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  • Home
  • About
    • Mission and vision
    • Need and opportunity
    • Our people
    • Friends and Partners
    • Join us
  • Learn
    • Facts and Figures
    • What is mental health?
    • How the city affects mental health
    • How mental health affects the city
    • How urban design can impact mental health
    • Mind the GAPS Framework
    • How to measure mental health
    • Courses
  • Book
  • Cities
  • Journal
    • Edition 1
    • Edition 2
    • Edition 3
    • Edition 4
    • Edition 5
    • Edition 6
    • Edition 7
    • Edition 8
    • Submit to Journal
  • Events
    • Washington DC Dialogue
    • London Dialogue
    • Tokyo Dialogue
    • Hong Kong Dialogue
    • Restorative Cities Event
  • PRESS
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SANITY AND URBANITY BLOG

If you are an academic, urban designer, planner, health professional or citymaker, and would like to submit a blog, please see submission guidelines.

A To-do List to help plan and design cities that empower women

3/8/2018

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In essence, women friendly cities are those cities where all the residents of that particular city can equally benefit from the financial, social and political opportunities presented before them."
- Women-Friendly Cities Initiative
Cities should always be planned and designed based on the needs of their users. On International Women's Day, let's think for a moment about the movement towards designing cities that empower women as much as they do men. With women comprising at least half of urban populations, many have pointed out that the disciplines of urban planning and design have historically been dominated by men and consequently, by the male perspective. This is a big topic. This is just a brief overview.

Thinking about designing cities 'for' women runs the risk of reinforcing all sorts of unhelpful gender stereotypes. But this isn't about superficial, potentially patronising projects. Effective city design needs to take into account the different patterns that emerge about what different people do in the city, and what they need. In  many cases, women and men have similar needs. But research also tells us that males and females do use cities differently, all over the world, and that certain factors associated with being female tend to restrict freedom of movement within the city. Many of these needs gaps, such as caring responsibilities and work patterns, will likely narrow as society moves towards gender equality. But right now around the world, certain urban design and planning factors can create challenges to women's self-esteem and belongingness, and can restrict their likelihood of accessing healthy opportunities in the urban environment, such as access to nature, exercise, or positive social interactions.

As such, this is  a matter of social justice that affects women's ability to engage in public life. It is fundamental that cities integrate the female perspective in design and planning process, and ensure that genders can benefit equally from services such as transportation, exercise venues, parks, health and social care facilities, and all other aspects of the city. So what's currently stopping them?

According to the research, factors associated with gender in urban design and planning seem to be largely divided into two main challenges: accessibility (psychological and physical); and safety. Some examples include:

Psychological and physical accessibility
  • Negotiating use of space: Women are less likely than men to negotiate and assert their legitimate use of spaces. For example, girls have been found to be  less likely to use parks when they feel they have been 'taken over' by boys.
  • Caring: Women are still statistically more likely than men to be carers, particularly for children and older relatives, and often more likely to run household errands. This brings about specific needs around maneuvering prams and wheelchairs around the city, and needs for public transport to efficiently cover times and places outside the city's standard 'rush hour' plan.
  • Toilets: Women tend to need to use toilets more frequently than men, for a range of reasons, including: menstruation, menopause, more susceptibility to urine infections due to anatomical differences, more susceptibility to urinary incontinence associated with the complications of previous childbirth, and increased risk of disorders like irritable bowel syndrome. In addition women are more likely than men to be caring for children or older people who have increased toilet needs. And transgender women may, depending on their location, may feel like they have no access to public toilets.

Safety
  • All genders fear crime, but studies show that women are more likely to fear crime. Women who are caregivers may also be particularly afraid of other threats to their charges, such as traffic danger. Such safety fears limit women's psychological freedom of movement, which may affect places they feel able to use in the city.

How this all affects mental health

Exclusion, anxiety, fear and marginalisation are detrimental to our mental health. Good design helps people feel included and valued, prevents isolation, and empowers us to access places that can have a protective effect on mental health, such as health facilities, natural parks, places to exercise, or settings to socialise. Feeling able to use the city also helps create feelings of community belongingness and social cohesion.

