Female friendly Shanghai by Gabriella Pekelharing

Female Friendly Shanghai Implementing global female-friendly design principles in the local Shanghainese public space context to corroborate an inclusive 21st century city

Gabriëlla Pekelharing P5/O5 Academy of Architecture Amsterdam

Gabriëlla Catharina Maria Pekelharing pekelharinggabriella@gmail.com Master Urbanism Academy of Architecture Amsterdam P5/O5 project studio and research Tutors: Roel Wolters WenWen Sun November 2023

contents page

01 Setting the scene: The Global feminist context Global feminist literature The local Chinese feminist context Shanghai as a Global city

10 12 14 16

02 Concept

03 Approach (A) Literature study: Matrix: linking feminism literature to practice (B) Social study: The women of Shanghai (C) Spatial study: Observations within the case study area - Yangpu district, Shanghai

26 32 44

04 Combined analysis of the focus area

05 Female-friendly Toolkit: design proposals for female-friendly urban design principles, in Yangpu, Shanghai

06 Female-friendly Yangpu Design proposal for a female-friendly 21st century Shanghainese city district; Yangpu district

112

07 Conclusions and recommendations: A female-friendly future in Yangpu, Shanghai, and beyond.

132

Reference list

136

This research and design project uses various terms which some readers may not be familiar with. Please find a list of definitions below to assist you. Definitions according to Ecorys Consortium (2021): Feminism

The collective term for social and political movements that are critical of unequal relations between men and women – in all their diversity – and that campaign for equal rights and opportunities for all. Feminism is also often regarded as a political position that aims to abolish systemic inequality and power relations.

Gender Equality

The equal valuation by society of people of different sexes, genders or sexual orientations, and truly equal conditions, rights, opportunities and possibilities for everyone to exercise selfdetermination in their life, live in dignity and have the opportunity to contribute according to their full potential, including economic, social, cultural and political development.

Intersectionality

The interconnection of different social factors such as class, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation and gender (identity), disability, religion and other forms of identity at multiple levels, leading to social discrimination or privilege. In the context of this study: overlap between gender, class and other forms of identity, impacting on people’s social status and wellbeing.

Intersectional approach

Awareness and tackling of discrimination on the basis of the combined forms of identity of all people.

01 Setting the scene: The Global feminist context Global feminist literature The local Chinese feminist context Shanghai as a Global city

If the current rate of pro it would require another 1 equality between men a

World Economic Forum’s 2022

(WEF, 20

Global feminism news 10

ogress was to continue, 132 years before gender and women is reached

2 Global Gender Gap Rapport

022:5)

The power of feminism is growing - but we still have a very long way to go! 11

KVINDER, KØN & FORSKNING NR. 3-4 2009

Gender Mainstreaming in Vienna

How the Gender Perspective Can Raise the Quality of Life in a Big City BY URSULA BAUER

ESSAY

VERSIÓ PRELIMINAR 18/11/21

olitics and administration set the framework for equal opportunities. In the context of gender mainstreaming, this means that gender-caused differences have to be considered systematically in the provision of public services such as housing and mobility, education and child-care facilities, as well as health care and care for the elderly, as these services are crucial for gender equality. The city of Vienna is determined to consider social changes continuously, hence improving equality between women and men is considered an important topic on the city’s agenda. Since the beginning of the 1990s there has been a clear political commitment to a policy of equality of opportunity. The promotion of women has played an important role in Vienna for more than fifteen years. A municipal department for the promotion and coordination of women’s affairs was created in 1992. This has encouraged a gender-sensitive approach in various parts of the city administration, be

GENDER ISSUE GUIDE URBAN PLANNING AND DESIGN

A guide for cities to sustainable and inclusive urban planning and design together with girls

Global feminism literature 12

Cities Alive

Designing cities that work for women

arup.com

Supported by:

& HER CITY STORIES January - November 2020

Countless literature sources about feminism - but often the link to practice is missing 13

