Architecture as a Tool for Justice
reimagine
Long-standing societal norms dictate that men are responsible for working, securing their families’ survival, while women are responsible for taking care of children. This idea originated from the division of labor in old times when productivity was significantly low and labor forces generated resources through farming and hunting. Due to the labor-intensive nature of this work, males had more advantages in securing jobs. This logic unfortunately has had a lasting influence on today’s labor mentality. Meanwhile, in modern society, many jobs are carried out in contemporary workplace settings, where women have demonstrated an equal working capacity to their male counterparts. This begs the question: Would gender disparity eventually fade because men no longer have any ‘advantages’ over women? If so, what should be done to accelerate this phase? Today, regardless of what kind of house a family is living in; the dwelling unit is almost always arranged around the same collection of spaces: a kitchen, dining room, living room, bedrooms, garage, or parking area – whether located in a suburban, exurban, or inner-city neighborhood, whether the dwelling is a split-level house, a contemporary masterpiece of concrete and glass, or an old brick townhouse. These spaces provide an everyday necessity for someone, typically a female, doing unpaid labor by carrying out private cooking, washing, childcare, and usually using personal transportation. A standard dwelling unit is typically physically separated from common community spaces due to residential zoning restrictions. For instance, no industrial,
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community daycare facilities or laundry facilities are likely to be part of a dwelling’s spatial scope (Hayden, 1980). How can justice for women be implemented economically and environmentally through Architecture in Housing projects? How can a conventional home serve an employed woman and her family? A house provides women the basic set of elements when they are required to carry all the household work with or without participation from their partners. Women work outside the home to be financially secure, achieve their career goals, and contribute to society. Further, progressive nations encourage women to be educated and economically independent. Yet, the patriarchal expectations of what women’s responsibilities should be never changed. Despite this, women continue to prove their ability to balance their work and responsibilities at home. Adding to the struggle of being both a working wife and/or a mother, men still enjoy advantages over women. Employed mothers are usually expected to spend more time in private housework and child care than employed men. Architecture is a major contributing factor to this injustice. Justice for women calls upon architects to be more socially conscious free-independent thinkers (Fitz, Krasny, & Wien, 2019). Dwellings, districts, and towns are constructed to limit women physically, socially, and economically. When women resist these restrictions to spend all or part of their workday in the paid labor force, intense resentment arises. Hayden (1980) argues that creating a new model for the house, the community, and the city is the only solution to this issue. For instance, a good neighborhood is typically identified based on shopping centers, schools, and perhaps public transportation, instead of additional working parent community services, such as
