In the early 1990s, it was common for technocrats to dismiss the idea of gender-responsive infrastructure with remarks such as “a road is just a road”, meaning gender was irrelevant.

Today, it is acknowledged that virtually everything has a gender dimension. This informs the dedication of a full day to the theme ‘Women Shaping Cities and Communities’ at the second United Nations Habitat Assembly held in Nairobi recently.

This comes on the heels of the 2022 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report, Cities Alive: Designing Cities that work for Women, which called for an overhaul of city design and inclusion of women in urban planning. The shortage of women in planning is largely due to their relative absence in technical careers.

A 2020 survey on women in the built environment established that they constituted 142 (7.0 per cent) of 1,936 engineers, 38 (14 per cent) of 278 construction managers, 62 (24 per cent) of 255 planners, 90 (12 per cent) of 763 architects and 78 (17 per cent) of 459 quantity surveyors.

The 2020 Economic Survey report says the percentage of female students in engineering courses declined from 25.4 to 23.4 in 2018/19, with projections of continued male dominance in the foreseeable future.

The UNDP report discusses a gender-responsive city from four perspectives. Under safety and security, it highlights women’s reduced mobility due to safety concerns. These relate to poor lighting, public spaces and mass transit systems, which create opportunities for sexual harassment and other forms of violence.

The report recommends improvement of street lighting and creation of women-only spaces; passive surveillance along mobility routes; increased access to non-motorised transport; and establishment of digital platforms for awareness creation and response.

Regarding justice and equality, the report notes: low representation of women in decision-making positions; gender-blind data for urban planning; and unequal access to land tenure.

Redress measures proposed include gender-responsive national laws and policies; inclusion of women in urban governance; and collection of gender-disaggregated data. Sweden used such data to prioritise the dredging of arterial roads mainly used by women and children. This resulted in a reduction by half of accidents attributed to snow. Protection of women’s right to land and property implies ensuring that they are registered as joint owners with their husbands.

Health concerns

For health and wellbeing, the report decries inadequate: public spaces, green areas and active mobility; healthcare facilities and services; and water, hygiene, and sanitation facilities. Taking facilities at bus stations, for example, there must be separate sanitation facilities for women, with menstrual health management and baby care fixtures.

The waiting bays should have breastfeeding stations, panic buttons and physical, as well as virtual, reporting mechanisms for response to gender-based violence.

In some countries, urban transport buses are required by law to have women-only seats with larger than average spacing to cater for babies and shopping. The systems also enhance women’s access to jobs and faster return home.

In Dhaka, Bangladesh, for example, the bus rapid transit corridor is aligned with a garment factory hub and female workers’ residential areas. The system mandates separate queues, reserved seats for women, affirmative employment in construction and maintenance, and reserved spaces for women vendors at bus stations.

Under water, hygiene and sanitation, the UNDP report notes that women lose a lot of time queuing because of deficient services. Such deficiency compromises their hygiene, especially considering menstruation, pregnancy, baby care and household sanitation roles.

Locating such facilities in isolated and dark areas also come with security implications. The report proposes accessible and community-led water facilities and sanitary products. But such may be negated by gender power dynamics. In some slums in Nairobi, for instance, water kiosks established by charities for women have been alienated by male youth who sell the commodity for profit.

For enrichment and fulfilment, the report discusses obstacles to education, employment and technology; lack of diverse and flexible public spaces; and inadequate leisure, social and cultural facilities. This could be tackled through provision of accessible and inclusive workplaces and schools; modular and adaptable office spaces to reduce sexual harassment and enhance comfort and safety; safe and inclusive leisure and cultural spaces; and celebration of the history of women through the built environment.

The last implies erection of monuments and naming of streets and public spaces in honour of women. Thinking of Nairobi, for instance, how many roads, buildings, hospitals and schools are named after women?

The step-by-step guide for planners include a women’s needs analysis, followed by gender-responsive: city pledge and action plan; taskforce and champions; procurement and finance mechanisms; guidance for construction sites; education of professionals; and inclusion of diverse voices and experiences in shaping projects. One hopes that urban policymakers, planners and implementers read such documents and have the willpower to implement them.

The writer is an international gender and development consultant and scholar ([email protected])