Cities Weren’t Built for Women. The Pandemic Could Change That.
Gendered issues from public restrooms to accessible transit require work that we could use this time to solve
So much about the way cities are designed is supposed to make life easier — but for whom? In most cases, the answer is able-bodied, middle-class white males. From stroller-unfriendly transit stations to geographies that don’t put schools, homes, social services, and work in the same neighborhoods, the average city makes life more inconvenient for women, and particularly so for mothers.
In her new book Feminist City: Claiming Space in a Man-Made World, scholar Leslie Kern explains all the hidden ways that urban planning can make life harder for women, from unequal snowplowing routes to the unintended consequences of mixed-income housing developments. GEN caught up with Kern ahead of the book’s publication to find out how some of these challenges could be tackled during this moment of global pause when cities have gone quieter under quarantine.
GEN: Your book looks at the way certain elements of cities make life a bit easier for most men, and a bit harder for most women. What are some examples?
Kern: One of the first ones that comes to mind would be public transportation. Most urban…