‘Barbie’ triggers heated d and feminis

There is growing awareness of gen social backlash and a governmen

NBC news headline Gao & Che

Local Chinese feminism news 14

discussions over patriarchy sm in China

nder inequality in China but also a nt crackdown on related activism.

er : 13 August 2023 eng (2023)

Why is feminism still a taboo? often a hard reality for Chinese women 15

The Global Feminism discussion

city; healthcare access is becoming increasingly scarce, the rate of environmental pollution within the city is growing, and the perceptage of public green spaces are declining. In addition, the exponentially increasing cost of living, housing inequalities and market reform are all threatening the quality of life within the urban boundaries of Shanghai (Chen, 2014).

The World Economic Forum’s 2022 Global Gender Gap Rapport stated that if the current rate of progress was to continue, it would require another 132 years before gender equality between men and women is reached (WEF, 2022:5). The United Nations have continued to actively address global gender inequalities through application of their Sustainable Development Goals. Target 11.7 is one of these goals and aims to ‘’provide universal access to safe, inclusive, and accessible, green, and public spaces, particularly for women and children, older persons, and persons with disabilities, by 2030’’ (UN Habitat, 2018:1).

The polarisation of economic growth and social decline within the city of Shanghai is becoming an increasingly hard reality. The Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center, located in the heart of the city, boasts an elaborate and informative representation of the city’s 2050 Masterplan. The city aims to become a flourishing knowledge and innovation hub for the world. The exhibition center also highlights the importance of health and social wellbeing. While this may be listed on the city’s agenda, the current realities ensure that the city will have to make great changes for it to become the inclusive and open-minded city it promotes itself to become. Following an intersectional approach is essential.

Gender inequality is not only a global problem, but also an ongoing local predicament, in China. Ranked at a petty 102nd position out of 146 nations (WEF, 2022:10), the Republic of China still has a great deal of work to do to ensure parity between genders. Wang & Sekiyama (2023:1) highlighted that 62,38% of Shanghainese women who participated in their study experienced physical and emotional domestic violence, which is a much higher percentage than results published by the Chinese national government. It is thus evident to state than women in China, and for this context specifically women in Shanghai, still experience a great form of inequality in comparison to their male counterparts.

The role of gender inclusion in a Global City

We may thus assume that a city as Shanghai, which profiles itself as a ‘Global city’ should be a frontrunner when it comes to the emancipation of women. Afterall, a Global City is a city which is liberal and inclusive to all its inhabitants. However, the hard reality, according to many sources, is that women are still very much suppressed in Shanghai.

Shanghai - a Global City?

From an economic perspective, we may state that Shanghai is a Global City. Boasting a rich and succesful history as the Republic of China (between 1912 and 1949), Shanghai was the second most thriving urban area in Asia, behind Tokyo (Chen, 2014). Following the 1949 Chinese Revolution, Shanghai faced a long period of heavy industrialisation and firm state control. Since the mid - 1990s, Shanghai launched itself onto the global trading networks, aiming to be granted the title of a Global City.

This study questions how female-friendly the public realm within the city of Shanghai really is, and more specifically, the Yangpu District in Shanghai. As a result, relevant global, femalefriendly urban design and urban planning principles have been applied in the local Shanghainese context to corroborate a genderinclusive 21st century city.

How female-friendly is Shanghai? , the city which profiles itself as a Global city

On the other hand, the social perspective in Shanghai is less promising. Chen (2014) refers in their conference paper to data released by the Shanghai Municipal Statistics Bureau in 2013. This dataset reveals that Shanghai is facing a number of basic social issues within the 17

02 Concept

female-friendly design

good design

(A) Matrix

(B) Women

03 Approach (A) Literature study: Matrix: linking feminist literature to practice (B) Social study: The women of Shanghai (C) Spatial study: Observations within the case study area Yangpu district, Shanghai

03 Approach (A) Literature study: Matrix: linking feminist literature to practice

Matrix: Linking female-friendly literature to practice The Ecorys Consortium (2021:9), commissioned by the Dutch Ministry for Foreign Affairs, mentioned in their study Feminist Foreign Policy that ‘There is growing international demand for more gender-transformative, inclusive laws and policy’.

