Bangkok Street Food Purge to Continue in 2020

Just three years ago, Bangkok had over 683 areas designated for street food. Now, that number has fallen to 175 as the Bangkok metropolitan government has made numerous efforts to clean up the city’s congested sidewalks.

The street food purge taking place in Bangkok is irking local Bangkokians though who view street food as part of the lifeblood and character of the city.

And not only that, Bangkok is one of the most unequal cities in the world when it comes to wealth.

Many locals in Bangkok survive on low wages thanks to numerous famous street food staples such as pad thai, som tham, dumplings, and roti.

According to the Beyond Food project, if street food frequenters were forced to buy food in other places, they would be required to work a full day longer each month on average to afford the extra expenses.

The local government, on the other hand, has largely viewed street food as a smelly mess on the sidewalks of Bangkok that needs to be cleaned up and replaced by large malls and trendy cafes.

Local officials pledged to continue getting rid of street food in Bangkok in the new year.

Any further crackdown on street food would put many vendors out of work, especially women who make up 80% of Thailand’s street food sellers.

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