In the framework of IURC Latin America, Umeå (Sweden) and Punta Arenas (Chile) are collaborating on Urban Renewal and Social Cohesion, involving efficient participatory processes with a special focus on integration a gender perspective into planning.
The city of Umeå has a long tradition of integrating gender equality into its policies, strategies, plans and projects. In this framework, the city has developed the “Gender Landscape” approach to disseminate participatory design methodologies and values associated with gender equality in public space. The city of Punta Arenas, is developing the “Green Areas Master Plan”, seeking to increase and improve the quality of public spaces in the city.
Within the process of technical cooperation between both cities, technical sessions and field visits were carried out, associated with the incorporation of gender equity into the planning and design of public spaces. Based on this experience, Punta Arenas decided to incorporate this theme into the design of the city’s “Green Areas Master Plan”. In order to put the lessons learned into practice, they developed a pilot project in cooperation with Umeå, which consists of incorporating the gender perspective into the design of a square located next to a public school in the city. The pilot project has included participation from children and young girls from the school through workshops and surveys, to learn more about their needs and ideas on how to develop and design the square.
If you want to learn more about this experience, you can read the pairing’s case study
You can also find more information in the following documents: