Navigating the City: Women’s Perspective of Urban Mobility in the City of Johannesburg

Helen Phosho, Mueletshedzi and Gumbo, Trynos (2022) Navigating the City: Women’s Perspective of Urban Mobility in the City of Johannesburg. Mobility, Knowledge and Innovation Hubs in Urban and Regional Development. Proceedings of REAL CORP 2022, 27th International Conference on Urban Development, Regional Planning and Information Society. pp. 513-523. ISSN 2521-3938

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Abstract

Infrastructure is a vital basis for supporting sustainable and inclusive socioeconomic growth in cities since it substantially affects access to education, employment, and other services. On the contrary, cities are designed without a consideration of all members of the society. Scholars note that a lack of mobility in cities can lead to geographical segregation, exacerbating inequalities by limiting access to opportunities for women and other marginalised groups in urban areas. Building infrastructure in cities that is gender-blind can lead to the social and economic exclusion of a large section of the population. There is a gap in literature on how gender roles influence the feeling of safety, inclusion and accessibility in cities. Recent research has highlighted the need to explore how specific urban contexts influence the feeling of safety, inclusion and accessibility of different genders in cities. This paper aims to explore Women’s experiences of urban mobility in the city of Johannesburg. It followed a case study design to extract meaning from the experiences of women in the city of Johannesburg and adopted a qualitative method approach to the perception of safety and how it influenced mobility of women. Data was collected through a series of in-depth interviews with women who navigate the city daily mainly by foot or public transport and it was analysed using thematic analysis. Policies on safety and inclusive spaces within Johannesburg were also reviewed. The results show that the movement of women and the marginalised groups is limited to certain spaces in the city due to safety concerns. The paper also discusses the gendered nature of the city and how it impacts the mobility of women. Overall, it recommends putting in place policies that promotes safety and inclusiveness for all urban residents. Urban planning practices should create welcoming spaces that create positive perceptions about the cities.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	urban mobility, inclusiveness, gendered cities, Johannesburg.
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HE Transportation and Communications
Depositing User:	The CORP Team
Date Deposited:	12 Nov 2022 17:17
Last Modified:	18 Dec 2022 14:01
URI:	http://repository.corp.at/id/eprint/934

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