Women Friendly Cities, Gendered Planning
WP Sessions 2012
Women’s friendly City
The third session took place in July in Giva’ta’ym. It and was hosted by Reuven Ben Shachar, the mayor and MP vice minister Gila Gamliel, and was organized with the cooperation of Iris Avraham, the vice mayor. The event, which was convened by Iris Avraham served to launch the project “Giva’ta’ym – a women’s friendly city”. The subject of the session was: planning a city form women’s perspectives and the presenters were: Yael German, Dr. Ronit Davidovitch-Merton, Shula Agami and Carin Bruner.
The concept of a women’s friendly city was described in terms of promoting social and gender perspectives and as facilitating the impact of citizens on everybody’s quality of life and on preferences in public decision making processes. Planning a city from a women’s point of view is sensitive to the variety of its populations and communities. Women, who run their households while running a career, make different use of the city’s time and space: they travel from home to work, drive the kids, buy, meet, create… they consume the city and its services daily.
The discussion brought up the impact of decisions related to subsidizing tender age education and public transportation. Other issues that were discussed were: the connection between healthy, feminine and urbanite; city planning that is sensitive to social aspects; gender and sustainability.
WP Session 2009
Ecology and Feminism
The 58th session, which took place in Kfar Saba in May 2009, was hosted by Yehuda Ben-Hamo, the mayor. It was opened with a ceremonial launch of “Agalogia”, an exhibition on ecology and consumerism. Nesia Shtrasburg (mayor’s advisor on women’s issues) convened the event and Dalia Noiman (journali) convened the discussion. The panelists were: Iris Yotvat (instructor for femininity and sexuality workshops); MP Dov Hanin (Hadash); Adv. Zipi Isser-Itzik (director of Adam, Teva Va’din); Dr. Edna Gorni (lecturer at Haifa University).
The historical roots of the Eco-Feminist approach overseas and in Israel, as well as the conspicuous role of women in protecting nature and in developing the ecological thinking, were extensively described. The connection between nature and femininity was stressed by some of the speakers. It was argued that the hard violence exerted by human beings towards nature is similar to the one exerted against women and weak individuals in society. It was also argued that the macho-militaristic culture is directed to both nature and women. Moreover, the destruction of natural resources is connected also to their unequal allocation among various groups in society, Arabs in particular.
WP Session 2006
A Feminist Perspective on Ecological Issues
The 44th session, which took place in Haifa in October 2006, was hosted by Shmuel Gelbert, the vice mayor and organized with Chana Shrudek, the mayor’s advisor on women’s issues and the Women’s Council., the vice mayor and organized with Chana Shrudek, the mayor’s advisor on women’s issues and the Women’s Council. Dr. Irit Keinan and Dr. Chana Safran convened the discussion. The panelists were: Prof. Arza Cherchman, Dr. Ronit Fisher, Karmit Lubano, Dr. Dorit Baum, Liora Aharon and Nisrin Mazawi.
Speakers on the panel of this session proposed various perspectives in analyzing the severe situation of ecology in Israel: in the spheres of urban planning, the air and the water. Some dangerous deteriorating processes of the environment in Israel were described and data concerning pollution measurements in different parts of the country were presented. The extended harm inflicted on weaker populations, concentrated in poorer areas was discussed.