A diverse property industry group is calling on Sir Keir Starmer to make safety and accessibility for women and girls integral to the government’s ambitions for planning policy reform, development and housing delivery.
The group of architects, planners, councillors, urbanists, academics and developers wrote to the prime minister this month to alert him to the “critical need for adopting a gender-sensitive approach” if the government’s ambitions for growth across the UK are to be realised.
Signatories include Lindsey Richards, president of the Royal Town Planning Institute, and Jonathan Pryor, deputy leader of Leeds City Council and executive member for economy, transport and sustainable development.
The letter reflects a growing movement to push gender bias out of design. It was drafted by a group of experts in gender-sensitive planning, including Dr Karen Horwood, senior lecturer at Leeds Beckett University, and Dr May East, author of What if Women Designed the City?.
The letter highlights the fact that women and girls experience urban places differently than men and outlines the importance of gender-sensitive placemaking to create safe and accessible urban places for everyone.
“Ensuring well-designed public areas, which are safe, support active travel and well-connected by public transport, can significantly improve safety and mobility for everyone while decarbonising our lifestyles,” it says. “All developments should reflect the diverse needs of their users, including the specific requirements of women in the design and planning process.” This also means reflecting how those needs intersect with race, class, age, disability, sexuality and other characteristics, it says.
The letter points to benefits for social cohesion and health and wellbeing.
The group wants government to consider five key steps:
- Integrate gender-sensitive principles into national, regional, and local planning policies and guidelines to ensure a comprehensive approach.
- Involve a diverse range of stakeholders, including women’s groups, in the planning and decision-making processes to ensure all voices are heard and contribute to the full realisation of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
- Support training for planners, architects, and developers on gender-sensitive design and planning practices, alongside gendered budgeting to build capacity and awareness within the industry.
- Back research on gendered spatial experiences and collect disaggregated data to inform evidence-based policy and design decisions.
- Establish mechanisms to monitor and evaluate the impact of gender-sensitive planning and design initiatives, making necessary adjustments based on feedback and outcomes.
The letter says: “Since fostering gender equality is a fundamental trend of the 21st century and an essential aspect of good urbanism and sustainable growth, this is an open invitation for your government to embrace the exciting, liberating and untapped prospects that come from designing cities that work for all to support growth. We would be grateful for the opportunity to discuss this further and offer our expertise to support the implementation of these recommendations.”
Image by donterase from Pixabay
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