Women shape Erfurt's future: networking for urban development!

Women shape Erfurt's future: networking for urban development!

In Cologne, the signs point to progressive urban development, which particularly focuses on the role of women and their needs. An event took place on June 23, 2025, moderated by Anna Allstädt, which is intended to promote exchange and networking in order to provide impulses for gender-friendly urban design. Four committed women from Erfurt and Kalisz took part in this meeting and highlighted the challenges and opportunities that arise from inclusive planning. The Urban-X-Change network, supported by the Federal Foreign Office, has enabled fruitful collaboration between four German adult education centers and partners from Ukraine and Poland since mid-2024. Cross-border cultural and educational activities are carried out here, putting the topic of urban development on the agenda. Participation in the event was free of charge and registration was not required. Anyone interested can find out more at volkshochschule@erfurt.de or on site at Schottenstraße 7.

A fundamental theme of the event was the inclusion of female perspectives in urban planning. This is not only an issue locally, but is also being discussed more and more loudly at the national level. The Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Construction (BMWSB) recently developed guidelines for a gender-friendly urban development policy. These were presented at a specialist and networking event on March 6, 2025 in Berlin, in the run-up to International Women's Day. The guidelines are intended to help ensure that equality between women and men is actively implemented in public spaces. The “New Leipzig Charter” serves as an important guiding document for urban development oriented towards the common good in Europe.

Current challenges and approaches

A common problem in urban planning is that the needs of women, children and the elderly are often neglected while male-dominated planning approaches gain the upper hand. A newly published book, “Gender Responsive Urban Development: How We Build a City for All,” provides insights into this issue and shows how better inclusion of the needs of women and girls can significantly improve the quality of public spaces. The author shares examples from practices in Germany and Europe and offers approaches to realigning urban development.

• Mobilität
• Quartiersentwicklung
• Wohnungsbau
• Grün- und Freiflächen

The book is aimed at those responsible for urban planning, architecture and politics and will be published at the end of September 2024. It promises to make a significant contribution to the debate about fairer urban spatial design and can already be ordered from Springer Gabler.

The path to equality

Together with the new guidelines and the impulses resulting from events like the one in Cologne, cities and municipalities are working to rethink their planning approaches. The discussion about equality and gender equality in urban development is becoming increasingly louder. For the future, it is important to create an environment that is worth living in for everyone involved. The guidelines cover eight key points, including:

1. Starke Repräsentation und inklusive Beteiligung aller gesellschaftlichen Gruppen.
2. Erhöhung der Sichtbarkeit im öffentlichen Raum.
3. Gerechte Mobilität und Barrierefreiheit.
4. Qualitätvolles Wohnen und Sicherheit.
5. Berücksichtigung von Care-Arbeit.
6. Förderung gesunder Städte.
7. Gendersensible Klimaanpassung.
8. Resilienzaufbau in der Stadtentwicklung.

These initiatives can initiate real change in urban planning that not only takes the needs of women into account, but also takes society as a whole into account. The coming months promise exciting developments in gender-equitable urban development, and we can look forward to seeing how these topics will develop further.

If you would like to find out more about the event in Cologne, then take a look at erfurt.de. For detailed information on gender-equitable urban development, visit urban-policy.com and nationale-stadtentwicklungspolitik.de.