Urban Design Research Paper - Gender Appropriateness in a City

GENDER APPROPRIATENESS IN A CITY

MANSANJAM KAUR ENROLMENT NO. A/2939/2016 PRAGYA KHER ENROLMENT NO. A/2964/2016 AANCHAL KHANDELWAL ENROLMENT NO. A/2892/2016 SIMAR PAUL ENROLMENT NO. A/2984/2016 YEAR: 2020-21

URBAN DESIGN RESEARCH PAPER

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE

SCHOOL OF PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURE NEW DELHI – 110002

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Urban Design Research | 2020-21

GENDER APPROPRIATENESS IN A CITY Mansanjam Kaur, Pragya Kher, Aanchal Khandelwal, Simar Paul Abstract: The current scenario points towards a rather gender blind outlook towards urban planning for a more gender-sensitive city. There is a lopsided treatment of public spaces which is responsible for it being less prioritized to the other gender. The research focuses on exploring the need to study and research about creating Gender Equal Cities shows how creating space for women’s and minority group’s voices, needs and capacities is a necessary step towards building thriving cities. Design of public spaces conferred with proper urban planning and design standards along with safety checklist plays an integral part in the prevention of sexual harassment and violence against women outside their homes and workplaces.

Keywords: Women-friendly, Gender-sensitive, Gender Mainstreaming, Urban Intervention.

Introduction Most people worldwide live in urban centers today. The global development trend is expected to grow furthermore. There is an expansion in the growth of towns and cities all around the world, especially in countries like China, India, Philippines and Turkey which would expect even further growth. Women bear the negative consequences of urbanism in disproportionate terms. The access of women to different spaces in the city, in particular public space, is generally more restricted than for men, not only because of the connection of reproductive labour with the home, which affects the time and capacity to participate in the extra-domestic activity but also because of strong symbolic dimensions surrounding the "prohibited" and "authorized" use of spaces controlled by patriarchal activity. From having different ways of using public spaces, women in particular experience and perceive those spaces very differently as compared to their male counterparts. (UN Women/Safe Cities Global Programme/2009). Gender is the social concept of femininity and masculinity. Gender is known as a controversial concept that does not yet capture the fluidity or range of male and female human experiences. These classifications are neither gender-exclusive nor all-encompassing. Also, the word gender is not easily translated from English to other languages.

The Handbook for Gender-Inclusive Urban Planning and Design makes the point that with women occupying just 10 percent of the highest-ranking jobs at the world’s leading architecture firms, cities have historically been planned and designed to reflect traditional gender roles and the gendered division of labour. As a result, cities which get designed on a biased basis work better for men than they do for women.

The cities at present are largely designed from a gender blind perspective. Gender equality is a prerequisite for the well-being of citizens and the prosperity of cities. There are many concerns, as in cities which need to be addressed.

Therefore, it is important to analyze the perspectives and the uses in the town from the point of view of all citizens: women, men, other sexes and minorities. Urban planning tends to be gender-neutral and not formed by or in the interest of a given sex. This means the same result for both sexes. In fact, 'genderneutral' usually is male and is in the interests of men. The exclusion of women from urban design does not offer urban shape and purpose to women's everyday lives and perspectives. In other words, the

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urban planning faces the specific challenges and concerns faced by women and girls, underlining the fact that the city's design, infrastructure, installations and services are not inclusive and equitable.

The current Indian scenario Most of the Indian cities are now known by an increasing number of crimes against women in public spaces as "unfriendly cities for women." The fourth most hazardous country in the world for women was India (Chowdhury, 2011). In 2011, India ranked 113th out of 135 countries, according to the World Gender Gap Report. (Mahimkar and Gokhale, 2015). Despite its strong commitment to gender equality, the significance of gender is generally not taken in cognizance by the World Bank or other organizations in the urban design proceeding, and there are no simple, well-being or services on the implementation of strategy interfaced, with respect to gender. Gender equality is not a priority in urban design. (D'Silva, 2018). This requires that a range of directives are reviewed and formulated urgently, to enable us to build more gender-friendly cities and areas By 2050, the population of two-thirds of the world will be in towns. Out of the top ten most populated cities, three of them would most probably be in India. How does that mean for a city such as Mumbai, which is an unplanning area, bursting on its seams and one of the world's highest population-density cities? How will it affect the quality of life of people, and in particular women whose voices are not present in public debate and policy making, who constitute half the population, few are such facts which need to be pondered about? (D'Silva, 2018) In the new McKinsey & Company report, the promotion of equality amongst women will boost global growth by $12 trillion. India could increase its annual GDP growth by 1.4 percentage points by $700 trillion in 2025 by improving equality amongst women. However, the study showed that comprehensive improvements are required before this is done and that the bridging of economic and social gender differences will be necessary. Hence this shouldn't be not just seen as something of utmost necessity but it is the dire need of the hour. (D'Silva, 2018)

Research Questions ●

How can urban planning be used as an effective tool to create gender-inclusive cities?