Global literature sources have highlighted 20 essential female-friendly urban design and urban planning related conditions/codes which, if applied in urban areas, may improve the level of gender-inclusion within the area.

While there are countless numbers of feminist/ female-related literature sources, and should keep growing, this study has identified a research gap. The large number of feminist related sources highlight to great extents the day-to-day issues which women face across the globe. However, very practical solutions to these problems are often not mentioned. Especially within the professional field of Urbanism. While many sources highlight issues with ‘here and there’ suggestions on how to tackle the issue, very local and concrete, context specific interventions/solutions often don’t receive the necessary attention.

These 20 codes include: - 6 codes directly linked to the mobility theme - 4 codes linked to safety and wellbeing - 10 codes linked to the theme of accessibility to various urban functions/land-uses. The 20 codes have been compactly placed in a matrix (Table1). This matrix forms the literature base of this study. During the site-visit to Shanghai, China, the chosen focus area, the Yangpu district, was analysed according to how well implemented the above mentioned 20 codes are. By analysing the current female-friendly conditions in Shanghai according to the matrix (in addition to the social this study focussing on the women of Shanghai, and the spatial observations made at the site location) this study aims to provide potential design solutions and recommendations to enhance the level of female-friendliness.

Feminism is a very broad and detailed topic intertwined in many perspectives; social, economic, environmental, spatial, and so forth. As an urban designer, the spatial perspective is the area where we may cover the most ground and make the great impact. This study thus focusses purely on the spatial perspective. It is however important to note, that while urbanism related topics tend to gravitate towards the spatial perspective, they are of course also intertwined with other perspectives. Improving the quality of urban space also has direct benefits for the social, economic, and environmental perspectives within the city. This study therefore aims to link global femalefriendly related urbanism literature, to practice.

Table 1: Female-friendly matrix

Matrix: Female-friendly measures gathered from various literature sources Thematic category: public space design Theme Code Source Wide pedestrian- Kern (2021:47) friendly sidewalks - Bauer (2009:66) - Agencia de Salut Publica de Barcelona (2020:37) Long(er) crossing time - ARUP, UNDP & at pedestrian crossings University of Liverpool (2022:39) Elevators present at - Kern (2021:35-36) public transport facilities Designated seating in - ARUP (2020:9) public transport - Bauer (2009:66)

Thematic category: land-use planning Theme Code Source Accessibility to - Kern (2021:39) (pre)schools

Mobility

Accessibility to medical - Kern (2021:47) facilities - Iturralde (2021:21)

Adequate seating quantities in public space for resting inclusive alternatives for stairs

- Gehl (2011:161)

- Kern (2021:39) - Iturralde (2021:21)

Accessibility to public transport

- Kern (2021:47) – - Agencia de Salut Publica de Barcelona (2020:37) - ARUP, UNDP & University of Liverpool (2022:80) - ARUP, UNDP & University of Liverpool (2022:79) - Kern (2021:54) - ARUP, UNDP & University of Liverpool (2022:79)

Accessibility to sport facilities

Accessibility

- ARUP, UNDP & University of Liverpool (2022:39) ‘sufficient’ lighting in -ARUP, UNDP & public space (Street University of Liverpool lanterns and LED strips (2022:39) on the ground or walls) -Agencia de Salut Publica de Barcelona (2020:37)

Safety/wellbeing

Accessibility to supermarkets

Access to green and blue spaces Access to shared spaces for communal cooking

Ploughed and clean sidewalks

- Kern (2021:54)

Access to community (vegetable) gardens

Eyes on the street: active plinths (windows and balconies towards the street) Safe and clean public toilet infrastructure (where breastfeeding is also possible)

