just like you and me more than half the
global population lives in the cities
but have you ever thought about the
gender bias in the way our cities have
been planned for example Amsterdam has
35 public toilets for men but only three
for women similarly this year
Paris installed a number of opening
urinals for men but no toilets were
added for women does this imply that our
urban planners do not expect women to be
out and about for longer durations of
time well I have been an urban planner
for 16 years now but last year when I
started working on the gender issues in
our cities I realized how most of us are
not aware of this gender gap and how it
is affecting the lives of women all over
the world
I learned that women have historically
had lower access to mobility after the
Industrial Revolution the planners
planned for the movement of cars that
were typically driven by men while women
predominantly walked or to public
transport due to the car pace planning a
gender bias inner-cities was established
and this has affected women’s access to
key life activities like education
employment medical and recreational
services in the developing and developed
countries alike women have complex
travel needs as managers of households
taking care of children the elderly and
often also working to earn even though
women carry an unequal burden of roles
to play in our society men also
typically get the first right – the
fastest but the most efficient mode of
transport for themselves interestingly
the times are changing but the patterns
still remain women also feel
less safe than men in public spaces like
streets bus stops train stations and
studies prove that not just the social
factors but urban design factors like
vegetation street lighting footpaths etc
also effect this feeling of safety even
the smart mobility services like those
of Ober a car sharing a bike sharing
have not been able to bridge this gap in
fact they have only widened it because
these services are mostly used by men
and even fewer women users are expected
in the developing countries because
there they have lesser financial
resources lower access to smartphones
and also lower levels of digital
literacy so why has the gender gap
continued to exist in our cities there
are four main reasons firstly a
profession is highly male-dominated the
cities were and they continue to be
planned by male-dominated teams the
needs of the women are not understood
enough to be incorporated then in an
education system students are still
learning the old methods of planning but
they do not learn how men and women
approach and use cities differently in
practice the socially inclusive projects
talk about inclusion of people from
different social and income groups but
gender inclusivity remains on the
sidelines and lastly despite the
enormity of this subject and a huge body
of research on the same there is very
little awareness outside a close group
of researchers and scientists so how do
we improve mobility for women in our
cities a first and foremost increased
driving behavior among women is neither
a smart not a sustainable solution but
reduced driving behavior in men is as
cities should allow and promote walking
cycling and use of public transport to
create truly inclusive and sustainable
development
but from this platform I don’t want to
tell you what the government should do
or what the university should do I want
to tell you what we can do you and me
and there are some very simple but
effective steps that we can take to
remedy this situation first talk about
it talk about it with your friends your
family your relatives on your dining
table and just create awareness about
this topic second elect those mayors and
aldermen who you believe will better
understand your needs from your cities
3rd participate whenever the government
is organizing a participatory event go
yourself don’t send your husband’s your
boyfriends your sons or Father’s to do
it for you go yourself and be heard and
fourth most importantly don’t be shy to
ask we can also make petitions to the
government requesting more women
friendly urban and transport solutions
remember sometimes unequal distribution
of resources is necessary to bridge the
gap the Equality is not in our actions
it is in the outcome
to conclude the gender gap in our cities
has been around for way too long it’s
time we do something about it and the
time is now thank you [Applause]
global population lives in the cities
but have you ever thought about the
gender bias in the way our cities have
been planned for example Amsterdam has
35 public toilets for men but only three
for women similarly this year
Paris installed a number of opening
urinals for men but no toilets were
added for women does this imply that our
urban planners do not expect women to be
out and about for longer durations of
time well I have been an urban planner
for 16 years now but last year when I
started working on the gender issues in
our cities I realized how most of us are
not aware of this gender gap and how it
is affecting the lives of women all over
the world
I learned that women have historically
had lower access to mobility after the
Industrial Revolution the planners
planned for the movement of cars that
were typically driven by men while women
predominantly walked or to public
transport due to the car pace planning a
gender bias inner-cities was established
and this has affected women’s access to
key life activities like education
employment medical and recreational
services in the developing and developed
countries alike women have complex
travel needs as managers of households
taking care of children the elderly and
often also working to earn even though
women carry an unequal burden of roles
to play in our society men also
typically get the first right – the
fastest but the most efficient mode of
transport for themselves interestingly
the times are changing but the patterns
still remain women also feel
less safe than men in public spaces like
streets bus stops train stations and
studies prove that not just the social
factors but urban design factors like
vegetation street lighting footpaths etc
also effect this feeling of safety even
the smart mobility services like those
of Ober a car sharing a bike sharing
have not been able to bridge this gap in
fact they have only widened it because
these services are mostly used by men
and even fewer women users are expected
in the developing countries because
there they have lesser financial
resources lower access to smartphones
and also lower levels of digital
literacy so why has the gender gap
continued to exist in our cities there
are four main reasons firstly a
profession is highly male-dominated the
cities were and they continue to be
planned by male-dominated teams the
needs of the women are not understood
enough to be incorporated then in an
education system students are still
learning the old methods of planning but
they do not learn how men and women
approach and use cities differently in
practice the socially inclusive projects
talk about inclusion of people from
different social and income groups but
gender inclusivity remains on the
sidelines and lastly despite the
enormity of this subject and a huge body
of research on the same there is very
little awareness outside a close group
of researchers and scientists so how do
we improve mobility for women in our
cities a first and foremost increased
driving behavior among women is neither
a smart not a sustainable solution but
reduced driving behavior in men is as
cities should allow and promote walking
cycling and use of public transport to
create truly inclusive and sustainable
development
but from this platform I don’t want to
tell you what the government should do
or what the university should do I want
to tell you what we can do you and me
and there are some very simple but
effective steps that we can take to
remedy this situation first talk about
it talk about it with your friends your
family your relatives on your dining
table and just create awareness about
this topic second elect those mayors and
aldermen who you believe will better
understand your needs from your cities
3rd participate whenever the government
is organizing a participatory event go
yourself don’t send your husband’s your
boyfriends your sons or Father’s to do
it for you go yourself and be heard and
fourth most importantly don’t be shy to
ask we can also make petitions to the
government requesting more women
friendly urban and transport solutions
remember sometimes unequal distribution
of resources is necessary to bridge the
gap the Equality is not in our actions
it is in the outcome
to conclude the gender gap in our cities
has been around for way too long it’s
time we do something about it and the
time is now thank you [Applause]
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