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What are the impacts of gender inclusivity on the urban form, accessibility, facilities, public spaces and urban violence in the urbanscape?

Aims The research aims to study the urban design strategies of interventions which can lead in creation of gender-inclusive cities. This will help in understanding the various perspectives on gender inclusive public spaces and its need on the major aspect of safety on streets.

Constituents of the Public Realm in a City The public realm is the social spaces that play a critical role in communities, such as parks, open spaces, squares, streets etc. Public Realm’s architecture and safety control requirements are a significant factor

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in combating sexual assault and abuse against women in majority outside their home public spaces and workplaces. They include community development and design standards and safety checklists. These areas could provide less opportunities, as per the required design, for violence against women and girls.

The following are the constituents of the public realm in the urbanscape. ●

Open spaces - These are essential for recreation, organized sports, and cultural events. The psychiatric and physical health benefits of parks and green areas may show a positive effect on health and healthcare costs as a preventive measure. Green open areas are generally referred to as the lungs of the city, which mitigate air pollution effects. Hence, the protection of natural environments can help to address environmental water-related problems.

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Public Squares - These are the junctions in the city’s acting as city centers which form the gathering and community hubs for the influx of all variety of humans to have social inclusion and interaction. These spaces make the things active and urgent, attracting people of all gender, ages and races to have a stimulating environment.

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Streets - Streets and movement corridors are an integral part of what forms the precious public space, almost 1/3 Part. Street design is based on the hierarchy of the streets and the adjacent use of the land. As the key arteries of our communities, streets are where social interaction and the exchange of goods and services are linked. These spaces are too often used only as thoroughfares - and we begin to forget that they could be so much more than it. And it isn't being utilized to their full potential (Public Notice, 2012). Carries on various activities which are crucial to civilization. Its roles are as diverse and numerous as its ever-changing character for all from pedestrians to motorists to cyclists to the public transport, freight operators, Service providers and small street businesses.

Defining ‘safe cities’ As the word suggests “Safe” implies the security and the wellness of its people in the city. In the current scenario in the world, the public realm spaces are for all and everyone should have an equal right to the city, including the safety concerns to feel safe and travel at any hour of the day, without the threat of being assaulted or abused or harassed; basically feeling unsafe.

These issues have become quite a common threat in contemporary India in urban planning and architecture. (Mahadevia and Lathia, 2019). To have safer and inclusive spaces for all especially the women and marginalized section of the societies in the scape we need to lay our focus on inclusivity of the city space.

Gender inclusive planning A gender- and socially inclusive community encourages fair rights and provides all people with resources and encouragement to engage in urban life. Where the spaces are inclusive to all not bias on the basis of gender. In the cities as we see we have public areas with public toilets which aren’t in the condition to use but male gender uses open areas for the same, making the space unusable, unsafe and unclean. The Urbspace-European Regional Development Fund (ERF) notes that gender-balanced planning benefits society as "security of a city for women takes care of all the other weak categories: elderly, children and persons with disabilities'' (Lamoro, 2009).

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As the urbanization of cities is happening in the Indian context there is the dire need to look at it through the gender lens, making these urban public spaces in the realm inclusive.

Gender mainstreaming in planning The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations defines gender mainstreaming as a plan to make the needs of women and men an integral part of governance, implementation, control and appraisal in all political and economic realms of society, ensuring that women and men are not similarly favored and differences are preserved. (Handbook for Gender-Inclusive Urban Planning and Design, 2020)

Exploration of the gender perspective in cities The gender perspective in the cities is highly limited and there are certain levels of issues concerned with the form of urban planning in the cities. The lack of addressing gender issues hinders inclusiveness of cities during the process of rapid urbanization. To improve people's well-being, urban development should foster gender inclusion through the inclusion of urban spaces and involve men, women and girls.

