Public space in Indian cities Guide: Mehrnaz Amiraslani

Research question

Public space is a vital component in the vocabulary of urbanism. These spaces are where
informal discussion, exchange of ideas, or trade takes place, or people come to relax and enjoy
themselves. But the way people occupy the space is determined by age, gender, culture,
financial resources, caste, and design. Street vendors and small shops are the hotspots for
informal discussions or a pause point from the chaos of the city. Then why a specific group is
found to experience that leisure activity? Do certain spaces attract specific gender only? Why
and how does this restricts or alter the movement of other genders? What factors determine the
safety and security that a place provides? Isn’t public space for all? If not then how public are
those public spaces?

Aim: To explore gender relations with public space and the perception versus the experience of
women’s safety and leisure in the public domain.

Objective:
● To map the infrastructure, activities, and gender usage of public space during different
times of the day
● To map the association of spatial qualities and movement and pause points of women in
a public space and analyze them as factors contributing to safety and leisure.
● To understand and analyze the quality and quantity of interaction between women and
the public domain.

Methodology
● The objective would be to map the gender usage of the space. To analyze the
association between the built environment and women, this study maps the activities that
women engage in in a public space around the spatial cues provided by the elements of
the space. These activities are further identified through the lens of time and occupancy
of the space and type of activity they perform and with whom.
○ Observations, study maps, and photographs would be used to map the spatial
elements of the space and the behavior of people in public spaces.
○ Using the methodology of Putting people in place and Tracing paths
● Apart from these interviews, focus group discussions and surveys would be taken to add
depth and context to the observations made.

Scope and Limitations

● The research would provide insight into how inclusive our design method is of the public
space and what could be the next step to enhance it more
● The understanding of the relationship between gender and the built is developed based
on secondary materials (articles/writing/research) and is limited to the scope of these
references.

Aangi Shah UG180010

Public space in Indian cities Guide: Mehrnaz Amiraslani

● The study is limited to at looking the variations in the use of space by women and are
analyzed through comparison between different public spaces that are designed. The
comparison is done through the lens of safety and how restrictive or unrestrictive the
place is and due to the limitation of time, smaller parts are taken to study and not the
whole.
● The research focuses on studying in depth the planning and social factor governing the
public space and not the factors related to governance and law.
● As the study focuses on public spaces and women’s safety, violence experienced by
women in private spaces is not studied.

Annotated Bibliography

Shilpa Ranade. (2007). The Way She Moves: Mapping the Everyday Production of
Gender-Space. Economic and Political Weekly, 42(17), 1519–1526.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/4419518

This article focuses on creating a framework to study the public space and map the movement
and behavior of women in the space. Through a developed methodology, it uses the framework
in four different sites in Mumbai to record the data on gendered spaces. Usually, an architect or
an urban designer looks at the space as a neutral setting; all human inhabitants experience
similar spatial configurations. This seems like an ideal setting. In reality, gendered bodies are
produced by certain spatial-temporal configurations. The study in this article offers a base
method of conducting a mapping study using the theory of ‘Putting People in Place’ and ‘Tracing
People’s Path’. The method provides a reference to build on a framework to be able to analyze
the space beyond the architectural and urban practice of “mapping” in the chosen case studies.

Shilpa Phadke, Sameera Khan, & Shilpa Ranade. (2011). Why loiter? : women and risk on
Mumbai streets. New Delhi: Penguin Books.

The book questions the perception, ‘narrative of safety’ and the reality, ‘is it really safe?’ of the
city and its public space. The three authors made “a case for loitering as a fundamental act of
claiming public space and ultimately, more inclusive citizenship. We believe the right to loiter for
all has the potential to undermine public space hierarchies.” It goes to length explaining the
access and the availability of public spaces for women, how their presence beyond certain time
limits is frowned upon and how they are still unaware of the fact they deeply strategized their
movement while using public space.

Aangi Shah UG180010

Public space in Indian cities Guide: Mehrnaz Amiraslani

Through the lens of women’s safety and leisure in public spaces, the book provides a strong
introduction to the overall theme of the research. Further, through the example of the
progressive city, Mumbai, the book offers an insight into what happens when women seek to
occupy a space similar to men and what factors attract or repel women to do the same.

Women in Cities International. (2008). WOMEN’S SAFETY AUDITS: What Works and Where?
Sida Sida. UN-Habitat Safer Cities Programme. Retrieved from UN-Habitat Safer Cities
Programme
website:https://www.unesco.org/interculturaldialogue/en/interculturaldialoguegood-practices/wo
mens-safety-audit-what-works-and-where

This audit is an international comparative assessment for implementation of the safety audits.
This sets the groundwork for critical evaluation of the public space and detailing it to be more
safe and inclusive. This helps in looking at the issue of gendered spaces globally and provides
the lenses for critical evaluation of the public environment. The data collection process included
different categories that can be used to build the framework of analysis which includes
professionals, marginalized groups, and organizations. Through this one can try to understand
the public environment is a gendered space that is required to be ungendered by making it more
inclusive.

Aangi Shah UG180010