Inclusion of Gender Views for the Evaluation and Mitigation of Urban Vulnerability: A Case Study in Castellón

Abstract

The inclusion of gender views in every field and, especially, in urbanism, has become crucial for urban planning. Considering both men’s and women’s interests in an integrated gender equality perspective provides better results that improve the quality of public spaces and engenders a more sustainable society. However, to realize such benefits, efforts are required not only to understand the needs and preferences of urban residents but also to shape policies and develop strategies to mitigate vulnerability with population involvement. In order to help decision makers at the urban level evaluate vulnerability with the inclusion of gender views, this study proposes a model that incorporates the specificities of urban fabric users that face adverse conditions. The model is based on a structured and standardized checklist of key topics that could be applied to any urban development. From this checklist, a list of categories, subcategories, and indicators were proposed and validated using the inter-judge agreement technique. To illustrate this model, this paper presents the case study of Castellón (Spain) in which deprived neighborhoods were analyzed, updating a previous model intended only to detect vulnerability. The results help link policy making to social vulnerability and indicate strategies to reach inclusive neighborhoods via a gender equality approach.