A To-do List starter for cities to deliver urban design that empowers females as it does males

  1. Women should be involved at all stages of urban design and planning processes.
  2. The female perspective should be an integral part of urban design and planning decisions.
  3. Sidewalks, public transport and access points should be designed to welcome prams and wheelchairs.
  4. Public transit should be safe and invest in diverse schedules beyond the standard office rush hour.
  5. Pedestrian, cycle and public transit routes should incorporate natural surveillance, good lighting, and good stewardship and maintenance, and reduce the risk of unwanted interactions.
  6. Consideration could be given to subdividing some public places like parks so that one group is less likely to take over the whole space, and sections feel hospitable for different people's needs.
  7. Public toilets, and places welcoming for baby changing and feeding, should be plentiful, accessible and safe.
WOMEN-FRIENDLY CITIES

ARE CITIES WHERE WOMEN
  • Can access health, education and social services.
  • Can access employment opportunities.
  • Can access high quality and comprehensive urban services (such as transportation, accommodation and security).
  • Can access mechanisms that will guarantee their rights in the event they are subjected to violence.
ARE CITIES WHERE
  • Local governments take into account women’s issues and perspectives in their planning and decision-making processes.
  • Women are supported and encouraged to participate in all areas of urban life on an equal basis with men.

- Women-Friendly Cities Initiative
Note: gender, urban design and mental health is a challenging intersection. This op-ed cannot hope to fully cover its many facets but is intended to inspire thought about the opportunities to design more inclusive and empowering cities. If you want to examine a different angle, please submit to this blog.

Read about how urban design can promote good mental health for everyone here

About the Author

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Layla McCay is Director of the Centre for Urban Design and Mental Health. A psychiatrist, international public health and health systems specialist, and adjunct professor of international health at Georgetown University, she set up UD/MH in 2015 to help increase interest, knowledge sharing and translational research to improve population mental health through smart urban design. Trained at the Maudsley Hospital and Institute of Psychiatry in London, Layla has a keen interest in the determinants of mental health, and a passion for the built environment and helping people love the places they live. 

@LaylaMcCay and @urbandesignmh
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Waterfront urban public spaces: a Key West case study

3/7/2018

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Early planning practices were predominantly focused on addressing the issues of the postindustrial city. Among these issues was access to clean waterfront spaces. As cities by the sea and large rivers expand and become more dense, access to clean waterfront spaces has become an increasable asset to overall health and public life of cities.

Key West is a south Florida town located on an island at the southernmost tip of the continental United States. Naturally much of the island’s public life and overall movement is centered around waterfront spaces or within the ocean itself. The island is among the most densely populated areas in the state. Key West has long been, and continues to be, a haven for immigrant communities, artists, the LGBTQ community and fishermen. Given that it is an extremely demographically diverse town with high density levels, the island serves for a very unique observation on public urban life, specifically public spaces.

Among the island’s most iconic public spaces is White Street Pier. The pier is a unique structure that starts at the southern end of the street by the same name and begins at the edge of the sea. The structure stretches into the ocean for several feet, removing itself from the noise pollution of the surplus of motorized vehicles the island possesses. The pier contains at its end an open space with direct proximity to the sea. The pier is lined with benches, walkways, and bike paths; not specifically delineated. The versatility of the space and its proximity to clean ocean water allows for quite a variety of uses in the space. One can observe a variety of activities ranging from fishing, to strolling and skate boarding. Considering that the island’s surface is very small, access to public spaces is limited, enhancing a convergence of many different social demographics within the public realm. The pier becomes an urban oasis from the access to fresh ocean air and lack of noise. The only sounds that can be easily heard are those coming from the sea and those generated from people, adding an additional natural element to the pier.

White street pier has a unique form of public space on a grander scale, however the island of Key
West is full of public life by the sea.
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Given the overwhelming impact that urbanized areas have on people's access to silent spaces and natural amenities, a piers and other waterside walkways can be helpful in neutralizing the overstimulating effects of urban noise pollution and contributing to the overall mental health of a city.

Key West’s small roads and plentiful bike lanes offer a pedestrian and bike-friendly environment. In addition, the island boasts plentiful bike trails which are completely free of car traffic allowing for the easy movement of people. The walkway is also used as a major bike route connecting the island. The city government of Key West has led a variety of initiatives advocating for the use of bikes instead of cars and other sustainable modes of transportation. Cycle Free Key West is an initiative started by the city’s planning department as a means of promoting the use of the bike as a healthy, safe and fast alternative mode of transportation on the island in addition to promoting walkability and other sustainable modes of transit throughout the island.

The waterside walkway serves as a major sustainable and healthy means of transportation and is frequently used by locals and tourists alike. The ocean gives one a sense of peace that is often not present in urban environments. The citizens of this busy seaside town are lucky enough to enjoy this. Furthermore, given that physical health and mental health go hand in hand urban planning initiatives that promote physical activities are of the utmost importance.
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About the Author

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Andre Williams is a Panamanian and American undergraduate student currently working on his BA in Urban Studies at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. He is a UD/MH Associate. His main interests include architecture, urban public spaces, and urban sociology. In addition, he would like to research the effects the built environment has on the moods and behaviors of urban inhabitants.
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An urban design and mental health reading list

3/1/2018

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For #WorldBookDay we asked our UD/MH fellows and other Twitter followers which books they would recommend that are relevant to the nexus of urban design and mental health. Behold: your UD/MH reading list. We hope you find some of these enjoyable.