(Rajasthan: urban development policy, 2017). The following aspects are usually related with the gender perspectives of a public space. ● ● ●

Access Mobility Safety and Freedom from violence

Parameters of Gender-Inclusive City ● ● ● ● ●

Accessibility - Free, easy and comfortable access to the public area for all to use the spaces and facilities available Connectivity - In order to navigate important opportunities and facilities, anyone can move across the city easily, efficiently and affordably.

Safe -Both public and private people are free of real and future threats.

Health-Everyone should have the ability to lead an active lifestyle, especially to be free of hazards and threats to environmental health.

Security - Everybody should secure homes and land for living, working and creating wealth and association.

What Is Not Gender-sensitive Planning: Gender Sensitive Planning is where it is for all not just for women or men or a specific gender.

The whole space should be resilient making it safe and sound for use by all. Listed below are the Non-Gender sensitive planning strategies making these unrealistic and unsounding. ○

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Prescriptive: The common goal of Planning and Architecture currently, for making gender inclusive spaces talks about urban for them, women, children, and sexual/gender minorities. These need to be done in conjunction with exploring the needs and giving account to what is to be felt Rather than just assumptions and making things look good.

An add-on: The goal is not to just have women and minorities just as a mere add on to the city planned for men. Distinct recognition of women from other beneficiaries and mission objectives; inability to connect the dots or the players involved.

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Exclusive: Also, making it inclusive doesn't mean catering or to be concerned solely with the needs of competent women or female people.

Goals of Gender-Inclusive City: ● ● ● ●

Developing a positive role in the design process, execution and planning of policy processes sexual and gender identities of all ages and abilities.

Battle gender imbalances within the built environment that prevent men from giving fair access, autonomy, protection, healthcare, climate resilience and tenure security.

Build gender-based cities to foster full economic and social equality between women and girls of all ages.

Promoting equity between men and women and unleashing global economic and social development.

(Handbook for Gender-Inclusive Urban Planning and Design, 2020)

A conceptual framework for the identification of issues in urban planning:

Figure 1. Showing the Conceptual framework of gender and the built environment (Source: Handbook for Gender-inclusive Urban planning Design, 2005)

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These issues are also key considerations, as is their interconnection with each other. The conceptual framework illustrates how the challenges of the urban environment, gender inequalities in planning and construction systems, and social and economic institutional exclusions are interrelated. Although this mechanism of feedback between the built environment, social and economic isolation, the disciplines of planning and design are complicated and firm, it reveals how urban planning and design can be enhanced. In all six areas, women, girls and sexual/gender minorities of all ages are fundamentally, economically and socially important. Every topic is a critical opportunity for positive improvements in gender equality (Handbook for Gender-Inclusive Urban Planning and Design, 2020).

Figure 2. Women Friendly City Project, Seoul (Source: women friendly city, org, 2009)

Approaches to safe Public Realm: A public realm consists of certain private corners and spaces as well, but it is important to make sure that the private spaces do not fall out of the clear line of sight. There needs to be a clear distinction between the private and the public spaces, but without compromising the sense of safety of the private space in the public realm. Jane Jacobs, an urban activist, stressed that cities "do not look like suburbs, but denser. They vary fundamentally from cities and suburbs, and one of these is that by definition, cities are full of strangers." As the cities are full of strangers, it becomes important to make sure that these are protected among the strangers and at the same time, are also accessible enough to all kinds of users.

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Narrowing down to women’s safety, it can be approached in three different ways, to achieve safe public realms: ●

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The first domain focuses on increasing surveillance in public areas. This can be done by installing security devices, increasing police patrolling or through some effective urban design strategies.

The second domain focuses on seeking out legal solutions to abate the violence and crime against women.

The third domain focuses on providing gender-based training and education to its citizens.

The first domain talks about promoting safe public realms through urban design. Some of the strategies have been elaborated as follows: Use of space 24x7: Currently we have public spaces with dedicated functions. This leads to the space getting desolated at certain points of time in the day. For example, some areas are majorly dedicated to offices, therefore, after the evening hours, when the offices close down, the public space surrounding these offices, becomes rather desolated, and turns into a potential crime spot. However, if we incorporate a mixture of different types of activities such that there is enough pedestrian traffic in the space, at different times of the day, the public space would get activated and would remain that way for the major part of the day. This would give a sense of safety and security to the women using it.

