The impact of street food stalls on the local economy and conditions for their sustainable management

Commercial activities using public space are attracting attention across Japan. Fukuoka City is the top street-stall city in the country. There are more than 150 street food stalls in public spaces such as streets and parks, with which the citizens have been familiar for many years since the end of World War II. The stalls are an example of using public space while substantially contributing to the local economy. Moreover, analyze of the economic impact proves that street food stalls play a significant role for customers. The management of street stalls, however, has a lot of issues to be settled, in terms of hygiene or traffic. Among others, costs to rent public spaces need to be re-examined. This study revealed that if ground rents are based on market prices, a monthly fee of 18,000 yen to 30,000 yen per street food stall is regarded as appropriate. In addition, street stalls are not equipped with toilets or sewerage facilities. It is necessary to examine whether to install toilets or water supply and sewerage facilities that should be paid by socially in order to improve hygiene.