According to the World Bank, women’s needs and desires were not considered when modern cities were planned (2020). Due to that, young women and girls are the ones who will continue to be the most affected by the challenges in the context of the current and anticipated social, urban and environmental crisis.
For this, the project “DiverCity: Inclusive cities for the youth” focuses on the participation of young women and girls from diverse backgrounds in urban planning (without excluding male and non-binary participants). Adding the gender perspective in urban planning and participatory tools/methodologies can help us rethink and redesign our cities by putting our diverse everyday lives in the centre. This approach will result in more safe, accessible, and comfortable urban spaces for all people in the future.
We emphasise the active engagement of these groups by using various, engaging, and playful participatory planning tools, appealing to the youth. Specifically, during the action, we will:
- Generate a network of organisations and individuals that focus on youth, gender perspective, participation, and city-making.
- Share knowledge by bringing together experiences, tools, and methodologies into a shared ToolBox.
- Implement participatory urban planning activities with young women and girls (and other potential participants) in 4 European cities (Athens, Weimar, Sabadell, Brussels).
- Empower young women and girls to participate more actively in all the processes of the city-making by providing them with a “safe and brave space” to talk and express their needs and desires.
- Create an online GuideBook with the participatory urban planning tools and methodology we will use during the project.
- Present the results in a Final Event that will take place in Athens.
Four organisations from four European countries collaborate towards a shared goal. By combining our organisations’ various points of view, experiences, and local knowledge, we wish to achieve a more holistic understanding of the necessities, desires, and the capacities of young women regarding the public space in the city. As such, we can provide more suitable and adaptable tools and methodologies in order to enhance the participation of young women and girls in urban planning.
The first step has already been achieved. We travelled to Barcelona and from there to Sabadell. We had the opportunity to share our tools with the organisations we work with and to build new tools based on them. We trained each other in new activities that can be carried out in the public space. Now, back at our base, we are planning the next steps for participatory neighborhood design workshops with young women in Athens!
Location: European project (Greece, Germany, Spain, Belgium)
Period: February 2023 – August 2024
Participants: young women, teenagers, and girls
The project is an Erasmus+ funding program for education, training, youth, and sport, by the EU, under the Call: 2022 Round 3 KA210-YOU – Small-scale partnerships in youth.
In collaboration with the organisations Estel (Spain), Culture Goes Europe – CGE (Germany), Urban Foxes (Belgium).