(Mahadevia and Lathia, 2019) Eyes on the street: Another problem with the conventional planning methods of the city, is the shift towards high rise structures. This has somewhere eroded the concept of ‘neighborhood’ from our cities.

Due to the high rise nature of the buildings, people don't generally prefer to come outside. The connection of the user with the street which used to exist when the cities were majorly filled with row housing, has vanished somewhere. It can be rightly said, the contemporary planning techniques are pushing the users inside, rather than outside. This completely negates the concept of ‘Eyes on the street’.

This hints towards an urgent need to come up with more community-driven urban planning solutions, which recreate and reinvent the conventional ideas of public space. (Mahadevia and Lathia, 2019) Jane Jacobs, one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century, concluded that the “eyes on the street" is one of the important factors which contributes to keeping the cities safe.

One of the important things to note is that the eyes on the street do not mean to make the streets unnecessarily crowded or chaotic. A crowded street which is not able to engage its users well enough with its surroundings is the same as a desolated street. Eyes on the street essentially focus on creating community centered activities which can grab the attention of the user. In the in Indian context, the concept of ‘eyes on the street was naturally achieved through the creations of bazaars, which provided the user with a variety of activities (Mahadevia and Lathia, 2019).

Safe urban commons: The urban commons include common spaces such as parks, playgrounds, gardens, public toilets, footpaths, etc. Presently, the cities lack these common public spaces and the ones which are provided are either restricted by timings or are not welcoming to all kinds and age groups of users. The other common facilities such as public toilets lack the bare minimum sanitation facilities while public amenities such as benches and footpaths are in much of a dilapidated state to attract a decent number of pedestrians. These spaces also push the pedestrians inside their homes, degrading the liveliness of the public spaces (Mahadevia and Lathia, 2019).

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The walkability of a city: By improving the urban commons i.e. the dilapidated conditions of the footpaths, the lighting, sanitation and general aesthetics of the space, the walkability of the city can be enhanced. An increased footfall of the pedestrians would help to reduce the crime rates in these spaces (Mahadevia and Lathia, 2019).

Public transportation: A large number of women are dependent on public transportation as compared to men. But, the majority of the cities do not offer safe transport options to women. Highly congested public transport systems increase the chances of sexual harassment against women. This becomes highly intimidating and discouraging for women, hindering their movement throughout the city at all times of the day. Therefore, just by providing a cost-effective means of public transport, the problems of accessibility in the city cannot be resolved, because this gives a very gender blind perspective to the planning of the cities. It needs to address issues of women safety as well (Addressing Gender Concerns in India’s Urban Renewal Mission, 2000).

Last-mile connectivity: As per the current scenario, women are expected to go out and work. But, one of the most intimidating fears is to commute from work to home, late in the evening. This presses the need for an efficient system which provides women with last-mile connectivity. This is something, which is certainly lacking in the conventional urban planning systems. Therefore, there is a dire need for urban planners to incorporate a more gender centric approach and take into consideration the planning needs of a woman while designing cities (Addressing Gender Concerns in India’s Urban Renewal Mission, 2000).

Factors affecting the Built environment considering women safety: The built environment factors which affect female perception of safety are as follows, based on numerous studies which were conducted both in developed and in developing countries. (Action Aid International, 2013; UNHABITAT et al., 2010; Jagori, 2007, 2010; SAKHI, 2011; Women in Cities International, 2010a, 2010b) ●

Lighting Dark road corners, isolated entrance/exit points, car parks, and poorly lit spaces cause anxiety and fear amongst women in the early mornings and late nights, and the fear of getting abused is growing exponentially.

