This is a 5-point statement about sustainable and inclusive urban development from the perspective of the transdisciplinary research network in #UrbanGirlsMovement. The one-year feminist urban development initiative #UrbanGirlsMovement by the think tank Global Utmaning in Botkyrka, Sweden, has practiced multi-stakeholder collaboration to improve public space design by putting girls and young women at the center of the process. The follow-up research, observations and research network meetings linked to #UrbanGirlsMovement have landed in a set of conclusions and recommendations aimed for researchers and practitioners working together to improve 21st century sustainable urban development and public space. On this background, we now propose specific areas for further research, synthesis and action in realizing the sustainable, livable and just city.
- Explore the values of urban design processes with and by girls and young women
Having girls’ perspectives be the focal point in urban planning and design processes indicates a variety of co-benefits and alternative values, both social and environmental. The indications that can be identified in #UrbanGirlsMovement can benefit from further exploration in both academia and practice. There is evidence that #UrbanGirlsMovement creates meaning and empowerment to the participants, especially to the girls and young women. This confirms that planning processes are more than the built environment. It can be a tool for enhanced democracy, equality, and justice in cities- all of which are critical for sustainability. - Re-think and re-research co-production in urban design processes
It is time to rethink and re-do urban design processes to assure best possible outcomes for the communities and the environment. Put liveability and local knowledge at the core of these processes and use it as guiding principles in both ethical considerations and in practice. When developing and engaging in projects in your research, involve innovators for creativity, the municipality or city administration for responsibility, the bridgebuilders, and the “reflectionists” to the process. Some of the success factors in the #UrbanGirlsMovement were that the different stakeholders involved were not restricted to preconceived ideas of their roles which enabled valuable exchange and learning between the different actors. This was made possible thanks to the carefully developed methodology, and it gave space and legitimacy to the girls and young women in all steps of the process- making them the experts in the room. - Practice “what if”-research
Be the practical scholar and the reflective practitioner in challenge- and dilemma driven research and innovation[1]. In other words, instead of asking “what is…”, ask “what if…”. Experimental approaches help invite multiple experiences and is something that in #UrbanGirlsMovement put forward the girls´ and young women’s local and embodied knowledges. This was one of the enablers for them to shoulder the roles of place experts. - Practice follow-up research together with changemakers
There is a general need for applied follow-up research in participatory urban innovation initiatives. These are mutually beneficial situations where practitioners can enjoy enhanced legitimacy and critical feedback to their projects. Researchers, in turn, need the local practitioners to ensure much needed societal relevance in published research. So, researchers, join the change makers in their urban explorations, experiments and efforts in improving their urban habitats. Such research can benefit from working from the local, to the global, and back again, in a similar way that #UrbanGirlsMovement has done. - Adopt feminist urban theory as an instrument for sustainability studies
There are signs that unsustainable patriarchal urban form and spaces can be discharged by adopting elements of the #UrbanGirlsMovement methods, tools and design outcomes. There is a need to re-think and re-design safety for girls and young women in urban areas. Current narratives and policies are objectifying and suboptimal. We argue for a re-focus on issues of liveability, hangout spaces, and stewardship in co-production, for real improvements and a sense of belonging for all. In order to have planning processes that enhance social and spatial values in urban areas, there is a need for intersectional planning tools that transform spatial injustices, power and oppression. #UrbanGirlsMovement is one of them.
Signatures
Emelie Anneroth, MSc, Department of Human Geography, Stockholm university
Caroline Wrangsten, MSc, Department of Human Geography, Stockholm university
Johan Larsson Lindahl, PhD., Department for Studies of Social Change and Culture, Linköping University
Natasha Webster, PhD., Department of Human Geography, Stockholm university
Sara Ferlander, Associate Professor of Sociology, Södertörn University
Sara Borgström, Assistant professor in Sustainable Urban Development, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)
Meike Schalk, Associate professor of Urban Studies and Urban Theory, Docent of Architecture at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) School of Architecture
Tanya Jukkala, PhD., Sociology, Södertörn University
Gunnel Forsberg, Professor in Human Geography with a special in urban and regional planning, Stockholm University. Deputy Dean of Faculty of Social Science, Stockholm University.
Joe Mulligan, Associate Director, Kounkuey Design Initiative, Industrial PhD Student, KTH.
Seyedeh Atefeh Mortazavi, MSc., KTH Royal Institute of Technology.
[1] https://jpi-urbaneurope.eu/app/uploads/2019/02/SRIA2.0.pdf
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