Citymaking: voices from the LGBTQ+ community

Mariangela Veronesi Building and Social Housing Founda4on @MariVeroUK #MyQueerCity

Programme • Background • #MyQueerCity workshop • Findings: What does an inclusive city look like from an LGBTQIA+ perspecEve? • Examples in pracEce: – Stonewall Housing – Sexual Avengers

• Open discussion: – How does this compare with other aspiraEons for citymaking?

– What does this tell us about inclusion

Background • Started research on LGBTQIA+ housing issues (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, queer, intersex, asexual + all other gender and sexual minoriEes) • Habitat III conference by UN: New Urban Agenda guiding urban development for next 20 years – LGBTQIA+ rights were excluded • LGBTQIA+ issues largely absent from fields of planning, placemaking, urban development, both in the UK and abroad = needs not met and reinforcement of exclusionary power structures • Raised quesEon…. What are these specific needs exactly and would ciEes look like if they were to be more inclusive of LGBTQIA+ people?

• ATK (2015) esEmates 24% of homeless youth are LGBT. Despite this, only 2.6% of the housing services surveyed recognised unique needs of homeless LGBT young people and had targeted services.

• 4/5 LGBT people experience hate crimes, ¼ experience violence hate crimes, 1/10 experience sexual violence as part of the hate crime (Galop 2016).

• Homophobic hate crimes increased by 147% in the three months following the Brexit vote (Galop 2016).

• GLA found that 40% of LGBTQ people suffer from mental health issues (vs 25% non-LGBTQ).

• LGBTQIA+ spaces are closing at worrying rate of about 30% per year, with women and BAME spaces being disproporEonately affected.

• LGBTQIA+ chariEes and services are closing down due to lack of funding, including major chariEes like Broken Rainbow and PACE • There is currently no permanent LGBTQIA+ history or culture center in London. The GLA does not provide any funding for queer spaces.

• Despite some councils running schemes to address LGBTQIA+ issues and inequaliEes, many public services lag behind in understanding and addressing needs of gender and sexual minoriEes

#MyQueerCity Workshop • About 15 akendants, mostly but not exclusively involved in various aspect of urban pracEce and research • Magic wand • Workshop organised broadly in three topics: – Housing – Infrastructure and public space – FaciliEes and services • Themes emerges across topics

Findings: Themes Visibility Adequate spaces Adequate services Community solidarity and acEon Financial and poliEcal support by society and authoriEes • IntersecEonality • • • • •

Visibility (of people and issues) • RepresentaEon (public figures, decision-makers, architects, planners, etc.)

• Public space (art, statues, adverEsement, informaEon campaigns) • EducaEon (from primary to higher, different models of families, history, literature, sex educaEon, etc.)

• Widespread understanding and celebraEon of LGBTQ+ history/culture (museums, queer events, etc)

Adequate spaces • Design e.g. accessibility, bathrooms, etc.

• Safety (street, public transport, housing) • Inclusionary spaces • Exclusionary spaces • Variety • Affordability of gaybourhood + of queer spaces

Adequate services • Training of staff (e.g. in medical services, police, transport, prison, elderly care, asylum seeker services, etc ) • Recognise and eliminate heteronromaEvity and cisnormaEvity • Design services so that appropriate and fit needs (and ask what these needs are!)

• RecogniEon of mental health across sectors • LGBTQ+ specific services (e.g. youths, trans, housing, etc)

Community solidarity and acEon • Explore heritage/idenEty/history in order to understand legacy • Spaces of engagement and mobilisaEon • Alliances (e.g. people with disabiliEes, refugees/asylum seekers, miners, etc) • Take over! e.g. RepoliEcise pride, spacehacking, mapping, tours, street art/ street messages, etc

• RecogniEon of issues and commitment by authoriEes • Public provision (e.g. funding of educaEon programmes, LGBTQIA+ specific services and spaces, cultural events, etc) • Rights-based • Non-monitarisaEon

IntersecEonality and Diversity • Understanding privilege and lack of it within LGBTQIA+ groups • Solidarity and further engagement with underrepresented groups • Acceptance of different needs/spaces • Space for dialogue across different realiEes

Who can do something about this • Us! (LGBTQIA+ people):

– Solidarity, build community of support, facilitate alliances and dialogue, direct acEon – Call out insEtuEonal heteronormaEvity and cisnormaEvity – Act through our everyday jobs/roles

• Allies

– Be informed and inform, listen and ask – Fight bakles with LGBTQIA+ community everyday (not just during Pride) – Gain awareness of pakerns of heteronormaEvity and cisnormaEvity and challenge them

• Policymakers/authoriEes

– Clarify posiEon of solidarity explicitly – Redesign policies/services/infrastructure to be truly inclusive

Thank You!

Links/Resources Academy of Urbanism – Young Urbanists Network www.academyofurbanism.org.uk Twiker: @AoUYU

Building and Social Housing FoundaEon www.bshf.org www.worldhabitatawards.org Twiker: @bshf

Stonewall Housing hkp://www.stonewallhousing.org/ Useful links: hkp://www.stonewallhousing.org/links.html Twiker: @stonewall_housin

Sexual Avengers – AcEvist Network (Facebook Group) hkps://lgbtqispaces.wordpress.com/ Twiker: @SexualAvengers

Other organisaEons menEoned at the event:

Queer Spaces Network

Queer Spaces East

Centered