Examining the concept of gender mainstreaming in urban space to promote inclusive cities: the case of Warwick market, Durban, South Africa.

Abstract

Urban spaces are vital in community life because they allow individuals to build social relationships, participate in activities, and access green places. The ability to occupy an urban or public area can have a favourable influence on one's social, emotional, and physical health. In this day and age, there is a clear disparity in who may safely enter and use these locations. The term "inclusive city" speaks for itself: it is a city built for everyone, one that values all of its citizens and their needs equally, and so must address gender disparity. Gender Inclusive Cities are planned and designed using gender mainstreaming, which includes all women in decision-making processes and aims to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 11: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Currently, both men and women use metropolitan places; nonetheless, the urban environment can still be considered as a mostly masculine sphere, in which women may feel more awkward, unwanted, or excluded than men. The exclusion of women and girls from the urban planning process generates a knowledge gap, resulting in public spaces that exclude them. Women are being let down by city planning. This research will follow a case study design to explore the concept of gender mainstreaming in city planning of urban spaces.