Gender Mainstreaming in Urban Planning in Vienna

Gender mainstreaming is implemented in the Strategy Plan for Vienna, the Urban Development Plan and sectoral programmes, master plans and urban design concepts as well as in numerous individual projects. The aim is to provide an attractive main route network for “slow” traffic and a shift of priorities towards slower road users. People with care-giving tasks, women, children as well as older persons and persons on lower incomes often travel on foot or with public transport, sometimes also by bicycle, and hence are especially dependent on these transport modes. Promoting these modes thus contributes essentially to equitable mobility. When zoning and designing streetscapes, the planning objective regarding mobility lies in optimizing the frame conditions for pedestrian and bicycle traffic and for public transport.

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Additional information

Scale

Municipal
Region

Europe

Location: Vienna, Austria

Organization: Urban Development Vienna

Categories & Goals

  1. Transportation
    1. Goal 1: Promote age- and gender-responsive planning and investment for sustainable, safe and accessible urban mobility (NUA 13f, 114; SDG 11.2).
    2. Goal 2:Improve road safety and integrate it into sustainable mobility and transport infrastructure planning and design, with special attention to the needs of all women and girls and those in vulnerable situations (NUA 113; SDG 11.2).
  2. Infrastructure & Services
    1. Goal 1: Promote equitable and affordable access to sustainable basic physical and social infrastructure for all, without discrimination, ensuring that these services are responsive to the rights and needs of women and girls and others that are in vulnerable situations (NUA 34, 119; SDG 6.2).
  3. Urban Spaces
    1. Goal 2: Provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities (SDG 11.7).

Measurement

The planning involves measuring outcomes using gender-relevant criteria. On the basis of these gender-relevant planning objectives, test questions facilitate the assessment of individual planning projects. Qualitative and quantitative criteria and indicators are assigned to each test question. Comments by planning units render realisation possibilities more concrete and sketch potentially conflicting goals and difficulties in reconciling interests.

Monitoring

Respecting the requirements of daily life means that all plans and designs must be evaluated according to the needs of different user groups and the effects they will have on these persons. The objectives and quality criteria of gender-sensitive planning can be found in the report below.

Lessons Learned

One of the tools that Vienna has developed is the “Manual of Gender Mainstreaming in Urban Planning and Urban Development” in order to render the concept of equity and quality as concrete as possible and to operationalize it for planning. The Manual captures the lessons learned from over 50 model projects implemented between 2005 and 2010. Target group-specific requirement profiles, objectives, test questions and quality indicators were formulated for different scale levels in Vienna while at the same time presenting the most important methods and work tools for a gender-sensitive approach. The manual also comprises exemplary planning approaches to doc­ument concrete applications. Lessons learned are documented in and form the basis of the Manual.

Resources and More Information

Manual

 

Published: June 5, 2019