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Quality of Public Spaces Lack of maintenance in areas such as broken sidewalks, uncovered potholes, open defecation, blocked streets with trees, etc. is raising concerns about women's abuse, injuries and other health problems. On the other hand, well-kept and hygienic areas ensure that women feel healthy, especially older and disabled. (Mahadevia and Lathia, 2019)

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The extent of Oversight in Public Spaces Women prefer being in familiar environments or to get more precise in spaces where they can call for help or run away if they face any violence, that's why they prefer places that are more active and eventful. It disturbs them to be in spaces that make them feel invisible. “Together for women’s safety” (UNHABITAT et al., 2010; Women in Cities International, 2010a)articulates very well three of women's main issues in public space, that is: seeing and

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being seen, listening, being heard, and getting support and help. Different user groups like ‘middle-aged people’, ‘older adults’, ‘women’, ‘families’, ‘familiar vendors & shopkeepers’, etc. make women feel more secure and safe (Jagori, 2011, p. 44). ●

Empty/Dilapidated Building or Plots Women feel unsafe walking in the streets with big empty walls or empty plots because they fear no aid if they are targeted. Empty or decayed buildings are often favorable spots for men engaged in unlawful activities which exacerbate fear of violence. Participants appeared to have a greater concern in safety audits about attacks or breaches in abandoned areas (Jagori, 2010, p. 17).

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Visible and easily accessible police stations, security checks, CCTV Coverage areas, Patrolling etc.

Women feel vulnerable in deserted and visually inaccessible spaces. Therefore, well-patrolled areas that have or are close to emergencies and police stations have formal or informal monitoring that gives women a feeling they can hear, be supported, and thus safer (Jagori, 2011).

Case Examples Inclusivity of the various public spaces which constitute a majority of the streets in our urbanscape. As during the current times of urbanization, pedestrianization is being looked at as a very important aspect.

There is a major outlook on the streets in many cities. Studying a few case examples within the country and globally during the literature study. Some of the examples both positive and negative are analyzed based on the inclusivity parameters 1. The Aundh-ITI Road in Pune The urban intervention of the streetscape of Pune was done to create more pedestrian-friendly access on the road to create a properly segregated zone for different types of users making the street Livable Street. Space was made much active and inclusive for all to create an urban Public center which has residential areas on one edge with some commercial activities and institutional training centers The Plaza acts as a public space, for socializing, gathering, shopping, strolling with a buzzing amount of street activities creating an eye. Examining the Street depending upon the various factors determining the inclusivity of a public space; street. ●

Enclosure - The resilient space created by the various activities around with amenities like street vegetation, lighting, seating, facilities making it highly usable.

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Complexity - The street vendor/hawker and commercial zone make it stimulating for the human senses and adding interactivity.

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Safety - The space is well connected and highly porous with 24/7 influx of the various variety of people making the space safer to use and with the commercial eye on the street making it active with no zone for crime, especially for the females.

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Human Scale - As the space is inclusive based on gender, age and physical abilities making it accessible and appealing to the majority. The various activities surrounding the plaza, the

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spaces within the enclosure and the amenities which are interactive on the human scale make them more urgent.

2. Pedestrian Road at Architecture Road, Delhi The pedestrian street between the Architecture and Planning Block of the School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi is designed with proper vegetation and ample space to walk from one block to another. The street looks highly walkable with greens around, as space around is just a connecting Pedestrian street. It is a street in the institutional range with no/minimal commercial zone with some street sellers, with functioning time from 9-5 which makes the street use die and the use at night in dark is very less as the place looks dingy and unsafe with no less human interaction. Examining the Street depending upon the various factors determining the inclusivity of a public space; street. ●

Enclosure - The Pedestrian footpath street is defined by the physical barrier of level difference with proper vegetation defining the pathway with one side covered by the major road and other a service Road.

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Complexity - As there is almost no activity present in and around the space is merely functioning as a connecting pathway with a physical environment of vegetation, creating an experiential movement from one block to another.

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Safety - The user group using the street is very limited making the street with less influx, which is shady at certain non-busy hours and in dark because of no ample lighting.

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Human scale - On the street as there are no physical elements, street furniture, bins, playing elements that enable humans to interact with them and find the experience more attractive. Thus makes the street dull and unattractive.

Survey questionnaire To study and to analyze the perspective to people a small online survey (See Appendix 1) was conducted with the random sampling of almost 50 people to understand their perspectives regarding the cities and how safety as a factor influences the whole scenario for them in public spaces. Through the data compilation of the survey a few major findings are established. The gender of the respondents to the survey was as following

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Majority of the respondents consider sexual harassment as the major concern while going to a public place. The participants include 69.4 % females, out of which all females agreed on sexual harassment as their major concern.

