Urban Informality and Work In Times of Crisis

Workers in the informal economy make up the majority of the urban labour force in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). In times of local and global crises when formal employment is limited, the informal economy serves as an avenue for livelihood. However, individuals involved in the informal economy often face many challenges, such as urban precarity, economic inequality, and a lack of access to social protection. Recurrent urban challenges have interconnected and intersected with other crises, such as climate change vulnerability, the COVID-19 pandemic, and political unrest, creating a polycrisis. Recent crises have not only cascaded through formal production and employment but have also affected business operations in the informal economy.

This session invites papers that offer theoretical, methodological, and empirical insights on urban informality and work across diverse contexts. The session welcomes research that explores how the polycrisis affects workers in the urban informal economy, job quality, and work-related challenges that produce poverty, inequalities, and threaten urban life. This session is open to papers that make innovative theoretical and methodological contributions in the study of urban informality, urban precarity, inequalities, and urban challenges in order to build resilient, inclusive, sustainable cities and jobs.