Men are often overrepresented in consultations about how city facilities are built. To account for this, planners need to seek out women's comments and look for ways to better serve them, argues Alexander Starritt.
Men and women have different needs when it comes to city facilities. A recent piece by Alexander Starritt in Fast Co.Exist describes how a survey of Viennese transit riders revealed starkly different responses between genders. Staritt writes that cities have opportunities to serve their women who get forgotten when men are the default. "The crux is the consultation process—actually asking people how they live and then building the city to fit," Staritt says.
Among the strategies cities have used some concern safety, "Toronto has made a 'request stop system,' so women (and men, for that matter) can get off buses closer to their homes late at night," Starritt reports. "Several places, from Srinigar in Kashmir to Mexico City, have created women-only buses and subway cars," the article points out. There are also ways in which cities can better accommodate child care, which is more likely to be a concern for women than men.
FULL STORY: Women And Men Use Cities Very Differently
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
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Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions