ii. Conclusion

“Instead of the reverse order in the planning process that prioritizes buildings, then space and (perhaps) a little life, working with the human dimension requires life and space to be treated before buildings.

In brief, the method involves preparatory work that determines the character and extent of the anticipated life in the development. Then programs are prepared for the city spaces and city structure based on the desired walking and bicycling connections.

Once the city space and connections are set, buildings can be positioned to ensure the best possible coexistence between life, spaces and buildings. From this point on, work expands into large developments and large districts, but is always rooted in the requirements for a well-functioning human scale.”

Jan Gehl, Cities for People, 2010

CONCLUSIONS

The aims of this dissertation were to investigate the factors which shape the man-made environment and explore how this impacts women’s relationship with the city. Embarking this research, this study predicted the main findings to show that the man-made environment does pose different constraints for women in the city.

This dissertation has shown this prediction is true to an extent. Henri Lefebvre’s concept of the social construction of space highlighted that the man-made environment is shaped through gender inequalities in our social relations which inform the perceived, conceived and lived constructs of space. In most societies, women are still perceived at home rather than within public spaces such as the city. Men still dominate roles of power and therefore the city is conceived with a lack of female representation. For women, space carries social assumptions about their gender roles to where and how they fit into the city, and these constrain and create limitations for women in the city. Lefebvre’s concept of the social constructs of space also highlighted the importance of the users of the city to shaping lived space. Women are users of the city and everyday they enter the city. By doing this they transgress the supression of gender inequalities. With this they can grasp hold of the opportunities of the city and also create lived, or representational space.

On the other hand, the greatest lesson from this dissertation was the methods to highlight women’s relationship with the built environment. Beginning with an understanding to what factors inform the construction of the city in Part One, allowed me to understand why I feel uncomfortable in space; because they are man-made environments. With an understanding that the man-made environment “silences users” (Lefebvre, 1991: pg.51), Part Two placed women within the city of Liverpool to recognise them as a user. This brought forward the opportunities and constraints women face in the city, and the impacts of perceived, conceived and lived space.

Action: The mother running into John Lewis as a public free toilet to nurse her child

What if... a city landmark provided the same immediacy and landmark of the department store, but as a free space rather than consumer led? Action: The group of friends that use the city as a means of ‘meeting up’, ‘hanging out’ and to reconvene their friendship.

What if... the city was able to provide a means for these independent women to reconvene their friendships throughout all life stages. At an elderly age this could be the means of living together and caring for each other.

Action: Hundreds of people gather in the city.

What if... the city’s spaces allowed significant appropriation, which allowed for representation of groups of people. Action: A woman sits in the city, in a meditative state she observes the activity around her

What if... the city provided spaces of contemplation and reflection, to be alone but surrounded by others?

Figure. 16: A woman’s actions in the city creates lived space, how this can fuel design decisions in the city

Furthermore this dissertation has highlighted that it is important that the role of the architect should understand the role of the users, not only as stakeholders of space but as producers of lived and representational space. Lefebvre wrote that “That the lived, conceived and perceived realms should be interconnected” (Lefebvre, 1991; pg40). What this dissertation has highlighted is that women in the city face constraints because perceived and conceived space still embody gender inequalities and are not reflective of their lives. Therefore it is importance for the architect to understand women as users of the city, and their social relations which produced lived space.

This argument is supported by architect Jan Gehl. He suggests that by reversing the planning process, designers should gain “Understanding how people move and spend time on the site and its surroundings.” (Gehl, 2010) This can be done using various methods. One method, highlighted at the beginning of this dissertation was engagement. Feminist design collective Punt 6 described their approach uses community action and participation as an essential tool to highlight the voices of communities. Alternatively, this dissertation has demonstrated the use of ficto-narratives as another method of discovering the experiences of users in a space and their social relations which inform lived space. Despite a lack of contact with people due to the restrictions of the current pandemic, this methodology enabled myself as the professional to embody characters of women within a city, to explore a gender perspective and critique of the city. Inequalities happen to all of us. Therefore this methodology has the potential to be applied to bring to light other users of the city and the social relations and lived spaces they produce.

Figure 16 also demonstrates how the actions and lived experiences of women in the city can be explored spatially. By understanding women as one of the many users of cities, as well as the opportunities and constraints women encounter, as designers and practitioners we can start to think about how the city could be different.

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