How Better Urban Planning Can Create Gender-Inclusive Public Spaces

Public spaces ideally should be environments or places which are open and available to all residents, irrespective of gender, age, ethnicity, race, ability or socio-economic status. However, traditionally these spaces were modelled and constructed for cis-hetero abled male bodies.

The interrelation between space and gender exists on a historical basis. Acquiring territories with blatant force was essentially a male-dominated sphere. This left little room for women to display their position in public and the domain of homes became their sole space for freedom and expression. Subsequently, this made their participation in public transient, which disallowed female legitimacy over public spaces. We talked to some individuals and experts to understand general experiences in public spaces and what can be done to improve it.

Design Spaces for Socialisation

Most streets are just designed for automobiles, keeping spaces for pedestrians, runners, street vendors, and more at the backend. However, designing streets with larger pavements, proper zebra crossings, and well-lit spaces, can make them more accessible and usable.

“I have been living alone in another city for quite some time, but I still receive calls from my parents about getting back home early and safely. They ask me to send them updates of when I reach back to my place. Men don’t face this,” said Ahana Sen, an architect.

She said that seclusion is a big problem, so women and marginalised groups prefer to walk on bustling roads and streets. Taking crowded roads helps them avoid any sort of physical harm from the dominant gender. “Where there are more people, there is more vigilance. Loitering on lonely and dark roads can increase chances of nuisance, so it is preferred to travel from busy and well-lit roads.” The authorities also tend to keep a track on these spaces.

Sen said that living in Ahmedabad for three years has shown her that initiating family-friendly places can manage the safety woes. “There is a great night life in the city as families step together after 10pm to have ice creams from street vendors. There is plastic seating to make the spaces more comfortable. Since people are in groups, the atmosphere is welcoming for all.”

Additionally, Swati Janu, the founder of Social Design Collaborative that works on social justice issues said that specific spaces for street vendors can help in creating inclusive spaces as they are considered as the “eyes on the street”.

She added that open unticketed spaces such as parks democratise the urban landscape and foster safe spaces for all communities by being free of cost and if infrastructurally designed to cater to interaction and activity.

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Affirmative Action And Specific Facilities For The Marginalised

Janu said that typically, public spaces were made for the survival of the "fittest", thus changing that notion is important. “The able-bodied person is only seen, and wheelchaired or handicapped people are a rare sight because of their multiple barriers.”

It is like a double-edged sword for disabled gender minorities, say for example, a transgender woman in a wheelchair who faces oppression both in terms of their gender and their disability. “When such a person is unable to go inside a school or college due to inaccessible structures, the discrimination is amplified,” said Anugya Srivastava, a student at TISS.

Maya*, a handicapped transgender woman said that because of her gender identity she was denied entry into a hotel. “This has happened more than once because of stigmatisation and transphobia of the general public. What was worse is that once I gained entry, they did not have ramps or elevators. I felt even more embarrassed and discriminated against because of the unavailability of inclusive infrastructure,” they said.

Moreover, abled transgender individuals face issues with their identity while even trying to find washrooms in public spaces as they are specially constructed to cater to the gender binary. Women too face problems with public toilets which more likely than not are unhygienic and hard to find. Men unlawfully publicly urinate anywhere they find a place, but women cannot do this and require more toilets which are clean and well-kept.

Janu said that the answer to this is separate toilets for the time-being for the different genders, before we can move to gender-neutral toilets. “Harassment by cis-men can be higher in gender-neutral toilets, so till we can create enough sensitisation on gender equality, it helps to at least have separate toilets for transgender people who tend to face a lot of discrimination due to the binary nature of our toilets and other facilities.”

She added that in a day and age where female drivers are being hired by food delivery services and public transport committees, then public services as basic as toilets are essential to prevent hindrance in their work. Opportunities coincide with access to public facilities.

“Sexual harassment is common place when we travel through public buses,” said Janu. She added that it helps to have a separate coach for women in metros and trains. "Till we can't level the playing field, this has unfortunately become a necessity."

Meanwhile, Sen said that in architecture schools they are taught to think of everybody while designing spaces. “Few such features are feeding and diaper changing rooms in airports which keep in mind the needs of pregnant individuals and parents.”

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Representation is Important

More often than not, public spaces are designed by men so they suit their own needs and often ignore those of other genders. “How many cities do we know of that have been designed by women? How many women or transgender people are in planning offices today? We need diversity in the planning as well as implementation level,” said Janu.

Small things can prove to have a large impact on one’s pride and belongingness. “There are very few city streets named after female icons of the past. Most streets are named after male heroes,” she said.

Janu further noted that several European cities such as Vienna and Lyon have started renaming their streets, stadiums, and plazas after female and non-binary historical figures. This gives a huge impetus to the recognition of different gender identities by preventing erasure of some communities in history.

*Name changed upon request for confidentiality

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