An intersectional approach to building safe, resilient communities for women and vulnerable groups

Building Inclusive Futures Together
Urbanisation and gender inequality remain deeply interconnected, particularly in rapidly transforming urban contexts across the Global South. Cities can create opportunities for women’s economic participation, education, mobility, and public engagement, while at the same time reproducing structural inequalities through unsafe public spaces, inaccessible housing, unequal access to services, and exclusionary urban planning practices. The way cities are designed, governed, and experienced directly impacts women and other vulnerable groups differently, making gender-responsive urbanisation an increasingly important topic within academia, policy, and practice.
Understanding Our Panel's Focus
This panel discussion aims to bring feminist perspectives into conversations on urban development by exploring how urbanisation and gender intersect in everyday life. Through an intersectional lens, the session highlighted how factors such as housing insecurity, mobility, economic inequality, safety, and access to public services shape women’s experiences in urban spaces.
Key Insights from the Discussion
Rather than focusing solely on challenges, the discussion emphasized real-life practices, academic insights, and practical examples of inclusive and resilient urban development from both international and local contexts.
Gender-responsive urban planning and governance
Intersectionality in urban development policies
Community resilience and inclusive city design
Women-friendly housing and public spaces
Learning Objective(s)
The session aims to encourage dialogue between academia, civil society, and urban practitioners while identifying opportunities for future cooperation and knowledge exchange on feminist urbanism and inclusive city development.
  • Feminist Urbanism & Participation
    To be able to analyze urban spaces through the lens of feminist paradigm by using participatory urban planning
  • Urbanization & Gender Disparities
    To understand the intersection of urbanization, housing stress, economic disparities and gender-based violence
  • Female-Friendly Cities: Best Practices
    To learn evidence-based case studies and best practices situated in diverse urban realities in regards to female-friendly urbanisation
  • Azerbaijan's Urban Outlook
    To get to know Azerbaijan urban strategies, exploring both challenges and opportunities from women-friendly cities perspective.
Our Impact at WUF13
Participation in this global forum serves as a critical milestone for addressing systemic gender disparities and dismantling societal taboos. As an executor, the organization facilitates dialogues on inclusive urban development, ensuring that marginalized voices shape the future of equitable communities. This platform provides the necessary visibility to advocate for policy shifts and collaborative strategies that foster sustainable, gender-responsive environments worldwide.