Capturing and Sharing Market Vendors' Perspectives on Safety in Urban Markets in Papua New Guinea

This research examined market vendors’ perspectives on community strategies to enhance safety in the urban informal market in Papua New Guinea. Adopting the postcolonial concept of hybridity, the research identified local strategies and values that vendors create and apply to maintain safety in contrast to the dominant deficit narratives of urban informal market. Creative workshops included storytelling, and photography complemented focus group discussions and interviews as primary data collection methods. In the absence of formal support systems, this study concludes that urban market communities’ resilience and productivity are informed by diverse indigenous values and knowledge systems.