Why do we need a gender sensitive approach in urban planning?
Existing urban public spaces as well as public transport were mostly designed by and to accommodate the needs of men. A lot of them are not fit for women’s needs – some even pose a threat to women’s safety, they complicate their everyday lives and reduce their possibilities to engage in community life. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated existing gender inequalities in various aspects.
At the same time, this crisis can be an opportunity to make urban planning more gendersensitive, equitable and sustainable. There are a lot of gender sensitive practices already existing. The task is to implement these practices and help municipal actors achieve sustainable, inclusive and (gender) equitable development in the (post-)COVID era.
This was the aim of the two Connective Cities Working Groups on:
- Gender sensitive urban planning
- Gender responsive urban mobility
Connecting municipalities in their efforts towards a gender sensitive city
The participants of the working groups joined us from the municipalities of Nabeul and Sfax in Tunisia, Mexico City and Guadalaja in Mexico, Tena in Ecuador, Nairobi in Kenya as well as Uruguay and the Municipality of Gaza, Palestine.
In bringing municipal representatives and urban practitioners together to present and discuss their challenges and good practices they were supported to develop new project ideas through peer-learning and exchange. In this they were inspired by regional and international experts who shared their insights in gender sensitive planning approaches.
The first kick-off meeting was aiming to sensitize for the various risks of widening gender inequalities in urban development and to identify the roles cities administrations can play in this context.
Annika Dalén, Strategic development and gender equality officer, Municipality of Umeå, Sweden presented the efforts of the Swedish city of Umeå as a model city for gender sensitive urban planning and mobility. Until today, reliable data on how women move in cities is missing in a lot of countries. Therefore, to redesign cities and their transport systems to effectively respond to women’s needs, it is the first essential step to collect gender-specific data at the municipal and national levels.
Due to curfews and social restrictions, the pandemic put women at a higher risk to suffer from domestic violence. Katja Schülke, Gender equality officer, City of Bonn, Germany and Conny Schulte, General manager, Arbeitskreis Opferschutz Bonn/Rhein-Sieg presented their approaches for combating domestic violence of the City of Bonn.
A third keynote by Giada Cicognola, programme analyst, Cities Alliance introduced the participants to the programme Femmedina in Tunis, Tunisia. The programme’s goal is the rehabilitation of public spaces for women in the historic centre of Tunis, the Medina, through participatory decision-making.
During the following working group meetings, the participating municipalities identified one gender related challenge in their cities. They are exemplary for the issues women face in many places around the globe:
- Enhancing the integration of women in decision making processes in Tunis, Tunisia
- Improving the situation of commuting women from rural areas in urban environments in Tena, Ecuador
- Incorporating the needs of women in the implementation of e-mobility projects and addressing sexual and gender-based violence in the e-mobility space in Nairobi, Kenya
- Promoting cycling for women in Mexico City and Guadalaja, Mexico
Connective Cities working groups promote the idea of Peer-to-Peer Consulting so that the participating municipalities can benefit from each other’s experiences and good practices. If you are interested to learn more about this approach, you may find more information here. As an outcome of lively discussions, the groups developed Guidelines that can also help other municipal actors to get going. their guidelines for:
Guidelines:Towards a gender-sensitive urban development [pdf, 307 kb, 7 pp.]
Guidelines: Towards a gender responsive urban mobility [pdf, 337 kb, 8 pp.]
Without a gender sensitive approach to urban development, the pandemic could have far-reaching effects including the risk of widening gender inequalities in various areas. At the same time gender mainstreaming tools and good practices of gender-sensitive recovery strategies already exist, which, if used effectively, can mitigate the negative impacts of COVID-19 and contribute to an increased gender equality.
Find more useful resources on gender sensitive urban planning:
Gender Responsive Urban Planning and Design | UN-Habitat (unhabitat.org)
How Vienna designed a city for women (apolitical.co)
How to Design a City for Women – Bloomberg
Gender in Mainstreaming Urban Development (berlin.de)
Harsh-realities-Marginalized-women-in-cities-of-the-developing-world-en.pdf (unwomen.org)
Across eastern Europe, rethinking urban planning, infrastructure and safety bring changes in women’s lives | UN Women
A safe city for women and girls in El Alto, Bolivia | UN Women
Goal 11 | Department of Economic and Social Affairs (un.org)
Brief: COVID-19 and ensuring safe cities and safe public spaces for women and girls | Digital library: Publications | UN Women – Europe and Central Asia
Brief-Recommendations-COVID-19-Safe-Cities-and-Safe-Public-Spaces-en.pdf (unwomen.org)
TUMI’s 5 Principles to Empower Women in Transport
