Achieving Equity In City Planning

What is the accessibility of city spaces for people of all ages and abilities? Who uses these spaces, and for whom are they intended? Have you ever wondered if our city’s streets, gardens, parks, and other public spaces are welcoming to all and meet the needs of men, women, transgender, and non-binary people, as well as other members of the community? How to plan more equitable cities, and why is it important?

City Planning is the intersection of governmental action, private interest, and planners’ presumed effort to advance the public good. Planners and politicians must prioritise the needs of the most vulnerable and oppressed people: people of colour, gender, the homeless, and the working class. Equity and anti-racism can only do this if they are to become central guiding principles in all development. It’s vital to remember that equity, not equality, is the main concern here because every person has different circumstances and allocates the precise resources and opportunities necessary to reach an equal outcome. By giving resources based on oppression, class, or gender rather than on equal resources, we hope to achieve an equal result.

Gender inequality in City planning is one current problem. The following are all listed below:

Accessibility: Inequities in our cities might result from exclusive, dangerous, and inaccessible public spaces. The ability to move around the city economically, easily, and safely. Equal access and usage concerns not just physical areas but also symbolic and political arenas of conflict over how people or groups of people inhabit their cities and who uses urban spaces. Public places frequently cater predominantly to straight, physically fit men and are less accessible to women, members of the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities, and men and boys who have experienced urban violence.

Safety and freedom from violence: The significance of fostering a sense of security among people in public settings cannot be overstated. Lack of security in one’s daily life can have various negative effects in addition to being a basic human requirement. Antisocial attitudes and conduct are possible costs of coping with fear or other feelings of insecurity, as well as possible stress-related effects. The requirement for daily long trips on foot or by public transportation for women to get water, employment, education, health care, and other amenities poses safety problems in many urban locations.

Health and sanitation: End open defecation and ensure that everyone has access to adequate and equitable drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene practices. Special attention should be given to the needs of women, girls, and those who are in vulnerable situations. Sanitation, which is related to water, is a major problem in urban areas that are expanding quickly. Women’s gender-specific requirements are frequently disregarded when public amenities and sanitation in informal settlements are improved. Unfavourable urban living conditions, such as a lack of access to clean, affordable water, poor sanitation, inadequate housing, and overcrowding, jeopardise the health of slum inhabitants. Women, children, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities are more at risk from these variables. In addition, ill health makes it difficult to work, and since women are frequently less likely than men to afford treatment due to financial constraints, this emphasises the importance of urban planning in attempting to change governmental and cultural opinions that will improve the developed area and promote access to healthcare facilities.

Safety and freedom: According to an increasing number of studies, walking rates differ according to socioeconomic status due to factors like worries about crime, the accessibility of sidewalks and safe trails, knowledge of the medical benefits of walking, emissions, and lack of enforcement of traffic laws in lower-income neighbourhoods. The vibrancy and wellness of our neighbourhoods are impacted by poor planning and programming, which ultimately negatively influences the community’s overall financial and social well-being.

Climate resilience: As a city, we should consider all options. For example, we must be deliberate in considering how some of the things we do as a city may increase or hasten the rate of gentrification and displacement. We also need to determine our solutions to problems in the streetscape. Women who experience a climatic disaster may lose their employment and give up their financial resources, locking them in a cycle of vulnerability. The IPCC report states that: 

“Social justice and equity are core elements of climate-resilient development pathways that aim to limit global warming to 1.5°C as they address challenges and inevitable trade-offs, widen opportunities, and ensure that options, visions, and values are deliberated, between and within countries and communities, without worsening the situation of the poor and disadvantaged,”

How might gender equality be improved through better city planning? The surroundings we live in, work in, play in, travel around, and relax in are shaped by city planning and design. As a result, planning and design processes are directly related to the structures and actions that characterise our societies, frequently reflecting and enhancing the disparities within.

Feminist organisations, parties, and people, as well as female academics and politicians, have shown how women are ignored when traditional methods of developing and enacting city policies and activities have been employed for over 30 years. When it comes to how we approach the city, individuals have a variety of needs and routines, and public space architecture and urban development have long adapted to these uses. The city is designed for the “neutral” male user, neglecting the needs, interests, and daily activities of other genders in the area. Urban planners, the government, and the general public work together within the framework of equity planning to advance marginalised communities, groups, and all people in general, as well as possibly put policies and programmers into place that can fairly redistribute public and private resources to everyone.

We need to consider if our current design language can address the actual, perceived, systemic, and felt safety concerns of women in public spaces.

1. During the pre-plan and pre-project phases, develop gender principles or pledges that support the right to city planning for women, girls, and sexual and gender minorities of all ages and abilities.
2. Form a gender-inclusive advisory board composed of at least 50% of women to oversee the project and guarantee that all activities and results are fair to both sexes, including residents, gender specialists, and, where necessary, representatives of sexual and gender minorities and vulnerable groups.
3. Verify that the program stakeholder engagement group’s gender distribution is typical of the broader group. Evaluate population data segmented by sex and/or gender in the targeted sample size and the pertinent statistical proportions for the respondents within the sample size. Target for a minimum gender distribution of 50/50 if the population profile is insufficient.
4. Create forums just for women, girls, and people of all sexual orientations and genderqueer so they may openly discuss issues and potential remedies relating to gender. Examine all currently in effect and pertinent construction regulations, design standards, and policies to determine how they might help or impede the development of gender-inclusive planning and projects. Involve sexual and gender minorities, women, and girls of all ages and capacities in the design and planning process as actual participants with mixed decision-making authority rather than merely as stakeholders.
5. A good basic education is essential for women and girls to profit from the possibilities cities offer and foster a sense of identity and independence. Policymakers must give women a voice in urban planning and design. Women’s assets, excluded in many countries, are critical to their economic future and liberties.
6. Promoting more affordable and varied solutions when making transportation planning recommendations is important. This implies that the emphasis of transportation and land use rules should be on increasing employment opportunities and service accessibility via walking, bicycling, and public transportation. Make sure that accommodation, economic development, and transportation strategies are interrelated due to the interconnectedness of the challenges.
7. By allowing people to share their own lived experiences, either through sensitive research or creative methods of communication, we can change how others perceive space. Greater illumination, rounded corners, and a big entrance in the middle are a few examples of strategies centred on gender equity. 

