Masculinities in public space
Reshape heteronormative public spaces to facilitate legitimacy for diverse gender identities
J.M. van Delden (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
E.M. Bet – Mentor (TU Delft - Urban Design)
Caroline Newton – Mentor (TU Delft - Spatial Planning and Strategy)
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Abstract
People across the world, identifying beyond the binary notion of gender and sexuality are often limited to freely access and appropriate the city and feel a sense of belonging. A general problem is that notions about gender are strongly embedded within the design of the built environment. To be specific: gender relations in public space are normatively coded as masculine and heterosexual. Whereas masculinity is understood as a man who is dominant and refuses to acknowledge vulnerability. The multitude of masculinities are mostly subordinate in the patriarchal urban environment as well.
The largely residential neighbourhood Gaasperdam in Amsterdam’s South-East will be studied in greater depth to address and illustrate the spatial consequences. To be more specific, this thesis expands on the following research question: How can we reshape heteronormative spaces in Gaasperdam to facilitate legitimacy to diverse masculine identities?
To answer this question, a research-by-design approach is used to identify the challenges at hand and propose various spatial design interventions. In addition, the use of personas is critical for imagining and addressing different demands and appropriations of space.
This research made clear how the current built environment of Gaasperdam does not facilitate interactions between different masculinities, while these are very essential. Therefore, this thesis proposes to increase the diversity of public spaces in Gaasperdam, which safeguards individual needs. Secondly, more space for collective use should be developed which allows diverse masculinities to interact. The insights of this thesis are valuable to research fields which focus on spatial issues, such as urban design, urban planning, and architecture since it offers design principles to reshape our built environment to include diverse gender identities.