Letter to the Prime Minister

Sir Keir Starmer 
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 
10 Downing Street 
London, SW1A 2AA 

26 July 2024

Dear Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer 

Subject: Urgent Need for Gender-Sensitive Placemaking in UK Housing and Development

We, the undersigned, representing a diverse group of Architects, Planners, Urbanists, Academics and Developers, extend our congratulations on your recent appointment as Prime Minister. We look forward to your leadership in addressing the multifaceted challenges facing our nation. We are writing to draw your attention to the critical need for adopting a gender-sensitive approach in the forthcoming wave of housing and developments and planning reform to enable growth across the United Kingdom. 

The Importance of Gender-Sensitive Placemaking 

1.              Safety and Accessibility: Women and girls experience urban places differently than men. Ensuring well-designed public areas, which are safe, support active travel and well-connected by public transport can significantly improve safety and mobility for everyone while decarbonising our lifestyles

2.              Inclusive Design: All developments should reflect the diverse needs of their users, including the specific requirements of women in the design and planning process. 

3.              Social Cohesion: Creating inclusive spaces fosters social interaction and cohesion. Public spaces designed with gender sensitivity in mind encourage greater community engagement and a sense of belonging among all residents. 

4.              Health and Wellbeing: Environments that promote physical activity, mental health, and wellbeing are essential to improve public health outcomes. Gender-sensitive design and planning should ensure that recreational and green spaces are accessible and welcoming to all, promoting healthier lifestyles. 

5.              Intersectionality: Women and girls are a diverse group of people with experiences that intersect with race, class, age, disability, sexuality and other characteristics. Gender-sensitive approaches must include and respond to this diversity 

We invite your government to consider five key areas of implementation to promote gender-sensitive placemaking in the growth of the UK. First, integrate gender-sensitive principles into national, regional, and local planning policies and guidelines to ensure a comprehensive approach. Second, involve a diverse range of stakeholders, including women's groups, in the planning and decision-making processes to ensure all voices are heard and contribute to the full realisation of the SDGs. Third, support training for planners, architects, and developers on gender-sensitive design and planning practices, alongside gendered budgeting to build capacity and awareness within the industry. Fourth, back research on gendered spatial experiences and collect disaggregated data to inform evidence-based policy and design decisions. Finally, establish mechanisms to monitor and evaluate the impact of gender-sensitive planning and design initiatives, making necessary adjustments based on feedback and outcomes.

Since fostering gender equality is a fundamental trend of the 21st century and an essential aspect of good urbanism and sustainable growth, this is an open invitation for your government to embrace the exciting, liberating and untapped prospects that come from designing cities that work for all to support growth. We would be grateful for the opportunity to discuss this further and offer our expertise to support the implementation of these recommendations. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. 

Yours sincerely, 

Dr Karen Horwood MA AssocRTPI FHEA, Senior Lecturer, Leeds Beckett University. Gender sensitive planning lead Women in Planning. Convener of Women and Planning: From Theory to Practice conference 2024

Dr May East, UNITAR Fellow, Author What if Women Designed the City?

Lindsey Richards FRTPI, President of the Royal Town Planning Institute

Dr Clara Greed MRTPI FCIOB MBE, Professor of Inclusive Urban Planning, University of the West of England, Bristol

Councillor Jonathan Pryor (Deputy Leader of Leeds City Council & Executive Member for Economy, Transport & Sustainable Development)

Janice Morphet PhD FRTPI FAcSS

Ann de Graft-Johnson, Senior Lecturer in Architecture and the Environment, University of the West of England Bristol (UWE)

Helen Fadipe MBE. BA(Hons), DipTP, MA, MRTPI, BAME Planners Network

Charlotte Morphet, BA (Hons) MA (Dist) MRTPI AoU FRSA, co-founder of Women in Planning

Susannah Walker, Make Spaces for Girls Co-Founder

Professor Silvia Gullino, MRTPI PhD, Professor of City Making, Birmingham City University, College of Built Environment, College Academic Lead for EDI

Cllr Holly Bruce, Scottish Green Party

Marina Milosev, Urban Planner and Gender Specialist, Co-founding Director Beyond the Red Line

Kim Power, Principal Urban Planner, Arup

Joanne Farrar BA (Hons), MCD, MRTPI, Director of Planning at AtkinsRéalis

Adrienne Mathews MA MUP CMILT, Principal Transport Planner and Getting Home Safely Co-Lead at AtkinsRéalis

Kelly Cary BSc (Hons) CMILT, Associate Director and Getting Home Safely Co-Lead at AtkinsRéalis

Jude Barber, Director, Collective Architecture, FRSE, RSA(Elect), FRIAS/RIBA

Professor Yasminah Beebeejaun, Bartlett School of Planning, UCL

Dr Catherine Queen MRTPI FRGS FRSA FHEA, University of Liverpool and Co-convenor of the Liverpool Feminist City Network

Dr Margot Rubin (PhD), Cardiff University

Prof Suzanne Ewing, University of Edinburgh

Dr. Dory Reeves FRTPI

Liane Hartley, MA Oxon., MPhil, FRSA, Director, Mend, and Founder of Urbanistas and Considerate Urbanism 

Dr Ellie Cosgrave, Director Publica CIC and Associate Professor of Urban Policy at UCL

Mr Samuel Lowe MRICS

Alanis Burgess BA (Hons) MArch (Dist)

Rozina Spinnoy, Founder/Director - Empowering Women, Public Space & Climate Change and Co-Founder Women of the NEB 

Dr. Marilyn Hamilton, Founder of Integral City Meshworks, Co-Founder of Living Cities Earth, Author of Integral City Book Series

Heather Claridge MA (Hons) MSc MSc MRTPI AoU RSA Board Director of Academy of Urbanism

Amelia Powell MA (Hons), HerCollective

Dr Gari Donn, Founder and Executive Director of UN House Scotland, Edinburgh

Jackie Genova, Gender Specialist and PhD Candidate, UCL

Magdalena Blazusiak BSc (Hons), MCIAT Chartered Architectural Technologist, Director of Scottish Ecological Design Association

Sharon Bhorkar, BArch (Hons), MSc (Dist.), Ph.D. Candidate

Jenna Dutton, MA, Co-Chair Commonwealth Women in Planning Network, Doctoral Researcher University of the West of England

Sarah Peel, Group Engineer Section 38, Section 278 and Highways Development Control, Wakefield Council

Nicola Bacon, Founding Director, Social Life

Ian Pennington, Principal Consultant in Infrastructure Planning at WSP, RTPI North West Young Planner of the Year 2024

Dr. Heidrun Wankiewicz, Independent Gender Expert, Planner and Researcher at Corrina.eu & planwind.at  

Dr. ir Lidewij Tummers, Spatial Planner and Housing Consultant, Corrina.eu & Tussen Ruimte