Society is structured around male experiences, perspectives, and needs and that influences urban planning. Here are some examples – and ideas for how to fix them.
Men and women navigate cities differently and women's routines are more complex than men’s.
Many women juggle multiple strands of unpaid work, such as shopping and childcare, which often involves short trips on foot.
In an interview with WPS Prague Vienna-based urban planner Eva Kail said: “If you want to do something for women, do something for pedestrians.”
Kail is recognised for her work promoting gender mainstreaming in urban planning, which ensures that men and women benefit equally from public policies and resources. This approach aims to make cities more inclusive for all.
Kail has applied these ideas to more than 60 projects in Vienna, focusing on gender equity in housing, transport and public spaces.
Her projects included:
- upgrading street lighting for safety
- adjusting traffic lights to favour pedestrians
- moving bus stops to places where people are safer while waiting
- adding benches in nine new locations so people can rest while doing their trips
- widening more than a kilometre of sidewalks to improve accessibility and comfortability
- making five areas more accessible by removing physical obstacles and enhancing infrastructure
These improvements have made it easier for women to move around the city and do their unpaid work, potentially encouraging more men to contribute.
They also benefit parents with prams, wheelchair users and older adults, making it easier for them to participate.
Why girls stop using parks at the age of 10
In the mid-1990s, Eva Kail and Elisabeth Irschik conducted a study that showed a decline in girls' participation in parks around the age of 10.
Further research suggested that large open spaces contributed to this trend, as they often forced girls to compete with boys for territory, leading many to avoid these environments.
However, when these large areas were divided into smaller, more defined sections, girls felt more comfortable and were more willing to stay.
That wasn't the only issue. Playgrounds and parks that put sports fields at the centre of their design inadvertently excluded girls.
A common barrier was the wire fencing that surrounded these areas, with a single entrance which was typically surrounded by intimidating boys. Often, the boys chased the girls away, made unwanted comments when the girls played sports, or gave unsolicited advice about how to play a sport.
Another obstacle is single-purpose sports grounds. As Gitte Van Der Biest and Jessica Vosters of JES Brussels wrote in a recent essay (PDF, translated from Flemish and French):
“Specifically, this means that girls play a game or practice a dance on the football pitch and boys shout at them. After all, the pitch is designed for football: coloured lines on the ground, fences around the perimeter, goalposts. The design legitimises the use.”
So how can we design a park for girls?
- provide more and wider entrances
- subdivide sports areas and grassed areas
- avoid centralising sports and grassed areas in the public space
These changes have attracted more girls and other people of all ages to parks in Vienna and Brussels.
By basing these initiatives on data rather than assumptions, girls have been able to take up space, move, exercise and breathe fresh air.
Why can I never find a toilet?
I was on the trip of a lifetime in Japan when suddenly my stomach rebelled against the kilos of unfamiliar food I’d eaten in the past week. It happened in a shopping mall in Tokyo.
Fortunately, within seconds I noticed a toilet sign that led me to a hidden, fully functional toilet.
What could have been a horrible memory turned out to be a surprisingly pleasant one, thanks to the ingenuity of Japanese UX design.
If I had a euro for every time I have struggled to find a toilet in a city, at an event or on a trip, I would have enough money to invest in, well, an overhaul of the urban planning of Brussels.
And when we do find a toilet in a public place, women often have to deal with long queues for cubicles, while men walk past with a grin. So I often avoid public events or try to book seats near the toilets.
Simply dividing the floor space equally between toilets isn't equitable.
If a toilet contains both urinals and cubicles, more men can use the facilities per square metre. In addition, women typically spend 2.3 times longer in the bathroom than men.
This is because women are more likely to be accompanying elderly or disabled people, have children, or be menstruating.
And yes, sometimes we stay longer to tell each other we're pretty. It's a safe space where we can be ourselves.
In 2017, a woman was caught urinating in public in Amsterdam after a night out. She challenged the fine, arguing that there weren't enough toilets available with only 2 out of 35 public restrooms designated for women.
The judge's response was worrying and insensitive, suggesting that women could use urinals in emergencies.
While the case prompted Amsterdam to take action by adding more public toilets, the current numbers remain inadequate.
Of the 112 public toilets, only 56 are designated for women, and 50 are accessible for disabled individuals, with only twelve of these facilities open 24/7.
Access to toilets is a fundamental need. This need extends beyond men to include the disabled, the unhoused, the elderly and people of all genders. Inadequate toilet facilities force people to avoid public spaces, sending a message that they are not welcome.
The design solution in public buildings is straightforward: provide more space and cubicles for women than for men when building a new restroom.
Another solution is to encourage public buildings or shops to open their toilets to the public.
The design legitimises the use
If a city isn't designed for people, they won't feel inclined to use it.
If it is difficult to walk with a pushchair, parks feel unsafe or access to toilets is restricted, women and girls will be discouraged from using urban spaces.
This sends a message that women aren't valued or welcome in the city.
From a young age, we are unconsciously taught that women don't have the right to move freely, to participate in society or to take up space.
The way spaces are designed not only allows certain people to use them more freely, but also indicates that others, such as women, are not welcome.
