Dina Hegab

Feminist Ontological Design in Civic Spaces The effect of ontological design on women’s experiences in modern cities

Dina Maged Hegab (N0954812) MA Interior Architecture & Design Research Methods DES 40121 Dr Manuel Ángel Macía

Table of Contents Chapter 1: Literature Review

1.1 Modernity and Design Coloniality

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1.2 Anthropology and Architecture

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1.3 Design Decolonisation 1.3.1 Universal Design

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1.3.2 Ontological Design

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1.4 Women and Ontological Design

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Chapter 2: Introduction

2.1 Man-Made Cities

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2.2 WHY?

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Chapter 3: Methodology

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Chapter 4. Analysis

4.1 Factors Affecting Women’s Experience in Urban Environment 4.1.1 Safety

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4.1.2 Accessibility 12

4.1.3 Socialization

Chapter 5. Discussion 5.1 ‘Designs Design Us’ 5.2 Should Designers Design More or Less?

5.2.1 Autonomous Design 5.2.2 Feminist Ontological Design 5.3 Conclusion List of Illustrations

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21 21 23 23 24

Bibliography 25

Chapter 1: Literature Review 1.1 Modernity and Design Coloniality

Modernity has caused structured systems in cities that impacted human experiences (Escobar, 2018). Escobar (2018) defined modernity as designing the global transformations that the worlds will go through, and accordingly, create a system that controls communities.

According to Escobar (2018), structured systems are designed complete systems, originated from political technological advancements, and orienting the human experience in a specific direction that is not necessarily desired by all humans. Design is controlled by experts’ knowledge, which is leading to a major shift in the design process that is being colonized by modern organizations instead of an ontological process led by communities (Escobar, 2018).

Tlostanova (2017) defined colonial design as an expression of modernity’s objectifying principle of human’s perception and interpretation of the world, other humans, other beings, products and knowledge. Both Escobar (2018) and Tlostanova (2017) claimed that design is colonized by the legitimized principles and views of the powerful end. Escobar (2018, p. 66) called it “One World World”, as the world is seen from one perspective, on which design is based on.

Modernity causes a production of complete systems that do not accommodate future growth (Tlostanova, 2017). Both Escobar (2018) and Tlostanova (2017) emphasized that modernity is defuturing as it eliminates possibilities of producing and communicating knowledge. It excludes users from the design process, therefore, does not consider their needs based on their own experiences. On a bigger scale, Sendra and Sennett (2020) addressed over determination as a major city designing problem as it does not provide room for development over time. The community grows naturally with the unplanned social interaction that take place in an open urban environment. Thus, it became the designers’ role to design an open city, where functions of public spaces are unidentified to encourage social interaction that leads to emerging new relationships within the urban context. Sendra and Sennett (2020) elaborated by defining “Infrastructures for Disorder” as a flexible infrastructure that does not expect changes over time, but is flexible to adapt to these changes.

1.2 Anthropology and Architecture

In order to identify aspects that affect human experience in modern cities, it is crucial to unpack the complex relationship between human and space. This need provided opportunity to fields such as anthropology to emerge with the design field to deeply understand human experience. Anthropology and architecture intertwine to explore the 2

connection between human behaviour and space (Sfintes, 2019). Anthropology seeks to understand humans and different aspects of human life, while architecture focuses on the built environment, its functions and characteristics (Askland et al., 2014). Lefebvre (1991) claimed that “space implies, contains and dissimulates social relationships”, space being “not a thing but rather a set of relations between things”. Ontological design aims to comprehend these dynamic relations between the world, things and human beings (Fry, 2017), and focus on designing human experience in a built environment (Tlostanova, 2017).

1.3 Design Decolonisation 1.3.1 Universal Design

Different design approaches aim to address community needs and accommodate everyone’s present and future requirements. Universal design is defined as: “The design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaption or specialized design” (Maze, 1985). Steinfeld and Maisel (2012) claimed that spatial order is one of the designers’ major roles, where they need to identify the social relationships and design the boundaries that control them, while including everyone and considering the various situations and relationships in the society. This design approach relies on the designers’ understanding of the community needs. However, it is problematic given its claim to understand all complexities from a detached perspective or a zero-point epistemology.

