Making Sense of Street Vendor Regulations

The Center for Urban Pedagogy wants to make city codes understandable to the people that are impacted. With that in mind, CUP tackled New York's regulations for street vendors.

1 minute read

April 8, 2009, 1:00 PM PDT

By Tim Halbur


"OPEN the city's administrative code book to any of the sections that deal with street-vending regulations, and you're likely to find yourself staring uncomprehendingly at phrases like 'rules promulgated pursuant thereto.'

A native English speaker with a good dictionary might be able to manage. But what if your native language is Spanish? Or Bengali? Or Arabic?

For many street vendors, understanding the regulations that govern their trade is 'a really difficult prospect,' said Rosten Woo, executive director of the Center for Urban Pedagogy, a nonprofit design and research organization in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Which is why his company published an illustrated guide to street-vending rules last month.

'We tried to create something that uses as little language as possible to spell out the most critical pieces of the code,' Mr. Woo said."

Friday, April 3, 2009 in The New York Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Close-up of "Apartment for rent" sign in red text on black background in front of blurred building

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program

Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

April 21, 2025 - Housing Wire

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

3 hours ago - Diana Ionescu

Ken Jennings stands in front of Snohomish County Community Transit bus.

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series

The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

April 20, 2025 - Streetsblog USA

Close-up of white panel at top of school bus with "100% electric" black text.

Driving Equity and Clean Air: California Invests in Greener School Transportation

California has awarded $500 million to fund 1,000 zero-emission school buses and chargers for educational agencies as part of its effort to reduce pollution, improve student health, and accelerate the transition to clean transportation.

15 minutes ago - California Air Resources Board

Aerial view of Freeway Park cap park over I-5 interstate freeway in Seattle, Washington at night.

Congress Moves to End Reconnecting Communities and Related Grants

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee moved to rescind funding for the Neighborhood Equity and Access program, which funds highway removals, freeway caps, transit projects, pedestrian infrastructure, and more.

1 hour ago - Streetsblog USA

"No Thru Traffic - Open Streets Restaurants" sign in New York City during Covid-19 pandemic.

From Throughway to Public Space: Taking Back the American Street

How the Covid-19 pandemic taught us new ways to reclaim city streets from cars.

2 hours ago - Next City