The city as a gender-based space:

observations on the invisibilization of women in the right to the city

Abstract

The female path is marked by power relations and issues related to exclusion, submission, violence and inequality. Debates about gender are essential to the field of urban space production and have – finally – gained greater attention in recent years, reflecting the strengthening of the feminist movement around the world. Cities reflect these unequal power relations in society, and it is from the gender perspective that this article aims to contribute to the discussion regarding urban production and the right to the city. It is essential that this right incorporate gender issues, since planning and producing the city are not neutral actions. Based on the empirical experiences of the author and a group of architects and on a bibliographical review that addresses the invisibility of needs, planning, academic productions and opinions of women about the urban environment, this article presents the city as a space shaped by power relations and gender.