Greed, C and Reeves, D (2005) Mainstreaming equality into strategic spatial policy making: Are town planners losing sight of gender? Construction Management and Economics, 23(10), pp. 1059-1070. ISSN 01446193
Abstract
Spatial planning authorities have a pivotal role in shaping the built environment, through the production of development plans and the operation of the development control system. Previous research shows that the needs of women have not been given as much attention as those of men in the formulation of planning policy. Yet European Union directives and United Kingdom government guidance require local authorities to mainstream gender considerations into spatial policy-making. This paper draws on research undertaken for the Royal Town Planning Institute on the extent to which gender mainstreaming is taking place within planning authorities. A qualitative approach was adopted to identify those factors facilitating or restricting adoption. It was found that a generic, rather than gendered, approach to mainstreaming prevails. Gender is given a relatively low priority relative to other over-arching policy considerations, such as environmental sustainability or racial equality. A cameo study of the Greater London Authority demonstrates the difficulties encountered by even the most progressive planning departments. It is concluded that for gender considerations to be taken seriously by planners, legislative and procedural reforms are required, along with cultural change within the wider context of the construction industry.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | diversity; equality; gender; greater London authority; mainstreaming; spatial planning |
| Index terms: | planning policy, construction industry, planner, town planning, women, built environment, London, European Union, qualitative approach, town planner, spatial planning, planning authority, environmental sustainability, cultural change, control system, local authority, mainstreaming, United Kingdom, policy making |
| Subjects: | physical geography and landforms, research methods, monitoring and control, health safety and environment, Geography, urban design, sociology, industry analysis, infrastructure and transport systems, profession, policy studies, business, public policy |
| Topics: | Design Practice, Urban Studies, Organizational Design, Business Strategy, Health and Safety, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Roles and Professions, Stakeholder Management, Governance |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here