Gender, urban space, and the right to everyday life

Yasminah Beebeejaun

doi:10.1080/07352166.2016.1255526

Abstract

ABSTRACTGender remains a neglected focus for theory and practice in shaping cities. Given women’s continuing economic and social marginalization and the prevalence of violence against women, how can this be the case? Despite several decades of feminist scholarship, dominant perspectives within the “the right to the city” literature pay little attention to how “rights” are gendered. In contrast, feminist and queer scholarship concerned with everyday life and the multiple spatial tactics of marginalized city dwellers reveal a more complex urban arena in which rights are negotiated or practiced. This article suggests that a fuller recognition of the contested publics that coexist within the contemporary city and the gendered mediation of everyday experiences could enable planners and policy makers to undertake more inclusive forms of intervention in urban space.

Highlights

Gender remains a neglected focus for theory and practice in shaping cities
Everyday lived spaces are neglected as political sites, but a closer examination reveals their importance to building belonging and rights
Debates surrounding belonging within the city have sought to reinvigorate and reclaim urban life as a source for political inclusion and action in very different ways, pointing toward an inhabitation and activation of belonging through various forms of movement within space

Summary

Introduction

Gender remains a neglected focus for theory and practice in shaping cities. Given women’s continuing economic and social marginalization and the prevalence of violence against women, how can this be the case? Despite several decades of feminist scholarship, dominant perspectives within the “the right to the city” literature pay little attention to how “rights” are gendered. This article suggests that a greater engagement with everyday spatial practices provides critical insights into how claims to urban space and the exercise of rights are inherently gendered. Turning our attention to how everyday life is negotiated can provide productive insights into the multiplicity of spatial practices that illuminate gendered experiences (see de Certeau, 1984).

Results

Conclusion