- Heffernan et al (2014:101)

Accessibility to inclusive (children’s) play areas

- Kern (2021:54) - Greed (2019:909) - ARUP, UNDP & University of Liverpool (2022:79) - Bauer (2009:66)

Accessibility to daycare facilities

Source: own composition, 2023 (adapted from various literature sources)

- Kern (2021:54) - ARUP, UNDP & University of Liverpool (2022:79) - Kern (2021:39) - Iturralde (2021:21) - ARUP, UNDP & University of Liverpool (2022:80) - Kern (2021:47) - Bauer (2009:64)

Matrix: Literature --> p 28

practice 29

03 Approach (B) Social study: The women of Shanghai

FEMALE FACES OF SHANGHAI

Three female profiles

This social chapter identifies three female profiles which sym

Social snapper

working

female profile #1

female p

The ‘social snapper’ is a busy-bee, always on the search from the latest, and hippest, place in town. The social snapper represents the young generation of Shanghainese women. They are often spotted in public with friends, taking photos or selfies.

The ‘working woman difficult life, whether s as a teacher, a designer these women dedicate their jobs, trying to m high-pressure Chinese

Social snappers are in public during most of the day, as well as in the evenings at cool bars and restaurants, and shopping malls.

The working woman sp inside, working, but co purposes, or later in squares where they en

mbolise all the women of Shanghai.

g woman

Caregiver

profile #2

female profile #3

n’ lives a busy, and she works in business, r, or as a cleaning lady, e many hours a day to make ends meet in the society.

pends most of her day omes outside for travel the evening to public njoy dancing.

The caregiver represents the elder generation of grandparents who more-and-more play an important role within Chinese society. Caregivers have the responsibility of looking after their grandchildren since their parents are too busy working during the day, and cannot always afford daycare services. The caregiver spends many hours at parks and playgrounds with the children, as well as picking them up and taking them to school.

THE SOCIAL SNAPPER FEMALE PROFILE 1:

PROFILE: Age:

Occupation:

Social media influencer

Hobbies:

Photoshoots at the latest places

Favourite place:

A cool and hip shopping street

Time of day often present in public space: 06:00

12:00

18:00

00:00

grab coffee photos at new lunch place

06:00

get drinks at cool bar

AL R E P

P A

Public space typologies where the ‘social snapper’ often spends her time:

Shopping streets with the latest cafes and shops

Exciting alleyway streets sitting at a terrace

Pocket parks to relax and take a breath

Boulevards / waterfronts to walk and take photos 37

THE WORKING WOMAN FEMALE PROFILE 2:

PROFILE:

Age:

Occupation:

Interior designer

Hobbies:

Visiting art exhibitions in her free time

Favourite place:

A local square where she can dance at night

NG AN

M O

Time of day often present in public space: 06:00

12:00

travel to work

18:00

00:00

06:00

lunch at restaurant travel home go dancing @ square

Public space typologies where the ‘working woman’ often spends her time:

Shopping streets with local boutiques

Inner courtyards with alternative art spaces

Quiet public squares for sitting and dancing

Busy streets travelling from A --> B 39

THE CAREGIVER FEMALE PROFILE 3:

PROFILE: Age:

Occupation:

Grandmother of two grandkids

Hobbies:

Spending time with her grandkids

Favourite place:

A lushious green park where she can relax and look after her playing grandkids

Time of day often present in public space: 06:00

12:00

kids to school + groceries

18:00

00:00

06:00

pick up kids+ go to park take kids to cultural activity

E R

Public space typologies where the ‘caregiver’ often spends her time:

Shopping streets with local markets for grocery shopping

Lucious green public parks

Streets & small squares infront of kids’ schools

Boulevards / waterfronts to walk for excercise 41

I G

R E V

03 Approach (C) Spatial study: Observations within the case study area Yangpu district, Shanghai

Site introduction

Population 2023: 29-30 million residents Gender ratio: 113 boys: 100 girls (world population review, 2023)

