A growing body of academic literature illuminates the exclusion of women from the public realm which further translates into their absence from public debate, policy and action. In Indian cities where vehicular ownership usually lies with men, streets are imagined around automobiles thus invariably assuming the ‘universal citizen’ client to be male, car driving, leisurely, able bodied and wealthy. It thus becomes apparent that the street as a public space belongs more to a man than a woman.
How do we then imagine a city that recognises the fact that half of its population does not own a vehicle? How do we then imagine a city where half of the population is a woman?
This studio focuses on mapping and analysing the socio-spatial practices of gendered bodies in order to establish the unique challenges they face- of access, leisure and safety in the city. The movement of gender in the city will be mapped and a system of gendered movement defined to collectively re-imagine public space. The students will systematically translate the outcome of this analysis into a clearly articulated design strategy and detailed out design drawings in order to propose a solution that enables equal access to the city.
Studio Unit
Un- Gendering the Everyday City: Process
Stage 1: Mapping and Analysis. Students mapped sites at different scales, while recording gendered activity patterns in each. The scales were - a street from memory, their homes, and their selected sites in Ahmedabad. The drawings were then analysed, and abstractions produced with respect to a specific set of learning outcomes at each different scale.
Stage 2: Socio-Spatial Analysis. Students began to organise their mapping and analysis into a concise narrative while producing a detailed repository of social behaviours that play out on the street and the spatial elements that enable them, with respect to women, especially of lower economic groups.
Stage 3: Visualisation and Conceptualisation: The students made collages to create a utopian vision for the city, and strategise their intent for un-gendering the street.
Stage 4: Design Development and Representation. The design thus emerges as a product of analysis and ideation, represented using technically accurate drawings, analytical diagrams and rich perspectives.
Stage 4: Demonstrating Un-gendering: After designing, each student conducted analysis on their proposed designs with respect to their initial research and demonstrated their ability to successfully ‘un-gender’ the street.
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