What did Bad Bunny’s performance have to do with urban planning?
The street food stand is a ubiquitous sight across Latin America. Do you want warm quinoa on your way to work in Lima? A street vendor has you covered. An empanada outside of a metro station in Medellín? No problem. It’s a part of the urban fabric. It reflects the region’s entrepreneurial spirit. I have to credit Costa Rican urban planner Federico Cartín Arteaga for inspiring that last point.
Municipal planners in Canada can take inspiration for how to breathe life into their streets and centres that have not recovered since the COVID-19 pandemic. It can mean reconsidering zoning and how food permits get issued. There has to be a way to get the balance right between enabling entrepreneurial street food vendors, contributing to street life and proper health and safety standards. Sometimes, people want more than the humble hot dog.
