Women, gender and urban development: or what kind of city do I want to live in?

Prabha Khosla, Gender and Development Expert

When discussing cities, it is important we locate ourselves in the city and relate to cities as residents. What is the quality of life in our city? What quality of life do we want? What changes do we need to make to our urban environments to get there? This conversation would make a good starting point for imagining, planning and managing pro-poor, gender-sensitive sustainable urban development. For example, I would like to live in a safe city, where both women and men have access to jobs and equal wages without discrimination, with secure and affordable housing and water and sanitation services in the home, where educational and recreational facilities are affordable to all boys and girls and women and men, with a pollution free and healthy living environment, affordable and accessible transport and access to cultural activities. Cities can and do provide these for some of us, but not all of us. We must remember that we are building cities for ourselves, our families, our friends and our neighbours. We need to plan, build, and manage cities for the kind of city we would like to live in. One way of doing that is to ask yourself, what makes you feel good in cities? Which places and neighbourhoods do you enjoy? What is it that you like about these places? And we should also be able to define what we do not like in cities. To build healthy and inclusive cities we need to maximize those urban environments and experiences that make us feel good and minimize those that make us unhappy, uncomfortable or fearful. For example, I would not like to live next to an open smelly drain, where no matter how much I keep the area around my home clean, the smell and flies never go away. I am sure you would not like to live like that either. I would like a safe, uneventful and short ride in affordable public transit to work. I do not want to spend 2-4 hours a day commuting to work and 2-4 hours commuting back home as many women and men living in large cities do today. This much computing time is expensive in terms of costs, quality of life and defies the notion of sustainable cities. These are some of the things we need to change for a better quality of life for all of us and they are starting points for building inclusive, liveable and lovable cities. The following section briefly focuses on the factors and challenges of urbanization in Asian cities, the implications of urban poverty on women and girls and proposes some considerations for propoor and gender-sensitive urban development. A Brief Profile of Urbanization in Asia In the last 20 years, the Asian urbanization rate has grown from 31.5% in 1990 to 40.2% by 2010. Asian cities host 1.7 billion inhabitants who amount to about 50% of the worlds urban population. Of these 1.7 billion people, about 850 million live in towns and cities of 500,000 or less. Thirty to sixty percent of these urban residents are poor. While all of Asia is urbanizing,

and at different rates, urbanization trends in Asia are dominated by the demographics of the Peoples Republic of China and India. Factors behind Urbanization Cities are in the forefront of the rapidly growing Asian economies. They offer jobs, health care, education, innovation, and most importantly - opportunities and choices for both men and women. These are the reasons why people want to live in cities and they are the stimulation for migration from rural or low growth areas to urban or high growth areas. Higher growth areas stimulate further urbanization. This has been the case for the Peoples Republic of China, Mongolia and Cambodia. Then there is the natural increase of urban populations as has been the case for the growing urban centres of Malaysia and the Philippines. Re-classification and expansion of urban boundaries as was the case for India, Nepal and the Peoples Republic of China in the 1980s and 1990s is another reason for the increase of urban populations. Other factors leading to higher urban densities include temporary migrations due to seasonal work, contract workers, crop failures and droughts, forced migrations due to environmental disasters, conflicts and climate change related weather events. However, while it is clear that urbanization will continue to be a major change and challenge lever in Asian economies, it is also clear that urbanization has not benefitted everyone equally. Along with an increase in the economic wealth of many Asian nations, urbanization has also resulted in inequity in access to housing, infrastructure and services; increased urban poverty and a governance-deficit. Furthermore, the existing realities of gender inequality especially disadvantage poor women in cities. Challenges of Urbanization: Spatial form and infrastructure There is inadequate planning in most cities and this is reflected in the high number of slums and informal settlements which also means high densities for poor women, men and children. For poor women and men the slums and high densities are due to the lack of access to affordable land, serviced land, insecurity of tenure, and poor housing. Municipal infrastructure and services such as water, sanitation, drainage, electricity, solid waste management, health, education and social services are not affordable and accessible for the majority of the residents. There is insufficient pedestrian-friendly planning and public transit. And there are far too many cars in cities. Cars are owned by the few. We need to plan cities with the many in mind and not the few. Many Asian cities also have compromised eco-systems including contamination of water and air, inadequate management of industrial effluents and solid and liquid waste. Women experience and use cities differently than men. They use different services and often at different times of day and night. This different experience and engagement with the city should inform the spatial and physical development of cities. Challenges of Urbanization: Economic and Social Realities The informal economy is often the dominant economy that engages many poor urban women and men. However, the informal sector and city living is also characterized by high unemployment, irregular work, income insecurity, lower incomes, and a riskier asset base for women. Urban centres have a higher cost of living for goods and services, housing, bribes and health care than rural areas. This leads to greater poverty in urban areas. The lack of social safety nets leads to even deeper poverty and entrenches social and economic inequality. In 2

