Gender-sensitive urban planning: Exploring the intersections of gender, environmental design, and the experience of safety in public spaces from the perspective of sustainability

Abstract

The United Nations (UN) Women’s report from 2017 to 2020 indicates persistent gaps in achieving the UN’s 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 5 (gender equality) and SDG 11 (safe and sustainable urban environments). The safety and inclusion of women and gender-diverse individuals continue to be neglected, with current approaches to urban safety mostly focusing on objective risks and overlooking the impact of perceived safety on individual behaviour and quality of life. This narrative review is based on a comprehensive literature search and examines the relationships between environmental factors, subjective safety, and gender, and offers recommendations to promote subjective safety and advance the creation of gender-equitable urban spaces. Ensuring subjective safety in public spaces requires an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach. By promoting subjective safety for all genders as a central element of urban planning, quality of life can be improved for all citizens, and a significant contribution to the goals of sustainable development can be made.