Cultivating Culture

The head of landscape and heritage for Bradford (City of Culture 2025) reflects on the impact of diversity in creating places that are greener and safer for women and girls.

We’re trying to create an environment that is greener, safer, fun and inclusive for everyone to enjoy. A stereotypical view might be to say that women inspire a more equitable and inclusive environment. That they are more creative and nurturing. They listen, and ask more questions to better understand situations. They can also be better collaborators and team players! They understand how each of us use spaces differently, redefining the needs and ensuring that everyone feels equal and valued. Women tend to value different things to men, with issues like personal safety, inclusivity and opportunities for social interaction would perhaps be higher on the agenda. Also, informal play and areas for young children and interaction across the generations may be more valued by women.

Moreover, if we expect our landscape environment to truly reflect our society, then our profession needs to consider the people we design for –whatever gender, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, religion or disability.

At university, women are better represented in landscape architecture than in most sectors of the design and construction industries, but senior positions in our profession remain male dominated. Only four women have ever been president of the Landscape Institute. We need more women in prominent roles in the landscape architecture professions and leading on important landscape projects, demonstrating greater equality in how the built environment is designed, managed and planned. More positive role models will enable greater choice for young people over where their career paths might take them.

The work we do in Bradford is a good example of how sustainability and the landscape is important to every person within the Bradford District. By working with communities to co-create and co-design green spaces, the people of Bradford have an active role in shaping and collectively enhancing the place we call home. The Chief Executive and Leader of the Bradford Council are women. Girls growing up in our district will benefit from seeing these role models. As the Team Leader of a small, but diverse landscape architecture service, I believe our clients’ experience and engagement with our team offers some valuable lessons.

1. Co-design / Coproduction workshops with pupils at Lilycroft Primary school for Scotchman Road/ Kashmir Park.

© Sonia Fayyaz

How are we doing it?

Women and girls in Bradford have an opportunity to contribute to local placebased design initiatives, such as Better Place and JU:MP, with workshops running in our neighbourhood programmes to allow their input and opportunities to shape final design concepts for parks and community green spaces which will be inclusive to them, their families and friends.

We are working with the Make Space for Girls Charity (see #1-2022 Landscape for more details). This includes running workshops with local teenage girls to understand the barriers and opportunities for them to gain increased access to greenspace. We are also working with girls to co-design and develop green space using a ‘whole system approach’ for example, offering matched funding from the Home Office to improve lighting.

We are also keen to influence the planning department to incorporate places to play in future developments. We are doing this in order to ensure that we are understanding and acting on all areas of local needs and expectations. South Asian women and girls are therefore the highest priority group for JU:MP, as they are under-represented - particularly in green space developments. We are engaging girls through schools, Islamic religious settings and local organisations (their “safe spaces”).

Provision for teenagers tends to be skate parks, multi-use games areas (MUGAS) and BMX tracks, which can become dominated by boys, making them off-putting to girls. By having the workshops with girls, we were able to explore the barriers and enablers to girls accessing greenspace so that we could co-design space that appeals to them to benefit their physical and mental health. As well as developing green space, we are animating it, providing activities to encourage children and families, to ensure that spaces do not get territorialised, and families know that they are safe spaces to visit.

Things are improving, but a lack of diversity professionally and in commissioning work has historically shaped our landscape.

What are we hoping to achieve?

Engaging with the community and involving them in the design process creates a sense of ownership and a desire to take care of it and hopefully connect with others. Creating inviting, exciting, high-quality greenspaces that all of the community value and access will support physical and mental health and give people pride of place.

Our hope is to achieve:

More child and teenage friendly safe places, supporting families to spend time together

More lighting as appropriate to make streets safer (including low level as well)

Play spaces on routes to/from school

Suitable parking at facilities (not just supermarkets but social spaces/ homes too) with space to get buggies and children in/out of cars

Working on attitudes of entitlement to use spaces, for all, so that women/teens/children feel safe

Pitches for women-orientated sports in neighbourhoods – netball etc.

Benches and seats suitable for breastfeeding (sheltered/screened)

Public toilets – with changing tables for babies, disability access.

An inclusive and equitable public realm needs to reflect all of society. Gender stereotyping is unhelpful and divisive, and overcoming the cultural legacy of inequality is still difficult. My observation is that women are more perceptive than men of the barriers in society, and hence in the public realm, as they still experience them.

A key issue is one of leadership. There are not enough women in construction and placemaking, but lots of women in senior roles in public health, and now local government leadership teams, especially across the South Pennines area. The public sector is often more assertive about inclusivity and diversity than the private sector.

Comparatively, more women study landscape architecture than men, but are not reaching senior positions in the profession. This is certainly in part because there is still not enough support in terms of breaks for childrearing and care of elderly relatives. Responsibility still falls heavily on women who then take time out of work, then fall behind on promotions and training.

There are also not enough women as clients for placemaking projects. Women are happy to have their voice heard, but we need to create opportunities for them to contribute, such as child-friendly engagement that fits around work/childcare responsibilities.

Things are improving, but a lack of diversity professionally and in commissioning work has historically shaped our landscape. There are some great historic role models of women shaping the landscape, but we need a new generation of visible leadership. We believe Bradford being awarded City of Culture 2025 will open eyes to our District, and our work to shape the public realm. These are exciting times for our communities, and my team.

My experience in landscape architecture is that it is really important to be innovative, as well as inclusive. Trying different ways to achieve inclusion, such as engaging parents through activities for the young, knitting groups, and women’s woodworking groups, attracts a different audience, and gives space for voices to be heard in an informal setting.

My hope for the future is that our outdoor spaces are seen as safe, no agenda, well maintained, where the community takes ownership and cares. We teach the next generations to be custodians of our public realm, to reduce antisocial behaviour, vandalism and litter. Our communities recognise the value of newly planted trees in our landscape for air quality, flood mitigation, shade, beauty, diversity and wildlife. Educating with this message needs to start when they are young.

Saira Ali

Saira Ali

Saira Ali is a landscape architect and Team Leader, Landscape, Design and Conservation at City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council