A FEMALE FUTURE

Abstract

In recent decades, gender inequality has been discussed increasingly in different fields of society. Since long ago, aspects like power dynamics in traditional households, or studies on the human anatomy, have influenced men and women’s place in society. This gender inequality has also impacted how cities have been designed by and for men, although the existing hypothesis is that the needs of men and women in a city differ. Evidence already shows that women feel more unsafe in cities then men, which can be caused by design of urban environments not being fit for women. This leaves the questions what this relation between gender and the built environment actually entails, whether cities are currently gender inclusive, and if not, how urban design can contribute to make them to do so.

This research has found that men and women have different user patterns and perceptions when it comes to their presence in urban environments. This impacts the way they use and perceive the city. In this study, these differences have been translated into design principles that can positively impact women’s use and perception of the urban environment. These design principles were used to analyse the current state of gender inclusivity in urban environments, through the locations of Hillesluis and Zuidwijk, a pre- and post-war neighbourhood in Rotterdam Zuid with a high cultural diversity and a low socio-economic status. The analysis generated a set of spatial elements that either negatively or positively influence a woman’s perception of space. After testing these spatial elements through a survey, the findings were combined with the design principles, to design a proposal on how the current urban environments could be improved to be more gender inclusive. Guided by these end products, a universal framework was created, that can test all urban environments in their gender-inclusivity.