Different Forms of Feminist Urbanism in Latin America

Abstract

Feminist urbanism belongs to the philosophical tradition of the anthropocentric city and is implemented through various practices, such as activism and public education, artistic and socio-political actionism, theoretical research, statistical data collection, planning and implementation of projects in architecture, design and urban planning, as well as in the media. In recent years, the problems of women in Latin American cities have attracted scholars’ attention and have been postulated as a set of problems stemming from living and working conditions and gender roles distribution. Urbanism is not neutral since the city design has historically been based on androcentric criteria, thus restricting women’s, children’s, disabled and elderly people’s ability to make the most of urban spaces. The urban space should be considered as a mechanism for the equal distribution of benefits between different groups of the population and the improvement of the physical, spatial and psychological conditions of their residence. Feminist urbanism appeared as a critical view, determined to solve certain problems through different practices in urban space, when the transformation in the city is produced by the community, i.e. the people who are aware of their demands and needs. In view of the growing role of women in society, it is of interest to examine and analyze different forms of women’s movement in Latin America in the field of urban planning and to conduct case studies to identify examples of practical implementation of feminist urbanism principles in particular urban improvement projects in Latin American countries. The realization of the «right to the city» by urban communities through various forms of participation leads to an emerging sense of involvement, security and life satisfaction.

Keywords

• feminist movement
• latin america
• urbanism
• right to the city
• anthropocentric city