A blueprint to build gender inclusive cities

Providing equal opportunities for women in urban development is not just about fairness but is also key to building better cities.

India’s G20 presidency was marked by its firm commitment to gender-responsive urban planning. Despite women constituting half of the global urban population, they have been underrepresented in urban planning, local government, and engineering, as historically, men designed cities worldwide to fit the needs of able-bodied men, often neglecting the needs of women, girls, and individuals with disabilities. This restricted women’s mobility, limiting their access to education, employment, and other essential services. Through the Urban20 (U20) engagement group, India’s G20 presidency brought together mayors and representatives from cities in G20 countries to collectively discuss ways to promote gender equality in urban development and improve access to public amenities for all. As the technical secretariat for U20, the National Institute of Urban Affairs collaborated with UN Women to integrate gender considerations into U20 deliberations, recognising that gender-responsive urban planning leads to economically prosperous, socially just, and inclusive cities.

G20 leaders also committed to actions recognising the links between urban development and women’s well-being, leadership, and participation. (HT PHOTO)

As part of our advocacy, we developed targeted recommendations for gender-inclusive development across the six U20 pillars, namely encouraging environmentally responsible behaviours, ensuring water security, accelerating climate finance, championing local culture, reinventing frameworks for urban governance, and catalysing digital urban futures. For example, under the “Ensuring Water Security” pillar, U20 advocated for women’s participation in conserving natural resources and mainstreaming gender in the water-energy-food nexus. The goal was to incorporate women’s voices in decisions regarding water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services and infrastructure leading to more effective problem-solving to build resilient cities. We also published a report on “Mainstreaming Women-Led Urban Frameworks”, with recommendations for cities to kickstart their development initiatives across U20 pillars, such as increasing the participation of women in framing climate policies (by mandating an equal or higher representation of women in politics and governance systems).

The New Delhi Leader’s Declaration underscored the need for inclusive, resilient, and sustainable cities of the future by encouraging better access to finance and resources. It urged development financial institutions and multilateral development banks to leverage their planning and financing for urban infrastructure projects. The final U20 communique, endorsed by over 105 cities worldwide, recommended regulations to promote green career opportunities; enhance digital literacy; and access to space, infrastructure and services to innovators, start-ups, and gig economies, especially those led by women.

G20 leaders also committed to actions recognising the links between urban development and women’s well-being, leadership, and participation. For example, G20 leaders pledged to support gender-responsive and environment-resilient climate solutions, aligning with the U20 pillar of “Ensuring Environmentally Responsible Behaviour”. This pillar is focused on promoting women’s leadership in the green economy through engagements with the ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises, and the National Urban Livelihoods Mission. G20 leaders also committed to bridging the gender digital divide across domains, aligned with the U20 pillar of “Catalysing Digital Urban Futures.” Cities, as vibrant hubs of economic activity, will be home to approximately two-thirds of the world’s population by the year 2050. By 2030, it is estimated that six out of every 10 people in the world will live in urban areas. India’s urban population is estimated to grow by around 40% to around 637 million (from 455 million currently). This amounts to a massive influx of people into cities not built for these numbers. With urbanisation on the rise, cities must plan and manage themselves inclusively, benefiting everyone, including women.

Some cities are already doing that. For example, Vienna in Austria has mainstreamed gender in its urban planning for over three decades now, leading to various design changes, catering to women’s differential needs such as low-height buildings for better visibility, wider footpaths, and improved lighting for better mobility. The city of London uses big data analytics and surveys to analyse travel patterns and issues faced by various communities, leading to actions related to safety, accessibility, affordability, workforce diversity, and communication. The Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT) in Bhubaneshwar collects gender-disaggregated ticket data to gather insights into the travel patterns of female passengers across the city. This data is then analysed to identify patterns of how women travel, trip-specific as well as route-specific female ridership, to develop gender-responsive infrastructure. Ensuring inclusive urban spaces is not a challenging task — it requires a different perspective. Providing equal opportunities for women in urban development is not just about fairness but is also key to building better cities.

Hitesh Vaidya is former director of National Institute of Urban Affairs, and Susan Ferguson is the country representative of UN Women India. The views expressed are personal