The suggestions given above are just some of the numerous possible approaches to incorporating equality considerations in city planning. Despite the influence of design, social action ultimately creates and changes space.

“The intelligence required to design and enhance the beauty of cities and human communities is undoubtedly the best and most noble sort of wisdom.”

References:

3. Online sources

Citations for websites:

1. www.peoplepowermedia.org. (n.d.). Achieving Equity In City Planning. [online] Available at: https://www.peoplepowermedia.org/housing/achieving-equity-city-planning [Accessed 9 Jan. 2023].
2. Smart City Sweden. (n.d.). Gender Equality and Inclusiveness in Urban Planning | Best practice. [online] Available at: https://smartcitysweden.com/best-practice/390/gender-equality-and-inclusion-in-urban-planning/.
3. Lepore, J. (n.d.). Will This Year’s Census Be the Last? [online] The New Yorker. Available at: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/03/23/will-this-years-census-be-the-last.
4. Globalurban.org. (2022). Gender Equality and Urban Development. [online] Available at: https://www.globalurban.org/GUDMag06Vol2Iss1/Jaeckel%20&%20van%20Geldermalsen.htm.
5. World Bank. (n.d.). Handbook for Gender-Inclusive Urban Planning and Design. [online] Available at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/urbandevelopment/publication/handbook-for-gender-inclusive-urban-planning-and-design.
6. Gardner, J. (2019). How Better Urban Planning Can Improve Gender Equality – Behavioral Scientist. [online] Behavioral Scientist. Available at: https://behavioralscientist.org/how-better-urban-planning-can-improve-gender-equality/.
7. Housing, A.F. of I.R. on, Falú, H.I. at U. of C., Architect, Professor, Researcher, Housing, is the D. of I.R. on, Institute, H., Management, D. of the M.C. on H., Architecture, D. at the F. of, Córdoba, U. of the N.U. of, Women, A.S. is also the co-founder of the, Network, H., Argentina, the network’s F.P. in, Between 2002, coordinates the U.U.H.G.H., 2009, UNIFEM, A.F. was H. of, The, F. for, Countries, Brazil and Argentina, the S.C. countries S. studied at the N.U. of T. in (2017). Women’s Right to the City: Reflections on Inclusive Urban Planning. [online] Urbanet. Available at: https://www.urbanet.info/womens-right-to-the-city/.
8. unhabitat.org. (n.d.). Gender and Urban Planning | UN-Habitat. [online] Available at: https://unhabitat.org/gender-and-urban-planning.
9. Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. (2020). Re-Thinking Urban Planning From the Lens of Gender. [online] Available at: https://vidhilegalpolicy.in/blog/re-thinking-urban-planning-from-the-lens-of-gender/.
10. UN Women – Headquarters. (n.d.). Gender Equality and the New Urban Agenda. [online] Available at: https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2016/10/gender-equality-and-the-new-urban-agenda [Accessed 9 Jan. 2023].
11. UrbanShift. (n.d.). MAINSTREAMING GENDER INTO URBAN PLANNING AND DESIGN. [online] Available at: https://www.shiftcities.org/post/mainstreaming-gender-urban-planning-and-design [Accessed 9 Jan. 2023].
12. UNDP. (n.d.). Designing cities that work for women. [online] Available at: https://feature.undp.org/designing-cities-that-work-for-women/.
13. www.socialwatch.org. (n.d.). Gender Equity Index (GEI) 2008 | Social Watch. [online] Available at: https://www.socialwatch.org/node/9267 [Accessed 9 Jan. 2023].
14. nextcity.org. (n.d.). The Just City Essays. [online] Available at: https://nextcity.org/features/just-city-essys-toni-griffin-theaster-gates-angela-glover-blackwell.
15. Images/visual mediums

Citations for images/photographs – Print or Online:

1. Noland, F. (2020). Achieving Equity In City Planning. Available at: https://www.peoplepowermedia.org/housing/achieving-equity-city-planning [Accessed 8 Jan. 2023].
2. Conceptual framework. (2020). [World Bank Handbook for Gender-Inclusive Urban Planning and Design] Available at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/urbandevelopment/publication/handbook-for-gender-inclusive-urban-planning-and-design [Accessed 8 Jan. 2023].
3. Alan S, M. (n.d.). Principles of Place Making. Available at: https://www.ayer.ma.us/about-aoced [Accessed 8 Jan. 2023].
4. Posada, A. (2015). Visions for Urban Equity, Inclusivity and Opportunity. Available at: https://nextcity.org/features/just-city-essys-toni-griffin-theaster-gates-angela-glover-blackwell [Accessed 8 Jan. 2023].‌