1.3.2 Ontological Design

On the other hand, human-centered design invite users to participate in the design process and allows them to produce contextualized design based on their experience and needs from their perspective. (Escobar, 2018). Consequently, design focus shifted from functionality to human experience. Contrarily, Tlostanova (2017) argues that participatory design allows users to be more independent and creative in their decisions, which helps them learn more about their realities and new possibilities. Tlostanova (2017) believes this freedom creates of them effective tools of design coloniality as it gives them the power of knowledge to control design.

Thus, it becomes a distraction from where defuturing tendencies originates from. Therefore, it is important to contextualize aspects and consider people’s cultures and backgrounds that come into play as crucial factors that identify their experiences (Tlostanova, 2017). Escobar (2018) discussed ‘autonomous design’ as an ontological approach that avoids modernizing aspirations to instead, achieve more unified and placed-based solutions. It refers to design that is independent from expert knowledge but relies on an epistemological principle of people’s knowledge of themselves (Escobar, 2018). Accordingly, designers’ role becomes teaching 3

people about their and others’ realities, and human experience based on the interdependence of all beings to design for the pluriverse, a world where many worlds fit. (Escobar, 2018). Escobar (2018) argued that leftist thinking is one of the concepts that shape critical thinking. It highlights the importance of social justice, equality and domination, to challenge a patriarchal, ethnocentric and universalizing thinking and its limiting view to transitioning to socialism and postcapitalism.

1.4 Women and Ontological Design

The city’s physical space mirrors political and social problems (Colombino, 2013). The social dilemma of gender inequality was discussed from a feminist perspective to illustrate the effect of urban environment on women’s experiences. Kern (2020) argued that modern cities are designed to accommodate men’s daily lives and facilitate their role in the society. On the other hand, it does not consider women’s experiences. It holds women “in their place”, where a woman is raised to become a “housewife”, a cook in the kitchen, a mother in the children’s room, a lover in the bedroom and a chauffeur in the garage (Rendell et al., 2000). This perception of women’s role represent design coloniality, where design is controlled by patriarchal higher power that reinforces concepts that limit women’s choices for ways of living. Cassiers and Kesteloot (2011) idefined social cohesion as the ability to acknowledge the existence of different groups in the society, and emphasized the importance of creating systems and policies that help these people shape the city dynamics. Kern (2020) proposes a gender mainstreaming approach that aims to achieve gender equity in the urban environment. Furthermore, Borden (2000) argues for women’s participation in the design prcess through their embodied experiences in the city. Women are able to best understand their struggles, therefore, they are responsible to interpret those experiences and contribute to design a city that supports their various needs.

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Chapter 2: Introduction 2.1 Man-Made Cities

City designing is colonized through a hierarchal decision making process led by the powerful dominants in the society. Critical thinking continues to be is patriarchal and universalizing, while there is an urgent need to shift it to consider socialism through attacking important social issues such as equality, domination and social justice (Escobar, 2018). Our lives became part of a structured system that affects our behaviour and experience living in an urban environment (Tlostanova, 2017). Dominant interests shape social spaces and use them as a means of control, power and capital accumulation (Fuchs, 2019). Like cities, urban parks are subject to modernity, where sections of them became dedicated to a set of activities or actions indicated by its design. This paper analyses design colonisation in relation to women’s experiences in civic spaces. Then, it highlights an ontological approach to design as a method of design decolonization and a way to create a more inclusive environment.

Our modern cities are patriarchy (Kern, 2020). Urban planning experts are not applying a gender lens, therefore, they fail to look at human experience from different perspectives. With more women participating in the labour market and filling leadership positions, the shape of cities need to also be changing according to the development of the women’s responsibilities, where they participate in the economic world besides their obligations as caretakers and housewives. The city design fails to understand that change and the complexity of women’s roles in the society and therefore, fails to accommodate their needs and demands. The city design is colonized by a singular view point, which is male urban experts. The master planning meets the needs and aspirations of the powerful end and fails to integrate women as part of the community. Women are put in a specific place that does not empower them to participate in the urban life (Kern, 2020). The park is one of the civic spaces that is part of many women’s daily life as a mother, a wife, a grandmother, a friend, a daughter or a woman on her own.

