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What is it and why is it necessary?

In order to be able to talk about feminist urban planning or urban planning with a gender perspective, we must understand that the construction of our cities has not always been subordinated to the needs of all groups in society. First of all, we must understand that urban planning is not neutral, as its design has often been based on the needs of those responsible for the construction of cities at the time. People who often had not only different needs compared to other people living in the same city (public transport, access for people with disabilities, special signage in children's areas...) but also had different values and social positions.

An example of this can be the comparison of the relationship that a racialized woman who has to use a wheelchair due to an injury can have with the city she lives in, compared to a 30-year-old heterosexual man with a good economic position. The needs and relationship to urban space of such a woman is different from that of the man in the example, as each has different needs and life experiences.

Not all cities today are designed for the "safety" of women. When we talk about safety, we must understand that in most countries we find a series of laws associated with the criminalization of crimes such as robberies and murders, but they do not take into account other factors such as:

  • Visibility, associated with being able to see all the elements and people in the street space.
  • Correct signposting to allow better orientation on the public road; a principle also related to the integration of the needs of certain groups in society and the possible need to "escape" from risky situations.
  • The correct equipping of the urban space, again taking into account the needs of everyday life, such as benches for the elderly to rest, the planting of trees, the creation of parks and gardens that allow socializing in the public space.
  • The construction of spaces that create a sense of belonging and therefore security in certain public spaces, associated with acting collectively.

As we have seen, feminist urbanism encompasses not only the needs of women, but also those of all the people who make up a community, considering social class, functional diversity, or gender identity.

To this end, it proposes a reformulation of cities, taking into account that each space must be adapted to its territorial context, but where we can always take into account, together with the basic principles of Canadian feminists, the accessibility of the city, whether through the construction of pavements or a good public transport network. Autonomy with special emphasis on the safety with which a person can interact on public roads, creating safe spaces for the development of everyday life. The correct equipping of the city, taking into account the needs of the entire population through the construction of schools or supermarkets in all urban areas and above all, citizen participation in the making of decisions that have to do with the urban area in which they reside.

Most European cities were designed in the Modern Age and just as they are being rethought in relation to sustainability, the environment or digitalization, they must be rethought in relation to the daily needs of the people who live in them.

Bibliography

Crítica Urbana (march 2022): “Urbanismo feminista”. Revista de Estudios urbanos y territoriales. March 2022 | Vol.V | Nº23

ONU – Habitat (2022): “La ciudad está transveralizada por diversidades y multiculturalismo: Ana Falú”. Available in: https://onuhabitat.org.mx/index.php/la-ciudad-esta-transversalizada-por-diversidades-y-multiculturalismo-ana-falu Consulted in: December, 2022

Col-ectiu Punt6: “Qué es el urbanismo feminista? Por Col-lectiu Punt 6”. Available in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI4TOCPMMBA

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