I’ll start, shall I? The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs is of course a classic. Focuses the mind on planning that facilitates communities and social interaction.

— UrbanDesignMH (@urbandesignmh) March 1, 2018

A more recent recommendation is @thehappycity by Charles Montgomery. Though primarily about ‘happiness’, his book has energised a lot of people about how city design can contribute to mental wellbeing.

— UrbanDesignMH (@urbandesignmh) March 1, 2018


Recommendations by UD/MH Fellows

#worldbookday My top recommendation is currently Welcome to your World: How the Built Environment Shapes our Lives @SarahWGoldhagen

— Jenny Roe (@jennyjroe) March 1, 2018

I'll go with an essay (which was part of a book) An Architecture of the Seven Senses by Juhani Pallasmaa. Here's a link where you can read it. https://t.co/vtFMa8vkZ5

— Itai Palti (@ipalti) March 1, 2018

Over the Christmas break I read Edward T Hall's The Hidden Dimension and I think there was so much wisdom in that book, that I think we now can revisit with our modern technologies. https://t.co/NFXN99HbkQ

— Robin Mazumder (@RobinMazumder) March 1, 2018

On the value of community and human contact over monetary resources (social sustainability vs economic sustainability) there’s nothing better than George Eliot’s Silas Marner.

— Rhiannon Corcoran (@rhiannoncor) March 1, 2018

I recommend that everybody concerned with making and managing places reads Jared Diamond's "Collapse" https://t.co/agrUFrWuHo https://t.co/5r4zEzmr1r

— prosocial place (@prosocialplace) March 1, 2018

I also recommend Urban Alchemy: Restoring Joy in America's Sorted-Out Cities and Root Shock: How Tearing Up City Neighborhoods Hurts America, And What We Can Do About It, both by Mindy Fullilove @mindphul

— UrbanDesignMH (@urbandesignmh) March 2, 2018


Recommendations from UD/MH friends on Twitter

The Shaping of Us by Lily @spaceworksco

— ePSIch (@ePSIchology) March 1, 2018

Landscape and urban design for health and well-being: using healing, sensory and therapeutic gardens by me! (Gayle Souter-Brown) @RoutLandscape

— Greenstone Design (@Gayle_GSB) March 2, 2018

Healing Spaces, by Esther Sternberg @esthersternberg -- a fabulous book!

— Sarah W Goldhagen (@SarahWGoldhagen) March 2, 2018

"Cubed: A Secret History of the Workplace" by Nikil Saval

Here's a review: https://t.co/gtlSv1HiVp

— Healing Places (@Healing_Pl) March 2, 2018

Just read the 2017 biography of Jane Jacobs. Useful to see how belittled she was as ‘just a mother’. Her insights are very relevant to the role of the built environment in helping to create viable and potentially supportive communities.

— Paul Lincoln (@PaulLincoln) March 1, 2018

Arrival City by @DougSaunders A book that argues that migration is normal and needs to be responded to intelligently by city planners and designers. City Life and Home by @witoldr both of which look at the significance of what we build and how we do it.

— Paul Lincoln (@PaulLincoln) March 1, 2018

Twenty Minutes in Manhattan is a great analysis of why living in the west village is so satisfying. And I want to write the London version.

— Paul Lincoln (@PaulLincoln) March 1, 2018

Bowling Alone by Robert Puttnam - not so much about urban design but a lot about the rituals and clubs that tie together communities and which aid the avoidance of isolation.

— Paul Lincoln (@PaulLincoln) March 1, 2018

Concretopia by @Grindrod an autobiographical take on post-war British building

— Paul Lincoln (@PaulLincoln) March 1, 2018

How about the opening of “IF NOBODY SPEAKS OF REMARKABLE THINGS” by Jon McGregor? Such a great description of sensory experience of an ordinary urban place: https://t.co/vn1ugCBPKT

— Steve Kemp (@SteveKempOP) March 1, 2018

EVERY book about urban design is relevant to mental health □

— Ben Hockman (@BAHockman) March 1, 2018
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    Sanity and Urbanity: 
    a UD/MH blog

    Reading, seeing, thinking and doing urban design to improve mental health. 

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