The current city design and urban planning fails to understand and consider the complexity of gendered experiences in civic spaces. Women are challenged by physical, social and economic barriers that prevent them from being part of the urban environment (Kern, 2020).

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2.2 WHY?

Women’s experience of civic spaces such as urban parks lead to questions such as: “Why don’t all parks’ toilets provide baby changing facilities?” “Why don’t the park pathways have a smoother pavement to allow for easier stroller pushing?” “Why aren’t there spaces in parks for women to sit and do work while they watch their kids play on the playground?” “Why don’t parks have lights to give women a sense of safety if they want to take a walk in the evening?”

It is not about existing elements that show cities are designed for men, but it is also about the absence of elements that show that women’s needs and urban experience have not been overlooked. Lack of these elements send a message to women that the city is not “their place”.

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Chapter 3: Methodology

Civic spaces provide medium to foster human interaction and communal life in the city. They impact humans’ experience of the urban life and identify the way that they interact in public spaces. Complex interrelations are seen where people from different backgrounds, cultures, and knowledge come together, which influences the social and socio political structures around them. Furthermore, the context around these relations affect how humans perceive and understand the world around them. In this paper, a visual microethnographic approach is used through observations of Bridgford park, Nottingham to discuss safety, accessibility and socialisation of women in modern cities to try to unpack elements that affect women’s experiences in civic spaces. In result, once we start to see how the city is designed to sustain a certain way of organizing society, across gender, we can then open a new set of possibilities. The main goal is to then answer questions about approaches to decolonize design in a man-made environment in the modern world.

Visual Microethnography, Bridgford Park, Nottingham (Hegab, 2021) 7

Chapter 4: Analysis 4.1 Factors Affecting Women’s Experience in Urban Environment 4.1.1 Safety

Cities are designed for men by men do not give the chance to women to be part of the community and reach their maximum potential. Women are limited by a capitalist system that restricts their use of public spaces and limits their life choices. According to UN Women (2021), 71% of women in the UK say they have experienced sexual harassment in public. Evidently, safety is one of the main concerns that women face in the modern city. Their constant fear in public spaces is a crucial matter than should draw attention of architects and urban planning professionals. With the amount of danger that women face from sexual violence, “Women’s Fear” changes their experience living in the city, where spaces become attached to images, memories and scenes that affect their well-being. Fear causes a psychological barrier, in result, a woman visiting a public space becomes restricted and associated with specific conditions in order to feel safe. Therefore, women become associated with the concept of staying home, in private spaces, where they are safe from the danger that they face being on the street.

The city planning plays an important role in providing women the safety that they need not by making them avoid predators, but by understanding the characteristics of space where crimes happen and avoiding them (Kern,2020). For instance, some urban design improvements include lighting, routes that keep pedestrians visible, and shelters where help can be seeked. Figure 1 shows a route in Bridgford park that is considered dangerous as it is invisible and does not have any lighting, while, figure 2 shows a sign with an emergency contact. In addition, safety is associated with having a number of people in the place, even if they were strangers. Unfortunately, designers may have not yet known what safe cities look like, but they have the ability to produce designs that at least facilitate basic safety measures.

Looking at urban planning from a gendered lens and creating smarter infrastructures in cities such as parks can go a long way towards improving safety in cities and reducing crime rate.

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Figure 1 Example of Unsafe Route Bridgford Park (Hegab, 2021)

Figure 2 Emergency Contact Sign in Bridgford Park (Hegab, 2021)

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Figure 3 Bridgford Park Activities (Hegab, 2021)

Public spaces’ characteristics play an important role in creating a safe environment. A positive image of a space will generate greater use, which in turn will increase natural surveillance and perceptions that the area is safe to use. To elaborate, women are sensible of the presence of other women users and tend to use this image as an indicator of whether this is a high or low risk environment. Therefore, attracting women by providing spaces where they gather to socialise, perform physical activities or relax is a step to creating a safe environment. For instance, in Bridgford park, activities’ areas (Figure 3) bring women who have something in common together, such as having a child playing on the playground. This starts to associate the park with a safe environment image, which enhances women’s experience and provides them with a space that they are comfortable enough in to socially interact with others. In result, we start to see small talks or greetings exchange between women and strangers who they might never interact with in a different context (Figure 4).

