Urban space and environment
Just how easy or difficult it is to carry out one’s activities depends on the forms cities take and on how they organise.
Safety, the surroundings and the environment are some of the more important factors showing gender inequality in urban space.
- Preferences regarding the surroundings
- Safety in public space
- Environmental behaviors and attitudes
- The sustainability of domestic and care work in the city
There are three main reasons for choosing an area to reside in: the very features of the dwelling, proximity to one’s own network of friends and family, and the surroundings. It should be taken into account how these reasons can be modulated by the fact that women are less likely to have a private car, have less time and have a lower income.
Public space is one of freedom, but violence also occurs there. Women see their independence limited by three main factors: their risk of suffering assaults in public space is greater; their stronger perceptions of such space being unsafe; and safety having been defined according to men’s experiences and needs
People are more sensitive to environmental sustainability in the domestic areas they are usually responsible for. That is why women have a slightly higher awareness of the importance of habits and behaviour in daily life regarding environmental sustainability.
Most activities relating to domestic and care work, such as everyday shopping and children’s educational activities, occur in the same neighbourhood. This means that such work, in Barcelona, is mostly carried out through journeys on foot. Strengthening neighbourhood life is, at the same time, a mechanism that facilitates the performance of these tasks.