In my last post I talked about the role of cities in shaping gender roles. This time let's look at the role, sort of, of gender in cities.
Over the last few decades the world has seen massive revitalization of cities after they were basically abandoned by policies that favored suburbs (in America) and the countryside (in places like China and India). With this growth has come in-migration and of course questions about how cities should feel, look, and provide for their people---hence an emphasis on spatial design. People ought to feel and be safe; have access to homes, opportunities and resources; have employment and leisure opportunities; all, ideally, with ease and at a low cost.
One of the biggest trends in urban design is what has been called "New Urbanism" by planners and architects, and "Smart Growth" by environmentalists. Both contend that urban ecosystems ought to have mixed use planning (with retail, housing, employment and institutions in the same, shared areas) that is easily accessible by cheap, easy, comfortable, and efficient walking, bicycle, or mass transit mobility. Think Copenhagen or Manhattan versus Levittown. The role of subways and mass transit is seminal to this type of development. While cars take up a lot of space per person to drive (large roads), park (lots and streetspace), mass transit takes up less space per person, allowing other activities (i.e. mixed uses) to use that physical space.
There are plenty of benefits to this kind of design: access through proximity, innovation through knowledge spillover, smaller carbon footprints (per capita) owed to less car dependence, among others. One of the most important ones was what the urbanist Jane Jacobs called "Eyes on the Street." This meant that, because there were multiple uses of a single area, there would always be someone---a homemaker, a shopkeeper, a pedestrian, a peddler, an office worker---nearby, with an eye keeping a passive watch over a single street, 24 hours a day, inadvertantly policing it in case something happens. This kind of design is an inbuilt feedback system; it can help ensure against, or at least help deter, violent crime because potential criminals know there are witnesses and others who could intervene.
Though essentially gender-neutral, this type of mixed-use, eyes-on-the-street design does have specific implications for women. Sexual harassment and violence against women are among the types of crime that are most often deterred or stopped with many eyes on the street. Protection from kidnapping or other child victimization crimes are another---much as it takes a "village" to raise a child, it can take a neighborhood to protect her. Other elements of urban design that are or can be gendered are public safety; proximity between workplace, home, and childcare; childcare service provision (from changing stations to carriage/stroller accessibility).
Mass transit itself can be especially gendered. As I learned from a chat with WAPPP Director Victoria Budson, one of the most important determinants of women's advancement can be mass transit---we can have all sorts of programs to empower women, but if they are not able to access them (often while caring for children), they may be for naught. This, of course, will be affected by where mass transit goes, i.e. what it connects, and how easily.
Second includes provisions for childcare---infrastructure that helps caregives bring carriages down stairs, possibly changing stations, services for pregnant women in crowded or dangerous spaces---on mass transit and its platforms. Though childcare after a certain age need not be gendered, the reality is that it definitely is, with mothers taking care of children far more often than fathers.
Lastly, how safe is mass transit for women--especially at night when there are fewer "eyes in the car" and during rush hour crowding. Are women safe from sexual predation of any order? Some places have policies like segregates sections, seats or train cars to ensure against it--but whether that's foolproof is up for debate. Other places have public service announcements and awareness campaigns, vigilant law enforcement, and other techniques.
Over the last few decades the world has seen massive revitalization of cities after they were basically abandoned by policies that favored suburbs (in America) and the countryside (in places like China and India). With this growth has come in-migration and of course questions about how cities should feel, look, and provide for their people---hence an emphasis on spatial design. People ought to feel and be safe; have access to homes, opportunities and resources; have employment and leisure opportunities; all, ideally, with ease and at a low cost.
One of the biggest trends in urban design is what has been called "New Urbanism" by planners and architects, and "Smart Growth" by environmentalists. Both contend that urban ecosystems ought to have mixed use planning (with retail, housing, employment and institutions in the same, shared areas) that is easily accessible by cheap, easy, comfortable, and efficient walking, bicycle, or mass transit mobility. Think Copenhagen or Manhattan versus Levittown. The role of subways and mass transit is seminal to this type of development. While cars take up a lot of space per person to drive (large roads), park (lots and streetspace), mass transit takes up less space per person, allowing other activities (i.e. mixed uses) to use that physical space.
There are plenty of benefits to this kind of design: access through proximity, innovation through knowledge spillover, smaller carbon footprints (per capita) owed to less car dependence, among others. One of the most important ones was what the urbanist Jane Jacobs called "Eyes on the Street." This meant that, because there were multiple uses of a single area, there would always be someone---a homemaker, a shopkeeper, a pedestrian, a peddler, an office worker---nearby, with an eye keeping a passive watch over a single street, 24 hours a day, inadvertantly policing it in case something happens. This kind of design is an inbuilt feedback system; it can help ensure against, or at least help deter, violent crime because potential criminals know there are witnesses and others who could intervene.
Though essentially gender-neutral, this type of mixed-use, eyes-on-the-street design does have specific implications for women. Sexual harassment and violence against women are among the types of crime that are most often deterred or stopped with many eyes on the street. Protection from kidnapping or other child victimization crimes are another---much as it takes a "village" to raise a child, it can take a neighborhood to protect her. Other elements of urban design that are or can be gendered are public safety; proximity between workplace, home, and childcare; childcare service provision (from changing stations to carriage/stroller accessibility).
Mass transit itself can be especially gendered. As I learned from a chat with WAPPP Director Victoria Budson, one of the most important determinants of women's advancement can be mass transit---we can have all sorts of programs to empower women, but if they are not able to access them (often while caring for children), they may be for naught. This, of course, will be affected by where mass transit goes, i.e. what it connects, and how easily.
Second includes provisions for childcare---infrastructure that helps caregives bring carriages down stairs, possibly changing stations, services for pregnant women in crowded or dangerous spaces---on mass transit and its platforms. Though childcare after a certain age need not be gendered, the reality is that it definitely is, with mothers taking care of children far more often than fathers.
Lastly, how safe is mass transit for women--especially at night when there are fewer "eyes in the car" and during rush hour crowding. Are women safe from sexual predation of any order? Some places have policies like segregates sections, seats or train cars to ensure against it--but whether that's foolproof is up for debate. Other places have public service announcements and awareness campaigns, vigilant law enforcement, and other techniques.
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