This project is the result of the "Urban Girls Movement", funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, to map effective methods and tools that contribute to increasing equality and inclusiveness in urban development. Photo: Handout
To achieve gender equality and inclusivity in urban development, UN-Habitat partnered with several NGOs for World Cities Day 2022, which takes place on October 31.
Women of all ages and backgrounds have come together across cities around the world to change their environment through the "Her City" project.
"Her City" is a joint urban development initiative of UN-Habitat (the United Nations Human Settlements Programme) and the independent Sweden-based think tank Global Utmaning. It is funded by the Swedish Innovation Agency (Vinnova) with contributions from various local partners in the participating cities.
This project is the result of the "Urban Girls Movement" launched in 2017 and funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, with the aim of mapping effective methods and tools that contribute to increasing equality and inclusiveness in urban development.
The aim is to propose measures to local elected officials, who will then decide on their feasibility. Some cities have already been able to implement different initiatives through local fundraising.
Renovation of public spaces, enhancedu safety
In the case of the municipality of Botkyrka, Sweden, the women decided to rehabilitate urban areas known for being the site of drug deals by giving them more colour and personality: mural paintings, installation of playgrounds, benches, making streetlights brighter, in order to make the nighttime comings and goings of inhabitants safer, among other things.
To do this, each volunteer resident was able to use design software to develop their ideas, which were then proposed and discussed with local elected officials.
The result was that the Botkyrka neighbourhood has become more hospitable for residents.
"Urbanisation brings enormous challenges, not least in terms of inequality," explains Tove Alström, director of Global Utmaning, partner of the project, in a video presenting the toolbox of Her City 2022.
"When cities are poorly planned, it is often followed by widening gaps between urban centers and outskirts and between different groups in the society." Women are the most vulnerable category in the face of the rapid urbanisation of spaces, which is why it is necessary to include them in the development of cities according to the director of the NGO. By giving them importance in the decision-making process, the project intends to empower these women worldwide.
Hope for women in South Africa's slums
In Johannesburg, South Africa, young girls from impoverished townships, like Diepsloot, had the opportunity to express different issues during an awareness walk. They were able to talk about their daily fears in the face of gender-based violence and rising crime, but they also had the opportunity to point out the lack of water and sanitation infrastructure to the NGOs working there.
During various workshops, participants were able to imagine and design new models of the Diepsloot township.
Nancy Sethole, one of the participants in the "Her City Diepsloot" project, wants to make her neighbourhood "a better place" and thinks that her "contribution can help" to make it a safer place for women.
"I would like to see my point being seen and my dreams being visualized, because I dream for Diepsloot to be a better place, and I believe that with my help it could become a better place." Now it will be a matter of convincing the local elected officials of the municipality.