The four major factors which add to the respondents’ vulnerability came out as follows: ● ● ● ●

Poor lighting Poor maintenance of open public spaces Lack of safety and poor Public Transportation Lack of Public Amenities (public toilet)which are conducive to women

.All these factors refer to the built environment factors which leave a negative impact on the safety of women in cities. Poor lighting creates dark nooks and corners, while poor maintenance of open public spaces decreases their usability, hence, repelling the pedestrian flow away from the public places and leading to desolated unusable spaces which then act as potential crime spots.

Crowded public transport systems become increase chances of sexual harassment, hiding mobility of women. Therefore, either these factors create desolated public spaces or highly crowded and chaotic spaces which are equally bad for women safety.

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Majority of the respondents feel the most unsafe between 8 pm to 12 am, i.e. the late evening and night hours. Contributing factors for this could be lack of proper lighting facilities and engaging night activities for the pedestrians in public spaces. Usually, the majority of the cities get empty and deserted during this time, because of the lack of mixed-used activities in these spaces which can attract and engage pedestrian footfall to activate the public spaces.

Public toilets, public transport, roadside, bus stands, etc were voted by a majority of the respondents as the least safe places in a city.

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According to the respondents, the scale of the built surroundings came off as the major contributing element to define the safety of public space.

Respondents were asked to mention one public space, which they found to be the safest in their respective cities. They were further asked to describe the factors which contributed to the ‘safety factor’ of these spaces. Majority of the respondents ranked publicness of the space, lighting and walkability as the most important criteria. Publicness of the space refers to the openness and the accessibility of these spaces.

Accessibility of the public space can be enhanced visually as well as physically. This can be achieved by removing the physical barriers in an open space while maintaining the psychological barriers to control and direct the pedestrian flow. Physical barriers refer to vertical barriers such as fences, high walls, parapets, etc. These barriers block the clear sight of the vision and at times unintentionally end up creating dark nooks and corners disrupting the publicness of the space and leading to the creation of spaces more prone to criminal activities against women or in general.

Psychological barriers on the other hand can be achieved by efficient tools of urban planning to create order in a public space through changing the texture, color and material of the paved surfaces. This controls the movement of the pedestrians and at the same time does not block out on any open space.

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The Public Realm spaces which are of public interest not only form containers of sociability and or necessary connectors working as transport conduits but they also form a part of the much argued “third place’ between work and home life, where people meet and stroll around. However, these places present a lopsided view in terms of the notion of power between the genders, by the consequences of gender blind planning. So for an effective public realm, a Gender-sensitive perspective is imperative. All this can be achieved through the following. ●

Planning and designing gender class zones, such as street environments, nodes and squares, to optimize the use of space with an eye on street and 24/7 or active hours functioning which will help in fostering social relations in order to accomplish a gender equity purpose.

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Place making and urban interventions of change should focus on the inclusive needs and requirements depending on the safety parameters, which are often neglected by the planning policies on human interaction levels. Thus, indulgence of inclusive viewpoints taking care of planning cities with women, not just for them.

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Developments in mixed-use architecture Residential developments to be compatible with commercial/institutional spaces and premises to be bordered with walls of low height to provide a direct view and maintain security by the adjacent streets.

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Transit oriented developments Focus on TOD’s development in metropolitan areas to encourage walkability, which will increase job accessibility by making the public realm walk from home to office easier. This helps in making the space active and resilient in nature, making it appealing for people to have more interactions.\

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Urban Livability Gender Inclusive spaces makes the cities safer, making them highly connected and well-functioning for the residents and the users. Thus, increasing the urban livability factors of the city. As the public spaces with more amenities and facilities are made more functional by the users for daily strolls, use and to socialize.

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Perceptions To shift perceptions of larger masses, by organizing night walks making the spaces resilient and making them more user friendly thus making women and minorities feel safer and more comfortable, breaking the unsafe zones with proper lighting, signage, surveillance and moral help.

Thus, looking at the research shows that there is a high need to develop the inclusiveisity factor in the cities, making them safer, usable and comfortable at all times, not remarking the hours as odd. All this needs to be done in coherence with proper strategic planning and designing that has equal emphasis to the user needs and requirements. Gender Inclusivity shouldn’t be considered as an add-on but rather as an imperative step towards creating well rounded, economically and socially safer, comfortable and accessible cities for all.

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United Nations (2010), Millennium Development Goals Report 2010, UN, New York, available athttp://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Resources/Static/Products/Progress2010/MDG_Report_2010_En.pdf, 80 pages.