The Yangpu district is a bustling neighbourhood in the city of Shanghai, China. The Yangpu district forms the focus area of this research and design project.

recently demolished by the government, to make room for new urban developments, as planned in the Shanghai Masterplan 2050. The most northern part of the focus area contains the busy ‘urban residential zone’ area of the Yangpu District. This area hosts many different functions including: residential, retail, office spaces, educational and medical facilities. One might add that this area is an example of a middle to high income neighbourhood. Since this ‘urban residential zone’ is the most actively functioning part of the project scope area, it is also the area where one may be able to analyse best how ‘female-friendly’ the Yangpu District is. This area will thus act as the focus area for this research and design project.

The Yangpu district is very dynamic and diverse and has in recent years, undergone great transformation. The newly built Waterfront zone connects the district to the more central part/ inner-city of Shanghai, through a beautiful Waterfront development. This development focusses largely on recreation along the Huangpu River. North of the Waterfront zone lies a large construction area. This area used to contain many alleyway housing blocks, until it was

YANGPU DISTRICT: FOCUS AREA SELECTION

FOCUS AREA: YANGPU URBAN RESIDENTIAL ZONE - best for analysing since it’s a well functioning part of the Yangpu district - you can learn the most from an established area - an area with a mix of urban functions - it’s an area where all three female profiles are present

YANGPU DISTRICT: FOC

CUS AREA SELECTION WOMEN The social snapper

All 3 profiles are present within the area. However, only really at the edges of the area. What’s causing the women to not utilise the entire area? what are the conditions like here? * This is a result of the focus - women should be able to utilise the entire area freely.

The working woman The caregiver

PUBLIC SPACE Public green space is extremely scarce in this area! * This is the result of the focus - not enough public green spaces

Public green spaces Private green spaces Construction sites Water

FUNCTIONS Many functions in this area- the main focus here is on medical and retail. Where are the other functions like sport facilities or indoor/ outdoor playing areas for children ? * reason for focus - need for more diverse and inclusive functions

Retail Education Offices Medical

INFRASTRUCTURE Buildings

Grid system applied within the area, however, the blocks are very long, therefore requires residents to walk very far around the blocks. There are no pedestrian shortcuts. * reason for focus - investigate if it’s possible to introduce shortcuts through the blocks to enhance mobility levels at the lowest scale.

roads Metro line + stops Proposed metro line + stops

OBSERVING THE MATRIX ELEMEN

NTS IN PRACTICE

Longkou Rd. 52

badly maintained green = no eyes on the street

Wall + construction = no eyes on the street

Longkou Rd. 56

pavement = too narrow to walk with kids / baby pram

h badly maintained and dirty pavement = dangerous to walk

Longkou Rd. 60

stairs without ramps - inaccessible for women with prams or wheelchairs

Hejian Rd. 64

no public green spaces! All green spaces are locked away behind fences

Corner of Hejian Rd. & Ningwu Rd. 68

Lack of public seating places to eat, or to rest

Longkou Rd. 72

insufficient street lighting = unsafe area at night

Hejian Rd. 76

restaurants, medical services and supermarkets are within walking distance - however sport facilities, public green spaces and inclusive playing areas for kids are missing!

04 Combined analysis of the focus area AxoMatrix elements observed within the focus area Quality scoring schemeobservation output

The current situation matrix elements observed within the focus area

The current situation

a city district framed by urban islands/ isolation

Quality-scoring schem Observation output

The 9 codes include:

Based on the observations made during the sitevisit to the Yangpu district focus area, a quality scoring scheme was drawn up to categorise the outcomes.

-Wide pedestrian-friendly sidewalks (mobility) - Adequate seating quantities in public space (mobility) - Inclusive alternatives for stairs (mobility)

9 codes (from the literature matrix) scored below 3 out of 5 points on the scoring scheme. These codes are thus either absent in the area, were either very minimal in their impact, or didn’t suffice to the female-friendly standards of this project.

