To give street performers the opportunity to earn money in a safer place, giving in exchange to the city administration a great opportunity to make their city more enjoyable for inhabitants and tourists.

A few months ago I covered as a journalist the daily work of an amazing juggler in Rome. He was incredibly good. He would wait at a city crossing and each time the traffic light turned red he started he would start a short show, jumping on a funny unicycle and juggling like a pro. I monitored his activity for an entire day and I made some calculations about his earnings. Believe it or not, he gets something between 10,000 and 15,000 Euros a month.
So, first suggestion: if you have a special and spectacular skill, as juggling, playing an instruments, magic or other (and if you are very good at it), don’t just wait to be called by a manager: seriously consider playing on the street. I did it for a couple of years in my youth and I know it can be interesting and funny. And, as you can see from the juggler’s example, also a money making activity.

But this is just half of this story. While talking about the juggler and street performers in general, Josh and I (my partner at Too Lazy To Do It) were thinking that it would be a brilliant idea for a city administration to attract the most talented street performers giving them free some spots in the city center to perform in. For the street player it is always a problem, at least in many cities I know, to find a good place to play. There is always the risk to fight with other street performers for space, and the police can always come and ask them to stop.
But street performers, the good ones, are a value for a city. They can entertain the citizens and attract tourists. In a word: they make the city better.

A smart mayor could transform his or her city into something special just dealing with street performers in a positive way, organizing (why not?) selections to give the best spots in town. In exchange, the street performers would have to respect the agreement, playing in their area only.
I think this would be the ideal win-win situation: the performers would have the opportunity to play in a safer place, in an environment with plenty of talented colleagues and the chance to make money. The city, from his part, would become better, more attractive for tourist, and most enjoyable for every inhabitant.