10 : GBE
Gender and the Built Environment

Where gender is ignored we have little hope of constructing the kinds of urban spaces and buildings that will generate successful and sustainable communities.

The new legislation on the public duty to promote gender equality comes into force this April. Many built environment and regeneration bodies have approached us to find out what this might mean for them. Some are surprised to find that they themselves have commissioned gender research in the past but that it lies unimplemented and forgotten. Many seem quite unaware of all the many issues in the design and management of the built environment that impact differently on women and men.

This project will identify and collate information about all existing research on gender issues in the built environment. The baseline will be the Resource Boooklet produced by Women's Design Service in 1986. The findings will be organised into a searchable online format as well as a written publication. The project will then disseminate this invaluable resource to academic institutions, decision makers and designers. The existence of the new database and booklet and the range and importance of the issues addressed will be communicated to a wide audience via publications, conferences, training courses and websites.