Guidelines for gender mainstreaming in urban planning actions in the Valencian Community (Spain)
To consolidate the transformative intent of Valencian Land &Urban Law TRLOTUP, these ‘Guidelines for Gender Perspective Mainstreaming in Urban Planning Actions in the Valencian Community’ addresses three objectives: 1.To support decision-makers in the process of reflection. 2.To support urban planning drafting teams in the process of transferring determinations relating to gender mainstreaming to project decisions. 3.To advise the drafting teams through recommendations and suggestions.
Regional
Spain
Valencian Community
Mainly urban
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
No
No
Yes
2022-10-04
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): GVA Generalitat Valenciana Type of organisation: Public authority (European/national/regional/local) First name of representative: Eva M. Last name of representative: Álvarez Isidro Gender: Female Nationality: Spain Function: Responsible, together with Carlos Gómez, for drafting the Guidelines for Gender Mainstreaming. Eva Alvarez and Carlos Gómez are Associate Professors at the UPV Universitat Politècncia de València and have been in charge of this work. Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Calle Democracia, 77 Town: Valencia Postal code: 46018 Country: Spain Direct Tel:+34 629 66 62 85 E-mail:ealvarez@pra.upv.es Website:https://politicaterritorial.gva.es/es/web/urbanismo/guies-editades
URL:https://urbangenere.upv.es/ Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): https://www.instagram.com/cug_upvgva/
URL:https://www.facebook.com/cugupvgva Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): #urbanismeigenere #urbanismoygenero #urbanisme #urbanismo #arquitectura #catedraurbanismeigenere #upv #gva #gvaterritori #etsaupv
The “Guidelines for gender mainstreaming […]” was designed as a roadmap to serve as a model. Therefore, according to this Guide, the first action of each team is the configuration of the team itself and the remodelling of this roadmap or work process to adapt it to the reality in which they are going to intervene. In this work process, the first thing that is proposed is to activate disaggregated data collection processes from an inclusive perspective (data feminism). After that, it is proposed to recognize the complex system of people who are already working on the same problem or situation, identifying the profiles of standing people and locating them in the territory or area of action, defining methods of active participation that help to establish prioritization criteria and, finally, defining processes of action over time that are truly inclusive. To try to help in such a complex task, a series of checklists are offered to support reflection on different topics. Among them, first, previous organizational issues (previous actions); second, reflections on matters that can be taken into account (guiding questions); and, third, proposal of elements that can be measured to help assess the degree of improvement that the action in question can bring about (indicators). Finally, it offers the possibility of standardizing the verification of the inclusion of the gender perspective in the considered action based on the aforementioned indicators. Consequently, this guide is proposed as a kind of scaffolding to help teams carry out their own strategy and as an example of indicators that can be checked when measuring the degree of gender mainstreaming, as we are not only concerned with a positive response but also with incorporating as much gender perspective as possible in each situation. Applying this working process can facilitate the building of more inclusive environments and increase the sense of belonging for all groups.
Gender mainstreaming
Equality
Inclusion
Architectural Design
Urban Design
Care for the environment is a goal in itself, studied and researched worldwide. As defined in the ‘Our Common Future’ report, the concept of
sustainability focuses on meeting our present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainability is, therefore, defined in the territory of ethics. So, sustainability requires agreement on what is necessary and what is not, and it establishes the notion of collective care for the environment in which we live, all aspects closely related to the positions proposed from the gender perspective. The objectives and criteria put in place to combat the non-sustainability of our lifestyles are in line with the internationally accepted objectives and criteria for gender mainstreaming, albeit for somewhat different reasons. It could even be argued that gender and care issues encompass sustainability. Some of these gendered objectives are the compact and/or polycentric city, a city of short distances and efficient, interlinked public transport and pedestrian networks, the organisation of urban green infrastructure -of proximity-, the regulation of urban metabolism mechanisms linked to the circular economy, strategies that understand these services as both territorial and local infrastructures. This consideration shows, to a certain extent, the transversal nature of both general concepts -gender perspective and sustainability- that is to say, that they are part of the substratum of any global consideration to be assessed in people’s environment. So this Guide stresses tackling sustainability issues as a way to approach gender equity, and it does with tables indicating prior actions, guiding questions and indicators that relate sustainability to gender. It is expected that using this Guide, the teams drafting or designing urban actuations from a gender perspective will approach sustainability goals. It is a "two-way" approach.