Figure 4 Strangers’ Interaction in Bridgford Park (Hegab, 2021)

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This perception of a low risk environment does not only provide opportunities for women, but also for girls whose parents become comfortable enough to let them hangout alone with their girl friends in a public space. It takes a lot of courage and confidence for a woman or a girl to be on her own in a public space, where she can be seen as lonely, sad or out of place. However, knowing that there will be other women in the park can empower a woman or a girl to get some time alone in public, where she can relax, read a book or listen to music and enjoy being on her own (Figure 5).

Figure 5 Women and Girls in Bridgford Park (Hegab, 2021)

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4.1.1 Accessibility

Accessibility is a significant factor that affects women’s experiences in the modern cities. Urban planning controls the ability of women to physically reach opportunities and facilitates their contribution in the community. An important aspect of accessibility is mobility, which is how individuals can reach the physical environment with opportunities.

In the city context, mobility is represented by transportation, that women use to get to public spaces with activities that they desire to be part of. The experience of women in public transportation or walking on the street is considered one of women’s challenges in the modern city. It is primal to provide services that are within the reach of women on daily basis and can be safely and easily accessed without the waste of time, effort or money.

Infrastructure has both social and economic impact on women’s experiences in public spaces. The design of a park, it location and its planning indicates the opportunities of social interaction, which can help foster relationships among park users. Moreover, it affects a woman’s decision on whether to take a potential job, or whether she can afford transporting to and from work everyday or whether she should live in that neighbourhood. Location is an essential aspect of public spaces like parks. Ease of accessibility makes the park more likely to be used (McCormack et al., 2010). For instance, Bridgford park is located in a neighbourhood that combines commercial and residential areas (Figure 6). Such a location puts Bridgford park on the way of a woman who does her grocery shopping on Bridgford road, lives in the area or takes the bus from the bus stop in front of the park entrance. Moreover, it can be entered from all directions, and reached by public transportation or private vehicles.

However, parks have opening hours, which makes it inaccessible at night time if someone wants to walk their dog or even use the toilet. For example, Brigford park closes at 6 PM and does not have any street light to receive any guests at night time. That would lead to questioning why this safe space during the day fails to provide the same safety at night time.

Accessibility of basic needs in public spaces is another important aspect that brings people to public spaces and gives them a sense of belonging when their needs are being met.

Public toilets and sanitation are essential for women to be able to spend time in a public space.

For most women, using the washroom takes longer than men. Reasons include biological needs, such as addressing mensturation, or cultural needs such as helping kids use the washroom (Kern, 2020). Big part of the problem is that architects and planners are men who have never experienced the need of a woman to sometimes rush to a toilet or their process inside the washroom, it is considered a private topic that should not be talked about (Kern, 2020).

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Residential

Commercial

Figure 6 Bridgford Park Map and Access Points (Hegab, 2021)

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Mothers strolling a child face a different set of challenges than others walking in the city or being on public transportation. They are restricted by walkways’ routes and ‘handicapped’ space on the bus to park the stroller (Kern, 2020). The walkway in Bridgford park is an example of how mothers can be restricted by the walkway design as it does not pass through the whole park (Figure 7). When sitting on a bench, a woman with a stroller needs to park her stroller so that it does not get on the way of pedestrians, and consider her baby facing the direction of the sun (Figure 8). A mother with a baby in a public space has specific needs to feed and change the baby.

There are situations when it is an emergency that the mother needs to rush to the washroom to change her child (Kern, 2020). Bridgford park provides baby changing service in two of its public toilets (Figure 9). These needs need to be met in a public spaces or otherwise a mother will need to be home when it’s time to feed or change for her baby. In addition, nursing in public is considered a challenge for mothers (Figure 9), where they need a private room to feed their babies.

