Por la calle vs en la calle

[dupond]

Is there any difference between "por la calle" and "en la calle"?

I had the impression that "por" might be used to convey a sense of passing through, e.g. Paso por la calle, whereas "en" might be used to indicate an action that takes place in or on the street, e.g. Bailan en la calle.

However, I found the following sentence in my textbook:

Me parece que ahora hay más gente por la calle.

I would have expected "en" to be used instead of "por". Although, I was probably imagining that such a rule existed.

Are "en" and "por" interchangeable in this sentence? If not, how does the meaning change?


Thanks

[aleCcowaN]

Don't take the following as an attempt to translate but just as some strokes to depict notions:

por implies the notion of or going by or through.
en implies the notion of in, on or at.

más gente por la calle = más gente transitando/circulando (the street/s look/s busier)
más gente en la calle = más gente reunida/mayor densidad de gente (more people on/in the street; mucha gente en la calle = the street/s look/s kind of packed)

[dupond]

Thanks. That makes sense. The context was that the people were at a festival, so I suppose they could be thought of as moving (albeit leisurely).