One of the essential objectives of this Guide is to contribute to defining the notion of quality in architecture and urban planning. This point is of particular relevance in Spain since the Law on Quality in Architecture has just been passed, and the question of who defines quality and how it is defined is present in the current architectural debate. It is worth mentioning that this Guide places particular emphasis on the fact that incorporating the gender perspective is to promote the quality of built space and that measuring the degree of incorporation of this perspective contributes to helping quantify the level of architectural and urban quality achieved. The gender perspective, according to this Guide, emphasizes the need to incorporate the expectations and needs of all the people who inhabit the whole territory without any kind of exclusion. Addressing and prioritizing all these issues will lead to more complex, efficient and inclusive solutions that are expected to achieve a high level of average quality throughout the territory. Solutions that will seek to avoid discontinuities in this quality reference framework. An example of this assertion could be to attend to where and how a school or sports facilities are arranged, distributing the burdens and benefits of these, and designing safe and inclusive routes to reach them. Another example might be to look at how land uses are defined so that these uses contribute to both economic and social vitality and a sense of subjective security for all, including women and girls. All these interactions directly impact the indices of safety, health, inclusion, and maintenance... In other words, the notion of environmental quality and social inclusion for all. This Guide proposes to focus on quality as an essential objective for inclusion and gender equality. This focus will be transferred to the daily urban environment.
According to the Observatory for Gender Equality in Latin America and the Caribbean, "the goal of equality will not be achieved as long as women are not empowered in all spheres". For this Observatory, empowerment is related to autonomy. Therefore, in solidarity with the work of this Observatory, this Guide argues that the built environment can contribute to increasing people's autonomy in:
- Economic autonomy: Urban and architectural design decisions that contribute to the management of specific opportunities for work, mobility, training, education, schooling, care of dependents, etc.
- Physical autonomy: Urban design and architectural design actions that contribute to access to decent housing, nearby green areas, pollution control, accessibility, safety, cleanliness and maintenance, public toilets, proximity services, etc.
- Autonomy in decision-making: Decisions on urban space that address the insistence on the urban landscape as public history, greater urban legibility and orientation, distribution of services throughout the territory, accessibility, mobility, cleanliness and decorum, safety, etc.
If the autonomy of ALL people is increased, then inclusion has a chance because people can occupy the public sphere and be recognised as equals. Autonomy for all is an opportunity to avoid the fear of others because one will be able to share the daily life of these others on a daily basis. In reality, it is a dependent autonomy, as we all depend on others, the balance of species, and the environment... but even in this framework, it is possible to increase the level of autonomy of people through urban and architectural design... The built environment should help people to increase their autonomy, but usually, the opposite is the case. Gender mainstreaming in urban design focuses on how the built space in the city, town or rural village can support people in their daily lives. The dependent autonomy of all people is a clear objective of this Guide.
These ‘Guidelines for Gender Perspective Mainstreaming in Urban Planning Actions in the Valencian Community’ focus on:
1. to support decision-makers in the process of reflection, over time, to mainstream the gender perspective in the environment in which we live. In other words, it aims to provide support in the decision-making process to anyone considering how to reduce inequalities between people caused by the built environment, an aspiration that is already incorporated in the TRLOTUP. In this sense, it is addressed to policy makers and technical staff of Public Administrations.
2. To support the urban planning drafting teams in the process of transferring the determinations related to the integration of the gender perspective to the project decisions of the urban planning or actions on which they are working.
3. To advise the drafting teams, through recommendations and suggestions, in the drafting of planning documents in accordance with the provisions of the TRLOTUP, with emphasis on the Gender Impact (Assessment) Report.
4. Furthermore, as the Guidelines are intended to be informative, they can be useful for anyone interested in these issues from the point of view of ordinary citizens.
Therefore, citizens could benefit from this Guide in different ways depending on their role as policy makers, technical staff or interested citizens.