Figure 8 Mothers with Strollers (Hegab, 2021)

Figure 7 Bridgford Park Walkway Map (Hegab, 2021)

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Figure 9 Baby Nursing in Bridgford Park (Hegab, 2021)

Leisure activities in parks bring people of same interests together and create opportunities for social interaction whether between family members, friends, or complete strangers. Moreover, the context of the park with its activities form relationships on different levels of intimacy among women, such as spending quality time with their kids on the playground or a tennis court, or a quick ‘hello’ and a smile to a stranger mother of another kid. This sense of companionship and social support empowers women as share the same responsibilities of taking care of their children, or the same routine of coming to the park in the early morning for a walk (Krenichyn, 2004). Fortunately, Bridgford park includes a variety of activities that accommodates different age groups. Availability of these activities bring women to spaces, where their kids can participate in a physical activity, such as playgrounds, tennis and basketball courts. Moreoever, the different zones of the park are accessed through a walkway that leads to each area. Figure 6 shows Bridgford park walkways that highlights the connection between these zones that facilitate socialisation.

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4.1.1 Socialisation

Safe environments and accessible services open possibilities for women to socially interact and fully engage with the community. Friendships among women enhance their experience the city (Kern, 2020). Their friendships give them the power, control and confidence to try things that are against the social norms in a male-dominated environment, such as staying out late or going to places on their own (Kern, 2020). This freedom comes from the sense that women have got each other’s backs and have the capability to protect each other in public spaces. Although this type of relationships can completely change the way women experience civic spaces, the city architecture and planning does not provide enough spaces for such social interactions, especially for girls and young women (Kern, 2020).

Socialisation can be encouraged through some designed elements in public spaces. When teenage girls were asked by a Swedish architecture firm about their wants in a public space, their requirement was “places for sitting together face to face, protected from weather and wind, to see without being necessary seen, a sense of intimacy without being constrictive; and most of all to be able to leave an imprint on their city.” (Kern, 2020). Seating benches in parks are places for people’s static interaction and their design indicate the experience of interaction (Luximon et al., 2015). The size and shape of benches indicate seating pattern, which can reflect intimate interaction (Figure 10).

Smaller groups might sit in a linear pattern, but a circular pattern allows for better interaction, more eye contact and closer distance (Figure 11). In addition, there are some benches that support individual seating, where people sit back to back and are directed to different views (Figure 12). Furthermore, a picnic setting allows the flexibility to find a location in the park and increase the number of people involved. However, it might restrict women on what they can and cannot wear in order to stay covered. For example, sitting on grass requires women not to wear a skirt or a dress.

Figure 10 Group of Women Sitting Close to Each Other (Hegab, 2021)

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Figure 11 Bridgford Park Benches Seating Patterns (Luximon et al., 2015) (Hegab, 2021) 17

Figure 12 Benches for Individual Seating (Luximon et al., 2015) (Hegab, 2021)

The location of benches in a park can also facilitate socialisation. In Bridgford park, the biggest number of benches are located in the central area (Figure 13), where not only planned interactions happen, but also people “bump into each other” (Figure 14). There are also benches in each other activity zone, such as playground, where mothers can sit alone or with a friend or even next to other stranger mothers to watch their kids (Figure 15).

Bench

Figure 13 Main seating area in Bridgford Park, Nottingham (Hegab, 2021) 18

Figure 14 Quick Conversations Between Park Users (Hegab, 2021)

Figure 15 Mothers in Playground Watching Their Children (Hegab, 2021)

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“We design our world, while our world acts back on us and designs us.”

