Alternative Title
Solutions in Urban Development: A Feminist Approach
Abstract
Are there ways of occupying space and producing places that somehow contest, challenge, and problematize the dominant modalities of organization, of space and place?
A Feminist Approach to Solutions in Urban Development presents an exploration and proposal of a more equitable and diverse urban design that guarantees the use of public space as a place for economic development. With a focus on the recent theory and social movement concerning the impact of the built environment on women, children and older adults, urban feminist, comes across as a participatory planning process that ensures the involvement of multilevel agendas, to react and oppose traditional planning processes that were shaped by patriarchal values, in aims of facilitating equitable access to the benefits and opportunities that can be offered to the average male. Such irrational sense of dominance coming from the average male is shared by other minorities in our society, like older adults.
In the case of the Trinity Heights Neighborhood –the study site–, a hostile environment has had a significant negative effect on a community's ability to grow sustainably. People feel unsafe, unwelcome and unsupported. This makes it less likely to invest in their community and contribute to its growth and development, leading to a range of social and economic issues, including reduced economic opportunities, limited social cohesion, reduced access to resources and a negative impact on mental health.
However, with the participation of women in the planning process, an iterative and continuous input from every party in the community –and therefore a bottom-up approach–, the possibility of a more inclusive public space, designed with an equity lens, becomes a reality for the community’s overall wellbeing and economic growth that could strive for an overall sustainable urban development.
Degree Date
Spring 5-13-2023
Document Type
Capstone Project
Degree Name
M.A.
Department
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Advisor
Dr. Jessie Zarazaga
Second Advisor
Krista Nightengale
Subject Area
Architecture, Civil Engineering, Humanities, Social Work, Sustainability and Development, Urban Planning
Number of Pages
51
Format
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Recommended Citation
Gracia Cantu, Lourdes Yessenia, "A Feminist Approach to Solutions in Urban Development" (2023). Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering: Sustainability and Development Capstone Projects. 1.
https://scholar.smu.edu/engineering_civil_sd_capstones/1
Included in
Social Justice Commons, Urban, Community and Regional Planning Commons, Urban Studies and Planning Commons