This Guide translates the idea that what we call the built environment is not actually constructed, but is a complex product that emerges through the contribution of different people, in different roles, at different times. The intended impact of these Guidelines is to make people aware of the interdependence, complexity, contradiction and vitality of the emerging environment and to establish this idea affects how we view our right to participate equally in this emergence. Reality emerges first from the imagination of all of us; reality emerges by giving voice to all. This Guide proposes to do so.
This Guide is the result of the collaborative work of many people. The first thing that the UPV team in charge of this assignment did was to request the creation of a GVA Advisory Commission that would bring together all the staff of the regional administration who were related to this issue. Therefore, a team of sixteen people was formed, many of them senior officials of the GVA [Generalitat Valenciana ] and knowledgeable in their fields of action and with the capacity to act. This commission met online several times because of COVID. The UPV team also designed an online questionnaire that asked members of the GVA about the scope of the issues to be addressed in this Guide and the expected usefulness of that one. A series of Jane's Walks were also organized to take the pulse of citizens, albeit partially and provisionally. Finally, the Guide was presented to the public in November 2021, and a period for receiving suggestions or changes via email was opened, which ended in March 2022.
This Guide was also employed as a pattern to revise the applications to the GVA Prize for Gender mainstreaming into Architecture and Urbanism in 2022. It is also the base of the web application for CUG [chair urbanism gender], an agreement between GVA and UPV to disseminate the Guide into Valencian society and incorporate a gender perspective in our urban spaces. On the other hand, the Guide is intended as a model of action that offers lines of work and processes over time. In this sense, the Guide allows the teams to have a kind of rubric that facilitates constant self-assessment and is a resource for argumentation before the Administration. Consequently, the Guide aims to provide security to those who work and those who supervise, facilitate and speed up the Administration's processes and times, which, in itself, is a significant impact. However, this Guide could have a major impact because its accessible reading can allow people to concretize what they could have.
This Guide has been written with the understanding that the gender perspective is an all-encompassing concept that comprises all other issues. The gender perspective is not just another element to be added independently but a specific approach that can affect all other knowledge. All fields of knowledge can be questioned from a gender perspective, as have been the following ones during the work for this Guide:
- The collection of disaggregated information that questions the usual statistical means and the way of approaching the field of geography, seeing that society does not offer equal opportunities and expectations for all.
- Knowledge linked to sustainability, with an unquestionable gender-related aspect (moreover, it is from the perspective of gender, care and empathy that the need to not destroy the planet seems to arise) because we inhabit the planet together with the rest of living beings and inert matter and this context is what sustains the life of all of us.
- Technical and environmental knowledge pointing to the understanding of everything as habitable infrastructure: supply networks, housing, green places, networks of public spaces, shared spaces or proximity services, mobility as an opportunity...
- Knowledge associated with sociology, anthropology, environmental psychology, mental health... negotiating conflict from the understanding of our environment as a spatial continuum in which we develop together.
- Knowledge that has to do with economic and social management, such as business management, because the economic context can also be analyzed from a gender perspective.
- Knowledge linked to history and heritage because the memory of all of us is not properly reflected in our social context, and this situation is gendered.
In order to write this Guide, we contacted some of the most relevant specialists in gender mainstreaming (Eva Kail, Dolores Hayden, Susana Torre, etc.) and thoroughly reviewed all the available bibliographies.
This Guide is framed within the category "Prioritising the places and people who need it most", as the guide's main objective is clearly to show and disseminate the need to recognise the whole territory and all its inhabitants in depth. This objective is essential to establish mechanisms that facilitate the definition of prioritisation criteria to eliminate inequality between men and women. In other words, the Guide aims to be an instrument that facilitates identifying who needs resources most urgently, why and in which territories or places they live and how to establish a plan to rebalance access to resources through urban and architectural design or planning.
