Urbanism with a Gender Perspective: 7 Guidelines for the Design of Public Spaces in Buenos Aires
Urbanism with a Gender Perspective: 7 Guidelines for the Design of Public Spaces in Buenos Aires
Understanding the diversity and plurality of people who inhabit and pass through cities on a daily basis, gender-responsive urban planning aims to incorporate all those identities, perspectives and activities that have been invisible for years. Understanding the complexities that surround cities and getting involved in the urban experiences of their inhabitants, public spaces turn out to be the scenario for the development of urban life and, as such, should bring together a series of guidelines and considerations in accordance with this new paradigm that act as planning tools, composing this network of spaces and contemplating all the users of the city.
Within the public space, the meeting and interaction of social subjects is conceived, which is why citizen participation acquires great relevance by contributing a vision from everyday life to the design of the same. Regardless of their dimensions, scales, or locations, they are capable of mitigating urban problems, promoting exchange between people of different social classes, and also providing a space for community expression, among many other functions.
By not only involving parks, squares or green spaces, public spaces are those that allow mobility through the city and designing them from a gender perspective leads to thinking in a logic that aims at the enjoyment and appropriation of all inhabitants. The aim is to generate a sense of belonging in order to express their collective and public nature. Through the following design guidelines set out in the Manual for the Design of Public Spaces with a Gender and Diversity Perspective prepared by the Government of the City of Buenos Aires, it is proposed to focus on the everyday experience, promoting the recognition and visibility of subjects that have been excluded for a long time.
Security
In order to create safety for those who use or pass through public spaces, attention should be focused on issues such as vision, lighting and natural surveillance. This refers to both the breadth and depth of vision to be contemplated in a public space and is determined by everything that can interfere with it, whether natural or architectural elements such as trees, walls, fences, etc. In the case of vegetation, it is important to consider the passage of time since, being a living material, it can generate barriers, hiding places or screens that make surveillance impossible. Ideally, avoid creating blind spots through windows or other openings or projections.
Natural surveillance, from commercial and residential buildings, helps mitigate the sense of isolation by encouraging a variety of uses and activities that increase the presence of eyes. Through planning and design, the monotony of facades should be avoided and communication tools such as telephones or panic buttons should be incorporated.
Lighting plays a fundamental role in public spaces in order to see and be seen. Paying particular attention to the entry and exit routes, walkways, and signs, lighting should not diminish the field of vision, nor should it illuminate isolated spaces or spaces that are not intended to be used at night. Pavement lighting promotes safe walkability and its design should be planned in conjunction with the design of trees to avoid casting unwanted shadows or blockages.
Accessibility
It is proposed to design the equipment and infrastructure of public spaces for different body types and functionalities, focusing on signage and universal accessibility. By incorporating signs, panels, or maps, people’s autonomy in public spaces is enhanced and ideally, their maintenance should be ensured to avoid the perception of insecurity.
Accessibility and safety should be considered an integral part of the design of the spaces, being easy to understand with clear entrances and exits, meeting places and services since, for example, through the incorporation of public toilets it is possible to prolong users’ stays, guaranteeing enjoyment and also comfort. In the design of the space, the appropriate materials, their installation, colour and texture must be considered in order to project the function of the place. By analysing existing flows, whether pedestrian, vehicular, cyclist, among others, functional and efficient circulations are encouraged.
Mixed Use
Through an offer of activities and facilities, the aim is to contemplate the diversity of the population, promoting the symbolic and physical appropriation of urban spaces. Public green spaces allow for a multiplicity of activities, providing free access to citizens in their heterogeneity. Through thought, planning and management of these spaces from a perspective of inclusion, the enjoyment of the population should be promoted by contemplating the care policies that take place there.
The flexibility of the facilities and spatial arrangements allows for a multiplicity of uses in space and time in the long term. Activity-generating spaces make it possible to attract people through, for example, leisure facilities, the provision of a cultural or gastronomic space, etc. Considering a population spanning all ages (from children to seniors), each one has different needs to be taken into account in order to achieve harmonious coexistence.
Environment
In order to promote healthy and inviting spaces, the aim is to ensure naturalised environments and implement nature-based solutions to address current problems involving air quality, noise pollution, extreme thermal levels, waterlogging, soil contamination, etc. With regard to vegetation, it is necessary to take into account both the maintenance and the selection of suitable species when designing spaces and it is recommended to study the spatial dimensions of the local context.
Cultural Landscape and Heritage
The public space should respect the tangible and intangible heritage and also the territory where it is implanted. By integrating the gender perspective from a strategic design approach, a valuation and intervention of the inherited heritage are carried out with certain criteria of equity and inclusion. Murals or graffiti are presented as opportunities to incorporate symbolic value into public spaces.
The identification and enhancement of the architectural and landscape heritage of a sector is fundamental to preserve and strengthen the sense of identity and belonging of the inhabitants, as well as the generation and visibility of the customs or expressions of one or several cultures.
Circulation
Public space represents the space for the circulation and exchange of people in the city, providing structures that make both public and private transport systems function. Understanding mobility as a city-creating activity, stops, stations, intermodal nodes, stairs, corridors, and lifts, among others, are what make up the mobility network and must be designed and managed to address the issues of safety, accessibility, visibility, and urban communication. Images and representations play an active role in public space, being a clear manifestation of the meaning to be conveyed.
Community Management and Ownership
There are some recommendations regarding the functioning of the life of the public space after the design process. Taking into account not only their functioning but also their maintenance, the aim is to ensure the long-term enjoyment of the community in order to maintain the spirit in which they were conceived or intervened. Being the setting, condition, and manifestation of social relations and the uses that their inhabitants make of them, public spaces must avoid the degradation of their spatiality and the obsolescence of their programs and equipment. After the processes of diagnosis, participatory design, and execution of an architectural-landscape project, it is necessary to consider mechanisms to strengthen community ties and promote inclusive and diverse spaces for use.
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