role which the IS can play in
achieving sustainable urban development, particularly under the free market conditions, and then
reviews several restructuring techniques of urban voids which have potential to address the
accommodation problem of the informal sector, by citing several case studies selected from Asian
cities. Lastly, by using two research samples viz., 'accommodated' and 'unaccommodated'
informal sector enterprises drawn from the city of Colombo, Sri Lanka, the study demonstrates
that accommodation is the most preferred form of production and marketing assistance by the
unaccommodated enterprises and if provided, majority of them can financially afford
accommodation under the comparable conditions of the already accommodated enterprises. A
compadson between the two sample groups reveals that the accommodated enterprises have
experienced an upward mobility in terms of certain social, economic and environmental indicators
after getting established in relatively better business premises. Particularly the difference between
the . two sample groups with respect to net income and capital accumulation was found as
statistically significant. These findings lead to the inference that in general, accommodating IS
has a positive contribution in achieving the three broad goals of sustainable development. On the
basis of these findings the study justifies the proposition for accommodating informal sector in
urban voids. A cost-effectiveness analysis reveals that the proposition is economically, socially
and environmentally feasible and desirable. Finally, the study suggests several outline proposals
for action programmes for accommodating info1mal sector, on the basis of these findings. |