informal settlements women and girls face greater disadvantage in terms of threats to their dignity, safety, health, and livelihoods. This is partly due to the lack of gender-sensitive infrastructure, facilities, and services in the city as a whole and particularly in low-income settlements. Poor communities are often established in environmentally vulnerable areas such as river channels, wetlands, coastal zones and slopes and are more prone to the destructive impacts of natural disasters such as floods, high winds, rains, slope failure and heat. Such disasters cause loss of livelihoods and livelihood assets and increase womens social reproduction responsibilities in the home and in the community. Evictions are increasing poverty by displacement and loss of employment and community and on the whole they are worse for women and children than men. Challenges of Urbanization: Governance Urban governance must be gender-sensitive if it is to be effective, efficient, equitable, and sustainable. Participation and civic engagement are critical determinants of good governance. Good governance addresses issues of social equity and political legitimacy and not only the efficient management of infrastructure and services. It requires the development of inclusive decision making structures and processes and this also means the meaningful involvement of poor women and men in local government institutions, policies, budgets and programmes. Currently, regulations such as for land-use, housing standards, transit and mobility, etc. restrict the access of poor women and men to a decent standard of living. Inappropriate policy and legal frameworks further widen the gender gap in governance. Strengthening institutional capacity in pro-poor gender-sensitive urban management and the provision of adequate financial resources for proper urban management are key to deepening democracy and improving local governance. Urban Poverty and Implications for Women and Girls
Issues Access to land, security of tenure & housing Access to infrastructure and services Implications for women and girls Inadequate services and unaffordable land penalizes and impoverishes women and men and especially single mothers and their children. Lack of secure tenure or shared tenure increasing womens poverty and vulnerability in situations of domestic violence and family breakdown. Women and girls loose time and experience stress when negotiating access to inadequate water and toilets. They face harassment and rape when there are no toilets. Unsafe water increases womens care responsibilities, raises health costs and limits their income generating possibilities. Access to safe, frequent and affordable transportation is often missing. Limited or non-existent health, school, recreation services increase womens care-taking responsibilities. Lower employment options and low incomes prevent security of housing. Insecurity of tenure means poor women have fewer resources, less assets and less credit. Informal sector activities bring little income for high investments of time and labour piece work, selling of cooked food, and sewing. Below official wage rates and piece work compromise minding children in congested living environments. Inadequate and inappropriate access or affordability of water, toilets, drainage, lights, lanes, and transport puts women and girls at risk of sexual harassment and assault. Lack of employment and insecurity of informal sector wages make women and girls vulnerable to sexual harassment from landlords and middle men and leaves no option to make ends meet except the sex trade.

Livelihoods

Safety and Security

Compromised living environments

Lack of political voice

Poor drainage and lack of solid waste management fosters mosquitoes, flies, unpleasant spells, clogs drains and brings ill health, adding to womens domestic responsibilities. Small plot sizes and small dwellings expose women and children to indoor air pollution from cooking. Lanes overflowing with waste water and garbage are difficult for pregnant women, people with disabilities and older women and men to navigate as well as when carrying water. Slums are usually close to or surrounded by contaminating industrial activities women and children in slums are more exposed. Women and girls are excluded from participation in local government structures and decision making including in community groups. Women and girls are excluded from creating sustainable solutions. Lack of a political voice denies women and girls their human rights to choices over their lives.

Facilitating pro-poor and gender-inclusive urban development Engaging Poor Women and Communities Meaningful and on-going engagement of poor women and men in decision making in local government and with local service providers is essential. This is especially true in terms of housing, infrastructure, services and local economic development. An explicit effort is needed to engage poor women and girls in local decision making. This often requires building their capacity to engage in decision making, project design, implementation, financial management, operations and maintenance. Womens CBOs, NGOs and civil society partners are important allies in facilitating the engagement of poor women and girls in political decision making and urban development. Factors that limit poor womens involvement in institutions, programmes and projects include the responsibilities of child care, other domestic responsibilities, their levels of literacy, concerns about safety, violence against women, the need for time off from livelihood activities to participate in such activities and their lack of mobility. These issues need to be addressed if poor women are to meaningfully engage in local governance. Public Sector The key recommendations for the public sector are summarized as follows: Innovate and lead by example for inclusive and equitable human settlements. Gendersensitive and pro-poor reform of local government institutions and decision making processes are needed to enable inclusive urban policy and regulatory environments. Review urban land policies to make serviced land, security of tenure, and housing subsidies available to the poor with a focus on women, single mothers and older women. Urban planning policies should be informed by the principles of sustainability. These include: equality and equity, social justice, transparency, accountability, participation, the precautionary principle, environmental stewardship, gender equality and poverty reduction. Urban planning should focus on making cities women-friendly. If cities work for women they usually work for everyone else, including men, older people, people with disabilities and young women and men. This would involve a gender analysis of strategic plans, budgets, policies, transportation, public spaces, community centres, employment equity, and violence against women.

Urban upgrading and development projects need to ensure equity for poor women in opportunities for training, jobs, promotions, access to the creation of and support for small and medium-sized enterprises and access to markets and transportation. Gender-sensitive technology options for housing and infrastructure are needed. Gender-sensitive and climate proofing of infrastructure design such as water, sewerage systems, drainage, transportation and electricity are also critical..

Private Sector The key recommendations for the private sector are summarized as follows: A commitment to local and national government policies on sustainability with an emphasis on gender equality, poverty reduction and environmental accountability. Increased employment, training and promotion opportunities for women. Tenders and contracts should outline commitments to participation in decision making, equity in hiring, division of labour, wages, and engagement of poor communities in design and implementation decisions. Gender-sensitive technology options for housing and infrastructure are needed. Gender-sensitive and climate proofing of infrastructure design such as water, sewerage systems, drainage, transportation and electricity are also critical. Increase access, efficiency and affordability of basic services in poor urban communities.

Conclusion By 2020, Asian towns and cities will host 2.2 billion people. To sustain these urban centres and to continue to stimulate economic development, Asian cities will need to successfully address the current reality of urban poverty and gender inequity. Harnessing the creativity and entrepreneurship of the excluded will be critical to ensuring these cities are liveable and viable.

The views expressed in this paper are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. The countries listed in this paper do not imply any view on ADB's part as to sovereignty or independent status or necessarily conform to ADB's terminology.