Since the 19th century, the society has been involved in impressive growth, through several changes, from political, economic and cultural issues, but always aiming to generate well-being and obtain a high level of quality of life.
These changes have also been present in the infrastructure that society uses and that is what does not provide a lifestyle, to achieve this growth from the rural (from ancient times) to the urbanization in which we develop, processes have been used to help organize spaces, is what we currently call urban planning.
At the same pace as the changes that have occurred in terms of spaces, social dynamics have also changed, seeing changes in policies, roles, as well as some cultural aspects. Today there is a struggle in which equality is desired between men and women, in search of the same professional opportunities and rights.
For the above reason, today in commemoration of International Women’s Day, we want to highlight the importance of women’s participation in urban planning, this being a point of view from the construction sector, where it was previously left behind and which in today it has been given an important role, exposing their great scope and abilities.
In this article you will find the advantages of the presence of women in urban planning, but do you know what urban planning is and how it works?
The objective of this is that cities do not grow without an adequate structure, this applied to the design and distribution of streets and neighborhoods. With its planning, people’s quality of life was improved, applying interdependent systems between life and the built environment.
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Which manages all the actions necessary for the structural and organizational issues of a city, such as:
Now that we know how it works, what would be the importance of the presence of women within this type of plans? First, we will emphasize the fight on the part of women to be given the opportunity to occupy positions, which in the past and that still part of society, said that only men can occupy, positions such as construction manager, architects, infrastructure developers, construction work, among others.
Currently, we can see women managing large buildings, such as industrial warehouses, guiding groups that are made up only of men, or we can see them driving concrete mixing trucks or carrying out construction work, this has resulted in a society with equal opportunities.
Now, what advantages does it have the participation of women in our topic of urban planning? According to a study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), these are the following:
1.More diverse and inclusive cities: It has been shown that women leaders tend to have values such as compassion and empathy in mind, as well as have a more inclusive and less hierarchical negotiation and leadership style than men. Added to this is the sense of high commitment to solutions to problems that women and children go through. Which helps generate functional spaces for all social circles.
In addition to this, according to studies, women invest most of their income in their families and communities compared to men, which means that the female presence in government positions favors the incorporation of new topics and roles that sometimes are not prioritized.
2.Safer cities: Unfortunately, since women are a more threatened and violated group in society, it helps in a certain way to give priority to safer public spaces for society in general in their urban planning and designs, but especially vulnerable groups. And to carry it out, they are responsible for the use of technology and the generation of new public policies.
3.More human cities: Historically, women have been related to advances in fields such as education, infrastructure and health at the local level. This could translate into higher levels of human development and quality of life in urban developments.
Finally, we can now reflect and see how the increasingly active participation and leadership of women in sectors that were only aimed at men has given the advantage and support of breaking down cultural and structural barriers, however, this fight keeps going for a more equal society.
