How should a city be designed in order to become a place where everyone feels comfortable? Contemporary urban planning focuses on the different needs of all genders, age groups and cultures.

Gender, different ages and cultures: cities should meet the needs of all.

Urban planning is always a question of perspective. And in the post-war period, when many German cities were being rebuilt, this perspective was primarily male. ‘Women were basically not involved, paradigms and ideas emerged that literally became entrenched,’ explains Dr Mary Dellenbaugh-Losse. The urban researcher explains which challenges arise from this today: ‘In the 1960s, the focus was on creating a transport infrastructure that made it possible to get to work quickly. Simple, safe routes to the shops or to fulfil care work tasks, including childcare in particular, were hardly considered. This no longer does justice to today's social reality.’

Playgrounds offer much more potential for communicative play than is often used.

As Managing Director of Urban Policy, Dellenbaugh-Losse and her team are therefore developing solutions for more cities worth living in and that include everyone - especially those who were underrepresented in previous urban development. These include women, children and older people. ‘We focus on accessibility, safety and user-friendliness for everyone,’ she explains. Stairs without a ramp, areas of fear such as poorly lit subways or footpaths that are too narrow and make it difficult to walk safely with a child are just a few examples of what could be done better. ‘We also need to rethink public spaces, more towards consumer-free places where I can sit down without having to buy a coffee.’ Green spaces need to be distributed according to each generation`s particular need: ‘Older people long for small, quiet oases, while young people need places where they can be loud.’ Sensible zoning is crucial in order to do justice to everyone. In the end it's always about putting yourself in other people's shoes. ‘Traditional benches are too high for children, while an armrest could help older children stand up. In playgrounds, boys usually conquer the central object in the middle, while girls stay on the edge. It is important to think less stereotypically and create facilities that invite communicative play. Why not install a sound wall where boys and girls can make noise together?’ says Dellenbaugh-Losse.

ABOUT DR. MARY DELLENBAUGH-LOSSE

As an urban researcher, consultant and author specialising in social inclusion, civic participation and gender, Dr Mary Dellenbaugh-Losse works with a range of organisations including public and local authorities, foundations, NGOs and non-profit organisations. In her new book 'Gender Equitable Urban Development: How We Build a City for Everyone', she provides a comprehensive insight into gender-equitable urban development. Drawing on a wide range of areas and examples, she shows how the quality of public spaces and services for everyone improves when the needs and realities of women, children and older people are taken into account in urban planning.

Mobility expert Katja Diehl, who has been campaigning for the transport revolution in Germany for years, is also focussing on new offers. Her goal: everyone must have the opportunity to be mobile - both those who cannot drive a car, i.e. children and people with physical disabilities, and those who voluntarily choose not to have their own vehicle. However, most mobility concepts are too one-dimensional: ‘Road, rail and cycle transport are not currently sufficiently considered in combination. There are hardly any uninterrupted cycle paths and there is often a lack of secure bicycle parking spaces. I personally have already had nine bicycles stolen in public spaces. A lockable bike box offers space for a large number of bikes and is no bigger than a car parking space, ’explains Diehl. In order to implement alternative mobility concepts, she believes that decision-makers need a high level of drive and perseverance: ‘To a certain extent it's also about educating people. And if the alternatives work, they get used to them faster than expected.’ As a German role model in she cites Nordhorn in Lower Saxony, which has become a cycling city in recent years with uninterrupted cycle paths, many along waterways. With cycling representing a share of around 40 per cent of the total traffic volume, Nordhorn has achieved the highest cycling share nationwide.

ABOUT KATJA DIEHL

Katja Diehl has appeared on radio and television as a mobility expert. She has also written two books on mobility change. In her first book, 'Autokorrektur' (‘Autocorrection’), she focuses on people and their individual mobility needs. In her new book, ‘Raus aus der Autokratie’ ('Getting out of Autocracy'), she looks at the social and systemic challenges of transforming transport. And she provides answers to the crucial question: why are we stuck in gridlock when the knowledge about future-oriented mobility is available to all of us?

An urban planning measure as part of the “Raumwerk D” development concept: the Düssel is to be further opened up to enhance public space and connect the districts.

Düsseldorf also aims to be recognised as a role model, showing how the values of a "city for all" can be implemented. Raumwerk D" is an urban development concept that focuses on holistic urban planning as well as concrete plans for so-called "key spaces" - specific areas with individual challenges, i.e. the city centre or the main railway station. This is the basis of the sustainable areas project, in which the numerous urban districts are examined structurally, architecturally, but above all socially and with scientific support in terms of how they are characterised and what makes them unique and strong. On this basis, possibilities are then developed as to how the existing potential can be utilised in the best possible way. Because the focus is not only on the short term, but above all on the long term and the future of the city, those who want to live in it in the coming decades will increasingly have their say - and that means young people. City experts visit schools, for example, and organise planning games with pupils to gain an insight into their ideas of a Düsseldorf worth living in. This, too is contemporary urban planning that invites everyone to take part in. •

Words: Dominik Deden
Pictures: Dr. Dellenbaugh-Losse, Dora Janowska, Reicher Haase Assoziierte, LAND, MIC, Stadtbox, IAT

One City for All