Since the Guide was published and, above all, since CUG [urbanism and gender chair] was launched, the impact of this Guide is reflected in the increase in the number of accesses to the documents published online, the increase in requests for training talks; or in the increase in the number of competitions that request the incorporation of the gender perspective in their terms and conditions. Little by little, the use of the Guide is being taken up by the planning drafting teams and those who supervise the planning from the Administration. The indirect beneficiaries are the inhabitants of the Valencian Community, as this Guide helps to define concrete, measurable and verifiable objectives that can be collectively or individually enforced. The nature of these specific objectives helps to establish short, medium and long-term projects, verifiable over time, which not only facilitate the economic progress of part of the population but also contribute to eliminating inequalities between them, which, on the other hand, also means economic progress for all. This Guide was one of the 21 shortlisted for the Spanish Architecture Awards in 2022, among 650 projects from all over Spain (attached letter from the CSCAE, in Spanish). The award was honorary, without financial remuneration.
The innovative character of this Guide lies in its approach as an open process that develops over time and that, in reality, is never finished as it is always in progress. This Guide insists on the idea that the gender perspective is not a superficial add-on at the end of the action but an active transformative stance that affects all processes and knowledge, at any time and in any place. Any decision or activity is susceptible to gender mainstreaming, however small it may seem. Therefore, the Guide proposes and suggests open processes to approach the urban environment, seeking the diversity of views and establishing prioritization criteria. This Guide is also innovative in its approach to a flexible model of reflection, where the first task proposed to each team is to establish its own list of checklists, adapted to the place and circumstances in which it must act. This Guide avoids offering pre-cooked recipes from other contexts and circumstances. However, many examples are provided in the text to serve as possible models for decision-makers to follow. Finally, the information obtained from all these examples is collected in an organized series of checklists that are divided into different groups:
- Checklists that help to take into consideration previous actions to be taken into account before starting the task.
- Checklists that suggest prior questions that could be reflected upon in order to address the issue.
- Checklists that propose indicators specific to each line of work and offer a pattern of evaluation of the previous situation and the proposed situation in the project.
- Checklists that help to adapt what has been studied to a possible route that allows the compulsory Gender Impact (Assessment) Report to be carried out in a systematic way.
- Checklists that help to establish an organized work process over time.
This Guide builds on the localized knowledge of each team and encourages them to provide their own flexible process.
The methodology used to produce this Guide has been the compilation and synthesis of an enormous amount of information, both bibliographical and provided by experts and users. To this end, we tried to consult and ask as many people as possible and we examined all the available bibliography in Spanish, Valencian/Catalan and English. All this information was condensed into a readable and accessible text and it was summarized in a series of checklists to facilitate the approach to each task in question. Particular care was taken with the graphic design of the Guide, so that it can be used in a somewhat intuitive way. In this aspect, the collaborative work with the (female) graphic designer was essential. The Guide has been edited in Spanish, Valencian and English. Finally, the Guide has found the support of CUG [chair urbanism and gender] UPV-GVA, one of whose objectives is to propose experimental research on the use of the Guide to students of various subjects in the degree in Foundations in Architecture and in the master's degree in Advanced Architecture, Landscape, Urbanism and Design at the UPV. During the current academic year 2022-2023, two groups of students have tested the readability and usefulness of this Guide, one of 29 and the other of 62 students, with excellent results that will have to be carefully analyzed.
The Guide's approach can be taken as a model and replicated in other settings and contexts. The aim of the Guide is to establish patterns of behaviour and activity that can be debated and shared and this aim is replicable. The support for research from the University is also replicable and the establishment of dissemination websites, archives and space for sharing opinions and debates [CUG] is also transferable. We consider this project it totally replicable everywhere the will to do this exists.
The most important global challenges are listed in the 17 SDGs. Each of these goals can be dissected from a gender perspective. However, the main global goal that this Guide addresses locally is the elimination of inequality of women and men based on gender roles [SDG 5]. As it has already been mentioned repeatedly, this goal, in reality, must be achieved by addressing all the goals from this position. In other words, architectural and urban design can contribute to the end of poverty by providing opportunities for all inhabitants, to health and well-being by providing clean urban and rural environments, to quality education as the urban and domestic environment are educating spaces, and we could comment on all the SDGs. All of these goals are clearly crossed by a gender perspective. Contributing to the elimination of gender inequality through the construction of collective space in the Valencian Community means contributing to consolidating the SDGs on the planet and this Guide contributes to incorporating the gender perspective in urban actions in the Valencian Community (Spain).
