In fact, many makeshift markets today, this type of market meets at a fixed location, selling from morning to night, even approved by the locality, with temporary managers, sellers have to pay for seat fees, sanitation fees, so it cannot be called makeshift markets, to be precise, it must be called temporary markets.
At the beginning of 2026, Hanoi announced a list of more than 200 makeshift markets and spontaneous business locations, and at the same time issued a clearance roadmap starting from 2026 to 2027. This is necessary to restore traffic order, control food safety and hygiene, and make the city's face civilized.
However, the chase between street vendors and functional forces on many streets of Hanoi is still repeated: Just as the traffic police pass by, eateries immediately line up. After clearing, they re-encroach.
But if you look straight at the essence, the story of street markets does not only lie in the sellers. It starts from the buyers themselves. It is not difficult to see images of people stopping their cars in the middle of the road, quickly stopping by a vegetable tray, a meat stall, quickly buying a few items and leaving. No need to park the car, no need to walk, no need to spend time entering the market. That convenience is the "land of life" of street markets.
And it is precisely that convenience that makes all efforts to eliminate it difficult. Reality shows that many small traders do not want to go to the market not because there is no place, but because going to the market... there are no customers.
If only dealing with sellers and ignoring buyers, the crackdown on street markets will forever be an endless chase. This is not only a problem of urban order but also encroachment on sidewalks, traffic unsafety, food hygiene and a messy urban image. However, these consequences are still not enough to change people's habits. Because in the minds of many people, stopping the car to quickly buy a bunch of vegetables, a kilogram of meat is just a small matter, convenient for themselves. Few people think that each time like that is a contribution to the existence of street markets.
To eliminate makeshift markets sustainably, we cannot only use administrative measures. Even more, we cannot just rely on campaigns.
At the same time, the government needs to improve the quality of traditional markets: Clean, convenient, reasonable rental prices, and appropriate sales points. If formal markets are still difficult to access and lack utilities, it will be difficult to convince people to abandon makeshift markets.
What needs to be changed is behavior. People must accept a reality: Personal convenience cannot be exchanged for urban order and general safety. Going to the market, parking, walking for a few minutes is not too inconvenient, but it is a way to contribute to building a more civilized city.
Many localities have supported small traders to enter the market at low cost, even free of charge, but the number of registrations is still small. This shows that not only is it necessary to have "place" but also "customers". To do so, it is necessary to change consumption habits with the involvement of the media, social organizations and the persistence of the government.
When people no longer stop to buy goods on the road, replacing the habit of buying wherever is convenient with a more civilized choice, makeshift markets will truly have no place to live.
