Bold for change: Building cities that work for women

 

The recent International Women’s Day celebration opened the doors to recognize the social, economic, cultural and political achievement of women and the inequities they continue to face. This year’s theme – Be Bold for Change – calls for action to increase focus on women’s needs in societies. The needs of women in African cities are worth attention on this occasion since women form more than half of the population of African countries and the continent’s overall population will triple by 2050. Much of this growing population will find its way to cities. Interestingly, two-thirds of Africa’s cities are still unbuilt. These trends present an opportunity to design Africa’s emergent cities and redesign existing cities to follow a sustainable path, one which enhances liveability and productivity for women.

It is significant to women’s progress in that some African cities – including Lagos, Enugu, Kigali, Amman and Accra – were recently named among 100 Resilient Cities. These are cities committed to principles of sustainability: the equitable and efficient provision of public services and social infrastructure with minimal negative effects on people and the environment. Simply put, a sustainable city works to improve the quality of life of its residents. This is done by maximising the conservation of resources, limiting waste, improving public health, preventing pollution, promoting efficiency and actively developing local women-inclusive economies. In planning sustainable urban development, the goal is to ensure wholesome projects addressing the needs and desires of the entire populace. However, in the experience of many African cities, the specific considerations of women and girls have been largely overlooked.

 

The experience of women in African cities is multi-faceted. On the one hand, women have benefited from the opportunities for economic progress, innovation, cultural stimulation and social mobility cities offers. Businesses in cities across Africa thrive on the entrepreneurial efforts of an army of female entrepreneurs.   Leading businesses such as Coca Cola are driven by the efforts of female distributors and retailers. Women play a direct, quantifiable role in economic wellbeing, growth of wealth in communities and in the value chain of businesses. In Nigeria, women make up 80 percent of consumer purchasing decisions and cities provide a locus for economic contribution and benefit for women. Women in cities also benefit from relatively increased access to public services like water, sanitation, health care, education, electricity and emergency services which are cheaper and more cost-effective in cities.

On the flip side, the expansion of cities has led to economic, socio-cultural, financial, and marked gender inequalities. The growing population puts intense strain on public services like healthcare and education, sanitation services, transportation, housing and other infrastructural amenities which negatively affects quality of life for women. A considerable number of women in cities are already living in slums under less-than-ideal conditions, and this could get worse.

Women have specific needs and uses within cities. But these needs are often inadequately factored into urban development processes. For our cities to be truly sustainable, we must understand the varying ways in which men and women use city space. In addition to their roles as leaders of businesses of different scales or as workers in different capacities, women still disproportionately shoulder responsibilities for childcare as well as household chores. In the context of city life, access to infrastructure such as energy, healthcare, as well as other amenities will enable women gain better quality of life and perform their multi-faceted roles. For instance, women in our cities contend with challenges around commuting home from their places of work through traffic, then preparing meals daily. Increased access to adequate power supply could facilitate faster food preparation, enable food storage and reduce the long hours spent in the kitchen, with positive consequences on women’s productivity.

 

Another area of importance is transportation within cities – ‘connectivity’. In creating sustainable, gender-sensitive cities, we need to recognize that females have distinctly varied travel behaviours and habits compared to men as a result of the combination of work and household responsibilities. As such, transport facilities must be designed to specifically ease women’s access, safety, mobility and their ability to carry out activities such as transporting children to school and carrying out household errands.

One other crucial area for consideration is the role cities currently play in determining the safety, security and overall wellbeing of women and girls. Issues like accessibility of public spaces and zoning for housing and transportation designs can marginalize women and endanger their safety and economic well-being. In cities like Lagos women engage in night-time commercial activities from food vending to providing hair care services, their safety and security is not guaranteed. The risk of being attacked by miscreants is high. Solutions are required to create an environment that ensures safety and security for women. The efforts of governments and businesses to ensure that there is adequate lighting on our city streets will create space for women where they feel safe.

To build sustainable cities it is imperative that urban practitioners place design considerations for both women and girls at the forefront. Ultimately, the most effective solutions address women-specific issues by harnessing strategies from multiple sectors to improve the general health and wellbeing of the female populace, and by extension, all citizens of the city. Sustainable cities place due emphasis on co-equal values, promoting practical solutions like walkability, affordable housing opportunities, mixed use facilities, preserved natural areas, and cheaper transportation choices, taking both genders’ unique needs into consideration. As Robert Zoellick former president of the World Bank stated, “gender equality is smart economics.” At the end of the day, quoting the Mahbub ul Haq, Pakistani economist and founder of the UNDP Human Development Report: “People are the real wealth of a nation. The basic objective of development is to create an enabling environment for people to enjoy long, healthy and creative lives.” Following this simple truth, by investing in women’s well-being in our cities, we strengthen our efforts to create wealth, drive development, and build a more peaceful and prosperous world.

 

Ijeoma Nwagwu

Dr. Nwagwu, earned a doctorate at Harvard University and is Faculty at Lagos Business School. Email:[email protected]