UN−Habitat (2006), The State of The World’s Cities 2006/07: The Millennium Development Goals and Urban Sustainability – 30 Years of Shaping the Habitat Agenda, Earthscan, London, 204 pages.

UN−Habitat (2008a), The State of The World’s Cities 2008/09: Harmonious Cities, Earthscan, London, 224 pages. UN−Habitat (2008b), “Gender equality for a better urban future: an overview of UN−Habitat’s gender equality action plan (2008−2013)”, UN−Habitat, Nairobi, available at http://www.unhabitat.org/pmss/list World Bank (2006), “Gender equality as smart economics: a World Bank action plan (fiscal years 2007−2010)”, World Bank, Washington DC, www. worldbank.org, 29 pages.

World Bank (2007), World Development Report 2007: Development and the Next Generation, World Bank, Washington DC, www.worldbank.org.

World Bank (2009), World Development Report 2009: Reshaping Economic Geography, World Bank, Washington DC, www.worldbank.org.

WHO (2005), Multi-country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence against Women, WHO, Geneva, www.who.org, 257 pages.

WHO (2009), Women and Health: Today’s Evidence, Tomorrow’s Agenda, WHO, Geneva, www.who.org, 91 pages.

Dept. Of Architecture, School of Planning& Architecture, New Delhi

Urban Design Research | 2020-21

Appendix 1: Survey questionnaire: 1. Name* _______________________ 2. Gender* ○

Female

○

Male

○

Prefer not to say

3. Name of your city/area/region?* _______________________ 4. Which category does your city fall into?? * ○

Metropolitan City/Tier 1

○

City / Tier 2

○

Small Town

○

Other

5. Do you feel Safe in Public Space?* ○

Yes

○

No

○

Maybe

6. What personal safety risks concern you the most while travelling through an area/street?

Tick

which all you experience

■

Pick Pocketing

■

Robbery and Snatching

■

Sexual Harassment and Assault

■

No,I have no concerns

■

Other _______________________

7. What factors lead/adds to your vulnerability in some specific area/street when travelling?

Tick

which all you experience

■

Poor Lighting

■

Lack of proper signage/information around that area

■

Poor maintenance of open public spaces

■

Crowded public transport bus stops/stations

■

Lack of safe and clean public toilets

■

Lack of vendors/people in that area

■

Lack of effective security checks/booths/ personal

■

None,feel safe

8. At what time, do you prefer the least to go out? ○

8am-12pm

○

12pm-5pm Dept. Of Architecture, School of Planning& Architecture, New Delhi

Urban Design Research | 2020-21

○

5pm-8pm

○

8pm-12

○

Other _______________________

9. In which specific public space do you feel least safe? Tick which all you experience ■

Roadside

■

Using Public Transport

■

Waiting for a mode of transport

■

Market Place

■

Park

■

Public Toilets

■

Other _______________________

10. According to you, rate these elements that could contribute to the safety of Public Spaces.1 being Least and 3 being Very Important

Pointer

1

2

3

Lighting

〇

〇

〇

Walkability

〇

〇

〇

Transport accessibility

〇

〇

〇

Publicness of that area

〇

〇

〇

Proper signage/information for that area

〇

〇

〇

Security checks-defined entry/exits

〇

〇

〇

Scale of the built surroundings

〇

〇

〇

11. Describe any public place which you consider the safest to go to? ___________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ 12. Which Criteria does the space mentioned above full fill? Tick which all you experience ■

Lighting

■

Walkability

■

Transport accessibility

■

Publicness of that area

■

Proper signage/information for that area

■

Security checks-defined entry/exits

Dept. Of Architecture, School of Planning& Architecture, New Delhi

Urban Design Research | 2020-21

■

Scale of the built surroundings

Dept. Of Architecture, School of Planning& Architecture, New Delhi

Urban Design Research | 2020-21

Appendix 2: Survey Data

Dept. Of Architecture, School of Planning& Architecture, New Delhi

Urban Design Research | 2020-21

Dept. Of Architecture, School of Planning& Architecture, New Delhi

Urban Design Research | 2020-21

Dept. Of Architecture, School of Planning& Architecture, New Delhi

Urban Design Research | 2020-21

Dept. Of Architecture, School of Planning& Architecture, New Delhi

Urban Design Research | 2020-21

Dept. Of Architecture, School of Planning& Architecture, New Delhi