The increase in vehicular speeds, removal of street hawkers, and addition of gated neighborhoods are all seen as contributing to a rise in crimes against women in New Delhi and other Indian cities. How can planning and design reverse this trend?
Neyaz Farooqui looks at some of the factors that are thought to have contributed to the rise in sexual violence in India's cities. Auto-centric planning, the placement of streetlights, and the segregation of cities into zones of exclusion each have a role in producing unsafe social and physical environments for women.
"Urban planners and designers argue that apart from better policing, gender-sensitive city planning and design can help make India’s cities safer for women," explains Farooqui. "Patterns of crime in a city, according to these experts, vary according to its urban design."
UPDATE (9/30): It appears as though some cities are already taking steps to create women-only spaces in response to the rise in sexual violence. Writing in The Washington Post, Annie Gowen notes that women-only buses, cabs, travel groups, and parks are emerging in several cities.
FULL STORY: Can Urban Planning Help India’s Cities Reduce Sexual Violence ?

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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

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California has awarded $500 million to fund 1,000 zero-emission school buses and chargers for educational agencies as part of its effort to reduce pollution, improve student health, and accelerate the transition to clean transportation.

Congress Moves to End Reconnecting Communities and Related Grants
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee moved to rescind funding for the Neighborhood Equity and Access program, which funds highway removals, freeway caps, transit projects, pedestrian infrastructure, and more.

From Throughway to Public Space: Taking Back the American Street
How the Covid-19 pandemic taught us new ways to reclaim city streets from cars.
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