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You know the saying, “You can't be what you can't see”? It means that equal representation at the table isn't just about checking a diversity box or meeting a certain quota. A truly equal urban system or plan needs input or data from everyone to create a safe, accessible and user-friendly experience, from seniors to the disabled, millennials, commuters and caregivers. But when cities were planned, most of us were left out of the meeting room. By “we,” I mean anyone who was not a privileged man with access to education and power. In a profile for Dezeen, British writer Caroline Criado Pérez describes how cities have never been designed for 50% of the population: Things like zoning are actually very biased against women. So biased, in fact, that she wrote an entire book on the subject, titled Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men . This type of gender data gap has led to city planning and public spaces that simply do not work for everyone equally. Caroline Pérez, assures: The vast majority of the information we have collected globally and continue to collect, from economic data to urban planning data to medical data, has been based on men, male bodies, and typical male lifestyle patterns.
It's an imbalance we still struggle with today. Writing for MobyCon, a group of private consultants that worked with the Dutch government to develop a modern and innovative approach to mobility for all, Melissa Bruntlett says: Our personal experiences influence how we see the world and how, as planners and designers, we find solutions to mobility challenges. The fact is that despite progress in many countries to balance gender roles in everyday life, men and women America Cell Phone Number List experience the world differently. Our differences in height, body types, and even values have an impact. By trying to have a greater parity of gender voices in the room, you have a much better chance of hearing more balanced approaches and ideas. Holland. Throughout history, urban planning has been designed for and by able men. What does that mean for everyone else? So how do we rectify our mistakes? We can't go back in time to America's first urban planning conference, held in New York in 1898, but there are some simple solutions we can implement now. That is how. Every trip counts If we only consider the 9-5 office or factory commute, that leaves out many people who are also working, largely as unpaid labor.
Think about the parent who not only drives to work, but stops at various schools or daycares, picks up groceries at the end of the day, and then runs errands for elderly relatives. These short, frequent trips are just as important as the paid work that people go to every day, and they should also be documented when creating or measuring the transportation network as a whole. Giving equal importance and measurement to each type of trip should help cities better plan where hiking, cycling or public transportation routes should go. Consider the young and the old and everyone in between The city should work for everyone. Well-lit, wide streets and quiet, easy-to-navigate streets encourage everyone to try alternative transportation, instead of the car. Bruntlett also adds that we should not discount the power of the adolescent: One of the great successes of Dutch cycling is that teenagers make up the largest proportion of all people cycling in the country, with teenage girls making up almost half of those numbers.
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