Episode 4: Whose streets are they anyway?

from Beyond the Map · host Jo Sharp

Women are told to look after themselves in the city a night, not to walk home alone, not to walk through dark parks.  Cities are seen as dangerous places for women. They are taught from childhood that it’s their responsibility to look after themselves when out and about, and yet all the statistics tell us that women are much more likely to face violence in their own homes than out in the streets.What does this understanding of urban landscapes mean for the way we think about men and women?  How has the way we design cities made some kinds of people feel welcome and some excluded? How might we design cities differently?In this podcast we will explore the ways in which the urban landscape, and our very ideas of the urban, shape the lives and identities of city residents. I am joined by Dr Leslie Kern, a feminist urban scholar from Toronto, Canada. We will be talking about Leslie’s book, Feminist City: Claiming Space in a Man-Made World.

What this episode covers

Women are told to look after themselves in the city a night, not to walk home alone, not to walk through dark parks. Cities are seen as dangerous places for women. They are taught from childhood that it's their responsibility to look after themselves when out and about, and yet all the statistics tell us that women are much more likely to face violence in their own homes than out in the streets. What does this understanding of urban landscapes mean for the way we think about men and women? How has the way we design cities made some kinds of people feel welcome and some excluded? How might we design cities differently? In this podcast we will explore the ways in which the urban landscape, and our very ideas of the urban, shape the lives and identities of city residents. I am joined by Dr Leslie Kern, a feminist urban scholar from Toronto, Canada. We will be talking about Leslie's book, Feminist City: Claiming Space in a Man-Made World.