(Willis, 2006)

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Chapter 5: Discussion 5.1 ‘Designs Design Us’

Typically, designers assume they know users’ needs and desires, based on their research. However; design is not only about functionality, but it is also about adding to the human experience. Furthermore, human behaviour is affected by the users’ relationship with space and how the space’s characteristics lead them to behave in a certain manner (Stone and Roberts, 2020). The relation between human beings and life worlds is a complicated one because it is a two-way movement. To demonstrate, we produce designs based on development of ideas, schemes and models. Designs design the way we live and control our behaviour (Willis, 2006). But, these designs are produced from a singular perspective that drives the urban life in a specific way based on colonized ideas. Moreover, designers generalize concepts when it comes to considering “everyone”. It is perceived that each group of people or each gender has the same needs. Therefore, designers tend to find these mutual factors and solutions to satisfy the needs of these people groupings. However, it does not put into consideration the differences among these groups. For instance, some designs aim to accommodate women’s needs, but are all women’s needs the same? It is essential for designs to contextualize those needs as they do not only differ from one person to another but it can also differ for the same person in different contexts. People’s needs are widespread over spectrum that depends on many variables, including person and environment related traits.

5.2 Should Designers Design More or Less?

5.2.1 Autonomous Design

Design thinking has evolved from accommodating human needs using the available tools. to including users as participants in the design process (Brown and Wyatt, 2010).

Consequently, The design field has transformed from expert-based field that relies on professionals who understand human needs and work towards social and economic goals, to a participatory field that includes users as contributors to a social-oriented field that seeks to enhance human experience based on their daily life experiences (Escobar, 2018). This transition is fostering a culture of collaboration that links the local and global infrastructures that brings production and consumption together (Escobar, 2018). With this shift in design approach to become more ontological, designers’ role has also changed from designing complete systems to designing incomplete systems that invite users to be designers. In addition, they become part of creating the conditions for collaborative social change, where they teach people about themselves and the community (Escobar, 2018).

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“Built environments reflect the societies that construct them.”

(Kern, 2020)

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5.2.2 Feminist Ontological Design

The constant underrepresentation of women in roles that shape the city such as architects and urban planning professionals leads to women’s experiences being overlooked or sterotyed. Therefore, including women in the design process brings a perspective to critical urban issues such as safety, thus, help bridge the gap between structured systems caused by modernity and social issues brought by these systems. In addition, creating designs empowers the designers in the space as they find themselves part of it. It gives them a sense of belonging and comfort in their own designed environments (Kern, 2020).

Furthermore, besides including women professionals in the design process, it is essential to also include non-designer women users. Overall, the more perspectives brought into the design, the more inclusive the design becomes, and the more requirements and needs it fulfils.

5.3 Conclusion

In conclusion, women’s experiences in modern cities are vehemently affected by the patriarchal urban designs. In order to solve the problem of social inequality and create gender-inclusive urban environments, it is crucial to create a system that calls for women’s contribution in the design process. a city for women is one that actively includes the voices of women and grows their capacity to become part of the design process. A design that accommodates everyone’s needs will only achieved when it is created by everyone that is part of the system.

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List of Illustrations Figure 1 Example of Unsafe Route Bridgford Park (Hegab, 2021) Figure 2 Emergency Contact Sign in Bridgford Park (Hegab, 2021) Figure 3 Bridgford Park Activities (Hegab, 2021) Figure 4 Strangers’ Interaction in Bridgford Park (Hegab, 2021) Figure 5 Women and Girls in Bridgford Park (Hegab, 2021) Figure 6 Bridgford Park Map and Access Points (Hegab, 2021) Figure 7 Bridgford Park Walkway Map (Hegab, 2021) Figure 8 Mothers with Strollers (Hegab, 2021) Figure 9 Baby Nursing in Bridgford Park (Hegab, 2021) Figure 10 Group of Women Sitting Close to Each Other (Hegab, 2021) Figure 11 Bridgford Park Benches Seating Patterns (Luximon et al., 2015) (Hegab, 2021) Figure 12 Benches for Individual Seating (Luximon et al., 2015) (Hegab, 2021) Figure 13 Main seating area in Bridgford Park, Nottingham (Hegab, 2021) Figure 14 Quick Conversations Between Park Users (Hegab, 2021) Figure 15 Mothers in Playground Watching Their Children (Hegab, 2021)

9 9 10 10 11 13 14 14 15 16 17 18 18 19 19

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