Immigrant street vendors who look like lone sellers on a sidewalk are often parts of tight, organized trading networks that span several countries. These connections make their businesses cohesive and effective, letting small traders do what no single seller could manage alone.
A street vendor's table is where worldwide flows of people and goods meet a single city block. Close study of such informal, off-the-books trade sheds light on wider debates about globalization, the informal economy, and how communities in a host country are changing.
Vendors who earn a living on the street are visible and exposed in a way that sheltered workers are not. That exposure can turn deadly, as when police shot an unarmed street vendor.