Paper short abstract:

To explore the renewed landscape of informal economies in the platform age, the proposed presentation investigates the impacts of digital platforms on urban informality. It aims to propose a conceptual framework that pieces together two different domains of literature (on platforms and informality)

Paper long abstract:

To some, the arrival and penetration of digital platforms in the vast informal economies of the global South cities may sound no longer new. To others, it still is a momentous opportunity to transform the informal sector. As the bustling streets fuse into the virtual marketplaces, the dynamics of transactions, trust, and communities are being reshaped. To explore the renewed landscape of informal economies in the platform age, this paper investigates the impacts (both positive and negative) of digital platforms on the urban sub-sectors that were already informal. While research into this particular phenomenon (i.e., platforms to (in)formalise economies) itself is not new, there has been little conceptualisation around the very intersection of platformisation and urban informality. The paper thus aims to propose a conceptual framework by piecing together two different domains of literature (on digital platforms and urban informality), looking at this intersection from 4 different angles: regulation, legitimacy, value extraction, and collective agency.