The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released a report titled ‘Cities Alive: Designing Cities That Work for Women’ Report.
✓Cities are vital centers of innovation, productivity, and diversity, but without inclusive planning, urbanization deepens societal gaps.
✓Among the most vulnerable are women in both wealthy and socio-economically disadvantaged urban contexts across the globe.
✓Without a gender-responsive approach to urban planning, cities often compound gender inequalities.
Challenges faced by women in urban space:
✓Gender biased urban planning: A cohort of mostly male planners, designers and city leaders have created urban spaces which prioritise men’s mobility, health, safety, leisure and economic wellbeing over women’s.
✓ Prejudice: Urban spaces do not reflect and celebrate women in statues, road names and other monument, Data sources are gender-biased towards male experiences.
✓Gender-based discrimination: Higher rates of poverty, unemployment, unpaid care duties, barriers to education, and experiences of violence and street harassment
✓ Health and wellbeing: Sexual violence and harassment in urban public spaces adversely impacts the wellbeing, urban spaces often inadequate toilets and sanitation facilities for women.
✓Disproportionate burden of Climate change: Women have fewer resources to withstand, and recover from, large-scale climate change-related events.
Way ahead:
✓ Participatory urban designing: This will help making cities inclusive where whole community can access the opportunities offered by cities, and it generates wider social, economic and environmental benefits.
✓Justice and equity: Support women participating in urban governance at all levels, Support the collection of gender disaggregated data, protect women’s right to land and property.
✓Safety and security: Incorporate violence prevention in laws, Design spaces through a safety lens, improve lighting design in streets and public spaces, and raise awareness and share knowledge around public safety.
✓ Health and wellbeing: Raise the standards of sexual and reproductive healthcare, provide high-quality water and sanitation facilities, create caring, green and active environments.
✓Women leadership in climate action: improving gender equity contributes to policy and funding choices that lead to better environmental governance and make the resilience measures more effective.
Adopting a gender-responsive approach to urban planning and design goes beyond serving only women. It ensures the whole community can access the opportunities offered by cities, and it generates wider social, economic and environmental benefits.