This catalogue contains new methods and tools for local urban development and planning that promote sustainable urban public spaces, that are applied in Swedish low-income areas, or in informal urban settlements in the global south. This publication shows that a feminist approach to urban livability is important in understanding the diversity of perspectives on livability in a public space, and that these perspectives matter for how we understand planning principles.

Livability, sustainability, and accessibility in urban public space are growing concerns in urban research and policy agendas. However, the professional field lacks perspectives for public space qualities and academic research about women and girls’ involvement in the re-design of public spaces is scarce. That’s why the Swedish sustainability think tank Global Utmaning launched the initiative #UrbanGirlsMovement. The catalogue contains various tools in practice, such as the MethodKit cards, the Block by Block game (Mojang’s Minecraft-based game) and an Urban Girls Walk (based on Urban Walks by Habitat III).

In Urban Girls Catalogue they mapped good examples, stories and lessons learned form multi-stakeholders globally, highlighted ongoing initiatives and payed attention to implementing the SDGs at a local level with feminist urban planning techniques as core tools. Their motto is: cities planned for and by girls work for everyone.

Image credits:
Thumbnail: Urban Girl Helin Agrali handing over results to UN-Habitat’s Laura Petrella on World Cities Day.
Banner: Community, municipal, regional and national decision-makers discussing implementation of project results.