Cities are the epicenters of human settlements, home to diverse populations, that come together to live, interact and work. Urbanization has increased multifold with more than half the world’s population now living in cities, and the trend toward urbanization will only increase rapidly to reach 70% by 2050. The high level of urbanization has led to juxtaposing diverse groups of people from different economic groups, ethnicities, and professions creating conditions of stark contrast and rising inequality. City residents have varying needs based on gender, age, and physical and mental abilities.
“According to Cities For All, an inclusive, accessible city is a place where everyone, independent of their economic circ*mstances, gender, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual identity, nationality or religion, can, and are allowed to, participate fully in the social, economic, cultural and political opportunities that cities offer.”
The Sustainable Development Goal 11 calls for creating “inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable” cities. World over, cities and their people have taken the goal of inclusivity with great rigor to build cities that foster the unique needs of women, transpersons, the elderly, children, persons with disabilities, economically weaker sections, and those facing other forms of discrimination. Globally, several metropolises act as models of inclusive cities.
Some special examples of cities that have taken huge strides in the direction of inclusive urbanism are explored below:
Cities for Women
Vienna, Austria is a city that is designed to foster gender mainstreaming with over 60 initiatives for the social inclusion of women through policy and planning. Street lighting projects, widening pavements for buggies, additional seating, apartment complexes and social housing designed by and for women, and improving the safety of shortcuts and alleyways by adding mirrors are some of the initiatives that provided Vienna’s inhabitants with a safer inclusive space. Vienna also introduced gender budgeting in order to distribute municipal funds more equitably to meet gender equality goals.
Cities for elderly
Japan is witnessing a phenomenon where over 29.8 percent of its population is currently over the age of 65 years. The high percentage of the aging population in urban Japan is shaping the design of the cities here, particularly in the area of health care services, access and mobility and individuals’ well-being. Tokyo, Japan has taken a few initiatives:
Cities for Children
Pontevedra, Spain is truly a city for children. It has reformed its urban spaces to actively include children in its design. Francesco Tonucci and his book La città dei bambini (The City of Children) were very influential in the transformation of Pontevedra into a space of experimentation and discovery for the young. Read more here City of Children - PDF
Some of the deep reformations were:
Cities for transgender persons
In San Francisco, California, initiatives include transgender-specific health services, anti-discrimination policies, gender-neutral restrooms, and dedicated support organizations to aid transgender individuals. The Guaranteed Income for Trans People Program provides low-income transgender residents with a fixed monthly income
Conclusion
A common theme across all the cities that stand apart as examples of inclusive urban planning is a commitment to people-centric design. 15-minute cities with a focus on pedestrianization and public transportation can change the very characteristics of the street. Cities can be transformed giving birth to play spaces, safe crossings, meeting points, places to create art, local markets and more.
When people of all groups, genders, ages and abilities are involved in democratic and participatory planning, the cities come alive with the spirit of inclusion. The cities thus created are human-scaled and have the potential to improve the quality of life for everyone residing in them.