- ploughed and clean sidewalks (safety/ wellbeing) - sufficient lighting (safety/wellbeing) - No eyes-on-the-street (safety/wellbeing) - Access to inclusive children’s play areas (accessibility) - Access to sport facilities (accessibility) - Access to public green and blue spaces (accessibility) These 9 codes will form the base for the female-friendly design toolkit.

05 Female-friendly Toolkit: design proposal for female-friendly urban design principles in Yangpu, Shanghai

Badly maintained sidewalks No eyes on the street

Safety & wellbeing

Insufficient street lighting

Inadequate seating options

Mobility

Sidewalks too narrow

Lack of sport facilities No inclusive kids’ play areas Too few public green spaces 90

Accessibility

No alternative for stairs

TOOLKIT: Matrix elements that require improvement to become more female-friendly

Insufficient street lighting Context: Street lighting is essential for people to feel safe within their environments, especially during the night time. Within the Yangpu focus area, the amount of street lighting present in public is poor. The female-friendly design toolkit suggests the following: - introduce multiple lighting options along streets such as streetlight poles every 50 meters. - introduce smart lighting systems underneath benches in parks and along streets to light up the surroundings. - lighting systems at public squares may be introduced in a creative way through artisitic hanging lights or overhead colourful lights.

design references

lights underneath benches light up city squares

Artistic overhead lighting systems

smart LED lighting systems

Artistic light installations 92

design proposal

Badly maintained sidewalks Context: Women are the most frequent users of sidewalks, especially caregivers. Women walk their children to school or daycare and therefore actively require sidewalks that are safe enought to walk with children, or with prams. Longkou Rd. within the Yangpu district is a fine example of a road that’s very badly maintained. This road needs an entire renovation to become female-friendly. The female-friendly design toolkit suggests the following: - Sidewalks are equally levelled and consist of a smooth underground. No obstacles along the way. - Female-friendly sidewalks get a bright pink colour to be easily identified. In that way users will always know that their sidewalk is safe for usage.

design references

Clearly allocated sidewalks

Obstacle free sidewalks & even-underground

Sidewalks and crossings inclusively designed and maintained

clearly lit edges for safety purposes 94

design proposal

No eyes on the street Context: To ensure social safety within urban areas, the eyes-on-the-street principle is often applied. This means that streets will always feel safe to people because they have the feeling that they’re not alone. By allowing balconies to face the street and by ensuring that there are no solid obstacles such as walls in the area which block the sightlines, this feeling of safety is enhanced. In China, buildings are often enclosed by walls, for a sense of safety. However, we have learned that it’s necessary to address these walls to make the area more female-friendly. The female-friendly design toolkit suggests the following: - High concrete walls should be lowered to enhance sightlines (max 1,5 meters tall) - Where possible, ‘snips’ should be made in the walls to allow people to look through the walls, this ensures no predators may be lurking behind walls to cause harm. - Concrete walls may also be replaced by other ‘softer’ materials like green hedges or soft wood.

design references

playful walls

semi-transparent walls

walls with enterance points

walls that you can also sit in/on 96

design proposal

Sidewalks too narrow Context: Women are the most frequent users of sidewalks, especially caregivers. Women walk their children to school or daycare and therefore actively require sidewalks that are wide enought to walk with children, or with prams.

