What if Women Designed the City?

Dr. May East here explores the set of symbiotic relationships between women and the cities they live and work in. She considers how cities would look if they were designed by women, and how that design (or redesign) could help to achieve the dream of regenerative urban neighbourhoods. What if Women Designed the City? offers a fresh perspective on urban development by giving voice to local women from many different countries and backgrounds and it reveals multiple untapped potentials rooted in the uniqueness of their neighbourhoods.The book builds on the core assumption that women can contribute significantly more to urban planning decisions and implementation, and in doing so enrich and add value to urban environments and specifically to their own neighbourhoods. Drawing on in-depth walking interviews with 274 women, May East identifies 33 leverage points that can enable urban planners, policy-makers, practitioners, and communities to intervene in urban planning systems so that cities can be greener, more inclusive, more liveable, and even poetic!

"The book challenges us to rethink urban development, incorporating the powerful perspectives of local women into the fabric of our cities. It calls for action, encouraging us to embrace diverse perspectives towards a future where cities work better for women and girls, ultimately benefiting us all."; Ana Paricio Carceres, Urban Psychologist, Barcelona Regional; "What if Women Designed the City? is an exceptional book, containing tangible and practical ideas to bring about positive change in how women shape and experience public spaces. As an urban planner, I believe the insights in this book could be transformative for those of us in the frontline of delivering this change. A book that is insightful, tangible and practical whilst, I dare to say, quite emotional.; Daisy Narayanan MBE, Head of Placemaking and Mobility, Edinburgh City Council; "This is a very timely book, an effective antidote to the soulless, angular, concrete and glass high-rise city that is designed to serve the interests of capital rather than of ordinary people. Will anybody listen? Yes, I think so. Women-inspired urban 'regenerative development' is now an urgent necessity. This is an important book that should be essential reading for anybody concerned about the future of the human habitat."; Herbert Girardet, Author, Creating Regenerative Cities; "One would not expect to find a masterful tutorial in regenerative thinking and engagement in a book titled What if Women Designed the City? Yet that is exactly what May East delivers... she invites the reader into a journey through a dynamic, multilayered, multidimensional living matrix that requires continually weaving inner and outer worlds."; Pamela Mang, Principal and Co-Founder, Regenesis Institute;

May East was born in Sao Paulo and now lives in Edinburgh. She is an international urbanist and regenerative practitioner bringing vitality and viability to eco-communities, mining cities, indigenous villages, informal settlements, transition and ghost towns. She currently works with local & regional government, private sector and intergovernmental agencies providing policy guidance for initiatives aimed at enhancing gender-sensitive urban planning, decreasing carbon emissions, establishing sovereign wealth funds, and developing symbiotic eco-industrial parks.May's career portfolio spans diverse disciplines and areas of interest. She comes from a thriving artistic community between Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro where for over a decade, her art, be it in music, film or video, expressed a deep concern for all of Brazil's diverse environments, both in the major cities and the country's vast interior, especially the Amazonian rainforests.Associated with UNITAR for two decades, May currently serves as Advisory Member of the Division for People and Social Inclusion. She is a specialist in promoting vertical integration between community-led solutions to climate resilience and national & international donors, and the UN system and conventions. She holds a Master of Science in Spatial Planning with specialization in the rehabilitation of abandoned villages and towns, and a PhD in Architecture and Urban Planning with the University of Dundee on the topic What if Women Designed the City?.May was designated as one of the 100 Global SustainAbility Leaders three years in a row and Women of the Decade in Sustainability and Leadership by Women Economic Forum.