Towards a more inclusive city: discover the framework for equitable urban planning
How can we create spaces that truly meet everyone’s needs? How can we build public spaces that exclude no one? How can we ensure that the needs of women, children, older people and people with disabilities are genuinely taken into account? To address these challenges, the urban planning workshop Approche.s!, in collaboration with the Pépinières urbaines network, has developed a practical tool: the criteria grid for equitable urban planning.
The guide is now available to support all those involved in urban development.
Why has this grid been created, and who is it intended for?
Urban spaces are not neutral. Inequalities based on gender, age, health or social status are evident there on a daily basis.
The framework for equitable urban planning is designed to support initiatives across all types of development (public spaces and built environments) and programmes (sport, leisure, culture, transport, community life, etc.).
The tool is designed for urban planners, architects, engineers, community engagement officers, landscape architects, sociologists and others, to help them:
- Identifying inequalities in access and use right from the start of a project.
- Guiding professionals in the design of spaces for community life.
- Including the most vulnerable (older people, children, minorities, people with disabilities) in the design of living spaces
- Identify practical solutions to improve the accessibility of a venue or facility
- Taking practical action: proposing key questions to assess inequalities and identify actionable solutions.
A tool organised around six key themes
The handbook provides an analytical framework organised around six key urban themes:
- Mobility
- Occupation
- Sense of security
- Participation
- Governance
- Symbolic presence
These themes are broken down into 16 criteria, each of which is presented in the form of questions to consider when developing or evaluating an inclusive urban planning project.
When should this grid be used?
The framework is flexible and can be applied at every stage of a project’s lifecycle:
- draft proposal , to establish budget lines dedicated to inclusion.
- for diagnostic purposes in order to carry out a detailed analysis of usage in the field.
- in co-design with , to ensure that all voices are heard.
- mid-term review or usage review
- under evaluation, to identify relevant monitoring indicators and adjust practices retrospectively.
The aim is not to provide exhaustive answers to all these questions, but to prioritise certain criteria depending on the context and the project’s resources.