How Cities Like Vienna Can Be Designed For Gender Equality

Vienna from the Danube Tower
Vienna from the Danube Tower Flickr/jay8085
Vienna from the Danube Tower
Vienna from the Danube Tower Flickr/jay8085

How Cities Like Vienna Can Be Designed For Gender Equality

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City planners often weigh differing priorities when reimagining urban spaces.

For a business-minded urban planner, access to infrastructure, speed, and convenience may serve as a focus. Security could be another priority, leading to segregation. But a new class of urban planner looks to use urban spaces to encourage social equality.

Eva Kail is a gender planning expert for the city of Vienna, Austria. She and a team of construction and technology officers have worked on several projects to make the Austrian capital more convenient, safe, and accessible to women and mothers. Her research finds that women more tend to be pedestrians, and mothers often have to manage big strollers. Concern over sexual violence means streetlights and blind corners play a functional role.

Kail joins us to discuss gender planning in urban areas.