The female-friendly design toolkit suggests the following: - Sidewalks are wide enough (minimal 2,5 meters wide) and atleast on one side of the street - Sidewalks within the Yangpu district will become part of a new ‘pink ribbon’ - pedestrian backbone through the entire area. Enhancing accessibility for all people. - Female-friendly sidewalks get a bright colour to be easily identified. In that way users will always know that their sidewalk is wide enough and safe for usage.

design references

wide sidewalks for women with prams

Wide walking boulevards

wide, decorated sidedwalks to highlight the pedestrian space

wide sidewalks, interchanging with nature 98

design proposal

Inadequate seating options Context: Seating in public space is very important, especially for the elderly caregivers. To motivate people to become active and to use the pedestrians networks, seating options should be provided along with the pedestrian infrastructure. Seating options at new places like Yangpu Square, Yangpu Park and Yangpu play and practice are essential. The female-friendly design toolkit suggests the following: - Plenty of sitting options/ benches thoughout the district. - Seating options along pedestrian networks as well as in meeting places like squares or parks

design references

relaxing seating options

playful seating options

artisitic seating options

seating integrated into nature 100

design proposal

101

No alternative for stairs Context: Women with prams often face challenges within public space due to a lack of inclusive alternatives for stairs. The lack of alternatives decreases their mobility options largely. Within the Yangpu district this is unfortunately also the case

The female-friendly design toolkit suggests the following: - at every staircase, there has to be a ramp option present. That way the urban space remains inclusive for women with prams. - These ramps will also make the urban space accessible for less mobile persons in wheelchairs or elderly who have problems with walking.

design references

stairs with integrated ramp

ramp which is kid stroller accessible

dropped kerbsides to allow prams and wheelchairs to move

Smart ramps at a bearable incline % 102

design proposal

103

lack of sport facilities Context: The city of Shanghai has indicated that they view ‘health’ as an important theme for the Global City. However, inclusive sport-facilities are not present within the Yangpu district. To boost the health levels and to get people active, sport facilities need to be introduced.

The female-friendly design toolkit suggests the following: - Inclusive sport facilities that cater for the needs of local chinese residents - table tennis and basketball are popular sports and will thus get a place in the new Yangpu play and practice park. - Non-contact sports such as yoga or meditation are also very important for wellbeing. This may be practiced in the new public green Yangpu Park.

design references

sport places for female sport groups

outdoor gym

Table tennis- a popular sport amongst chinese locals

basketball court - female inclusive 104

design proposal

105

no inclusive kids’ play areas Context: Playing areas for children are an important part of children’s lives. This is where they can enjoy being young and careless. The Yangpu district unfortuntely doesn’t provide any playing areas for children.

The female-friendly design toolkit suggests the following: - Royal playing area for children. A space where kids can be active and have fun! - A large climable and interactive Chinese dragon forms the heart of the playground. - Sitting places with shade for parents and caregivers are also present at the playground. - The playground offers various playing opportunities - climbing, building, puzzels and more.

design references

kids playground incorporated into nature

kids playground designed from natural materials

kids playground - all about running around

minimal playground but very inventive 106

design proposal

107

no public green spaces Context: Access to public green spaces is a must for all people. Green spaces have shown to improve mental and physical health levels. Green spaces in the Yangpu area are often enclosed behind walls for the elite. However, these spaces should not only be for the priviledged and therefore become accessible to all. The female-friendly design toolkit suggests the following: - A large neighbourhood public park, free and accessible to all residents. - The new Yangpu park will be an attractive space for residents as well as patients for the adjacent medical facility. This is the space to rest and recover! - Plenty of trees and shade to keep residents cool during the hot months.

design references

colourful pocket parks

new movement routing through the parks

place to rest

water elements within the park - a place to play 108

design proposal

109

06 Female-friendly Yangpu Design proposal for a female-friendly 21st century Shanghainese city district; Yangpu district

112

113

Female friendly design

114

115

Female friendly design

pla y

Yangpu

ce i t c ra

116

Squ

Female friendly design

Yangpu

Yang pu p

ark

117

Bustling city square

Enterance to the new female-friendly Yangpu district

-place where people meet -place where people dance -place where people enjoy urban life

Yangpu Square 118

119

Yangpu Square 120

121

Sport facilities & children’s playground Where you come for health and fun

-forms the heart of the new female-friendly district -place for people of all ages -basketball / crossfit / tabletennis -Kids play area with a climbing Dragon as the main attraction

