Flyovers and the reconfiguring of urban space and livelihoods in Lusaka, Zambia

In many cities in the Global South the development of transport infrastructure has become a high priority. New and upgraded roads are often regarded as a means to create the modern urban spaces associated with ‘world-class cities’. In Lusaka, Zambia, approximately 500 kilometers of road infrastructure have been upgraded or newly built in the last decades. Drawing upon Foucauldian notions of ‘milieu’, governing ‘at a distance’ and ‘counter-conduct’, this paper examines how these developments have impacted a section of those working in the vicinity of these new infrastructures. In particular, it explores the ways in which the construction of a new flyover and other interventions in the physical milieu reworked the urban spaces underneath in ways that greatly altered livelihood conditions for street vendors, rendering their activities less viable or impossible. Such changes to the built environment, it is argued, became a new way of governing street vending in the area, making evictions and regular policing unnecessary. The paper details the diverse ways in which the vendors responded to these changes, including their spatial counter-conducts, such as voluntary relocations and increased movement across urban space. As they sought to maintain a livelihood, many also faced new and increased vulnerabilities. The findings build on seventy interviews with vendors and government agencies involved in the creation and managing of the spaces surrounding the new infrastructures.