Adrem Careers’ Post

This week, we’ve been discussing how architects can be stewards for good design that facilitates women and gender diverse people’s safety and greater accessibility in the built environment. Two salient references - a fantastic piece commissioned by Greater London Authority and authored by Publica, sets out a toolkit of questions as a project lens for public space creators and custodians. https://lnkd.in/efM-i2FY Secondly, Cities Alive: Designing Cities that Work for Women produced by Arup in partnership with UNDP and University of Liverpool sets out actions for change across four key themes - safety & security, justice & equity, health & wellbeing and enrichment & fulfilment. https://lnkd.in/eGftY_Nf Translating the key themes from these references into designer’s touchstones has - for starters - had us talking wayfinding, landscape & playspace, 24hr buildings, ground floor design and celebrating gender diversity through public art. Is your design team looking at this too? What touchstones would you add? #publicspace #womensafety #genderdiversity

“This is a man’s, man’s, man’s world” sang James Brown with that airy, profound voice in the 1960s, at the height of counterculture, that legendary anti-establishment cultural and political movement calling for the end of racial, gender, ethnic and all sorts of other injustices through resistance and social liberation. Fast-forward to the 8th of March in a world of… surprise surprise, still a world of men. A lot has changed, but not everything that could have. And we could even argue, like Angela Saini suggests, that we’re perhaps failing to imagine real alternatives to patriarchy when International Women’s Day has become a parade of pink and self-justification – in the shallowest of senses. But let’s talk about urbanism, and it is impossible to talk about it without talking about inclusiveness in our cities. It is no mystery that the built environment has been shaped by men – but what has this led to? Quite logically, if you take the man as the norm, you’re ignoring the perspectives and experiences of any other human being. Example: the much-discussed tragicomic situation of public toilets. What else has been designed with disregard for the non-male perspective? Or even further – how does the design of our cities disregard other forms of inequality beyond the gender bias? It is precisely that which we want to highlight today – intersectionality in urbanism. Coined in 1989 by Kimberlé Crenshaw, “intersectionality” is "a prism for seeing how various forms of inequality often operate together and exacerbate each other”. How can urbanism be intersectional? Today, March 8, we want to bring attention to what is possible to reach the "alternative to the binary" – to talk, to listen, and to do a collective exercise of participatory design when it comes to our cities, because through collaboration and diversity, we are sure that we can live in a city that is truly for everyone. #humankind #intersectionalfeminism #8M Want to read more? Here are a few links: https://lnkd.in/dnySmPJ6 https://lnkd.in/dF8_Dq2E https://lnkd.in/dkSYn9KE

Know more about our #FEM.DES. Network Working Groups Our FEM. DESign Network is founded upon the moral imperative of promoting gender equity and inclusivity in urban spaces. With a diverse range of #feminist design #topics, #resources, and #tools, our network strives to empower feminist design and foster positive change mainly in the built environment. With over 240 global FEM. Experts from more than 55 cities around the world. We firmly believe in challenging and #dismantling the #systemic #barriers that perpetuate #genderinequalities within the built environment. FEM. DESign #Cities represents our commitment to expanding our impact, spreading awareness, and actively engaging in transformative practices across different local contexts. #Design and Urban Planning Group This subgroup focuses on the #physical aspects of urban spaces. Comprising architects, urban planners, and designers, co-led by our amazing FEM.Creators Belen Iturralde Nourhan Bassam ITZEL JULIETA FUENTES MORALES Alejandra Benoso Dr May Newisar Diana Ardila Luengas Dorsa Jalalian Javiera Paz Martínez Espinoza Julieta Impemba Vaishnavi Laddha its goal is to incorporate inclusive design principles into the planning process by assessing existing infrastructure and proposing innovative solutions to create gender-responsive and inclusive urban environments. It focuses mainly on integrating gender considerations into the design and development of cities. https://lnkd.in/geiZV2iT

👇🏾 An incredible work pulled together by one of #Architecture's unsung heroes, #Thrive by Sumita Singha OBE 💙 is a necessary, useful, inspiring text for all generations needing to understand the vitality of women in the profession. Sumita's own story of graft, barriers, breaking through them and sheer grit and determination, sustainably working for decades, single mum, starting #ArchitectsForChange, Former Chair of Women in Architecture... is one that has not been celebrated, acknowledged or championed enough. She's one of RIBAs best in my opinion. Buy this book.

Join me for this important discussion on gender equity in our parks and public spaces!

"Designing cities that are safer for women is an ongoing journey that requires collaboration, dedication, and a commitment to change." An interesting article by Susan. With 80% of women in the UK experiencing sexual harassment in a public space (UN UK Women's Survey), safer cities for women must be a priority. My BE LADS campaign aims to highlight that women's fears for their safety in public spaces are not unfounded. There is a mountain of statistical data to back this, as well as countless high-profile cases of women being unsafe in public, particularly in the night-time economy. Governments can - and should - be doing much more to tackle this problem. www.belads.co.uk #safety #vawg #heforshe #enoughisenough

What is a safe city and how can we design safer, more inclusive places that incorporate the needs of diverse groups? Check out my latest blog post for the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) where I discuss the various ways in which we can consider the need of women and girls' within the design process. Designing safer streets for women brings multiple benefits and can improve safety for everyone. Let me know your thoughts below! #InclusiveDesign #Womenssafety #GenderSensitiveDesign #wearewsp https://lnkd.in/eeSmvbpf

Urban Planning for "The #Few" The absence of #inclusive, #gender-sensitive, and #pro-poor #policy frameworks and #governance has resulted in #exclusionary trends within #urban #development. This division is evident in the #proliferation of gated communities, private security teams, high-rise apartment complexes, shopping malls, parks, and recreational facilities #exclusively catering to the #elite. Meanwhile, marginalized groups and the impoverished majority face #evictions and a lack of #adequate housing, #infrastructure, and services. This way of planning, often referred to as "urban planning for the few," fails to promote sustainability and economic stability. "Urban Planning for the Few" has contributed to the exacerbation of #inequalities within our #cities. It has perpetuated a system that prioritizes the needs and desires of a select few, widening the gap between the privileged and the marginalized. However, feminist urbanism offers an alternative, aiming to create inclusive urban spaces that cater to the needs of 99.9% of the population. There is no #singular or #linear path to #planning with a #gender lens, and there is no single ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to meet the needs, but we can start by https://lnkd.in/dgpxGRJc

Feminism in Architecture Read Full Article>https://ow.ly/j3ZT50QUWKt Intersections of society, existence, and human life are all around us calling for attention to fair treatment purporting to the inequity of spaces, livelihoods, communities, and opportunities. #urbanplanning #urbandesign #construction #landscapearchitecture #interior