Yangpu Play & Practi 122

ice 123

Yangpu Play & Practi

124

ice

125

Neighbourhood public park Where you come to rest and recover

-the place to go when you need to take a breath! -read a book under the pergola or one of the large trees -dip your toes in the water -neighbourhood residents and medical patients may all use the park

Yangpu Park 126

127

Yangpu Park

128

129

07 Conclusions and recommendations: A female-friendly future in Yangpu, Shanghai, and beyond

Female-friendly Yangpu: A thriving, inclusive city district with a ‘pink’ backbone of effective pedestrian Female-friendly public space, and well connected and accessible urban function

Strong pedestrian network connecting important neighbourhood facilities and public transport links

132

Chain of accessib neighbo public sp

Female friendly design

n networks. ns.

f public green spaces that become ble to all people: linking the ourhood to the Waterfront through pace

A gender-inclusive neighbourhood that may act as a best-practice example to other Shanghainese neighbourhoods New ‘pink’ pedestrian network New chain of public green spaces 133

Conclusions and recommendations The Yangpu District is a dynamic part of Shanghai, China’s urban area. The district includes a recently developed Waterfront zone, a large area which is currently being transformed from traditional alleyway housing to a new and innovative area, as well as an area which has already been functioning as a residential zone for many years. The residential zone within the Yangpu District formed the focus area for this research and design project.

study, three female profiles were identified (social snapper, working woman and the caregiver). These three profiles symbolise all the women within the city of Shanghai, and more specifically, the women in Yangpu District.

The focus area was analysed according to the (1) Literature study’s matrix principles about female-friendly design, (2) social study about the women of Shanghai who are also present within the focus area, and (3) observations from the perspective of an urbanist, linked to the matrix principles.

The Yangpu district enhances its level of femalefriendliness through the implementation of three new public spaces. These include:

From the 20 female-friendly codes identified throughout the literature study, 9 of these codes formed the female-friendly design toolkit since they were the codes which scored the lowest on the female-friendly quality scoring scheme.

- Yangpu Play and Practice (the place to exercise and for kids to play)

The codes which form the design Toolkit include:

The three new public spaces are ‘sewn together’ by a pink ribbon; a new, pink, female-friendly pedestrian walkway. This walkway forms the backbone of the neighbourhood and joins the important neighbourhood functions and public spaces together. Not only does it play an important role in the neighbourhood, but it also connects the neighbourhood to surrounding public green spaces, public transport (metro) networks and the newly realised Yangpu Waterfront district.

-Wide pedestrian-friendly sidewalks (mobility) - Adequate seating quantities in public space (mobility) - Inclusive alternatives for stairs (mobility) - ploughed and clean sidewalks (safety/ wellbeing) - sufficient lighting (safety/wellbeing) - No eyes-on-the-street (safety/wellbeing) - Access to inclusive children’s play areas (accessibility) - Access to sport facilities (accessibility) - Access to public green and blue spaces (accessibility) The female-friendly design Toolkit proposes multiple solutions for the Yangpu focus area to enhance its level of female-friendliness. The Toolkit aims to enhance the quality of life for all women in the Yangpu District. For this

By actively implementing the Toolkit, the area will be transformed into a thriving and genderinclusive district. Ultimately not just for the three female profiles, but for all people.

- Yangpu Square (bustling new neighbourhood entrance where people meet, dance, and socialise)

- Yangpu Park (where you go to relax and unwind from busy city life)

This female-friendly transformation may in the future be seen as an inspiring project for other districts within the city, to increase the level of gender-inclusiveness. If the city of Shanghai actively addresses the gender-based urban issues within the city and applies necessary Toolkits such as the one generated in this project, then the city of Shanghai may be able to call itself a Global City. Afterall, a Global City is a city where all its residents are welcomed and included!

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