Cities Alliance_Toolkit_for_women-friedly_urban_planning_2022.pdf

WOMEN-FRIENDLY
URBAN PLANNING:
A TOOLKIT FROM CITIES OF
THE GLOBAL SOUTH

3
Women-Friendly Urban Planning:
a toolkit from cities of the Global South
Acknowledgements: This toolkit was
created by the Womenability
Association and Cities Alliance.
The publication was funded by the
Swedish International Development
Agency (SIDA).
The views expressed in this publication
are those of the authors and do not
reflect the corporate policies or
viewpoints of Cities Alliance
Secretariat, its members, or UNOPS.
Design and Layout: Formato Verde
First published in 2022
Cities Alliance, UN House - Boulevard
du Régent, 37-40, 1000 Brussels,
Belgium.
Copyright: ©Cities Alliance
info@citiesalliance.org
Definitions...............................................................4
1. MAKING INCLUSIVE CITIES:
PARTICIPATORY PROCESSES AND
CHALLENGES ...........................................6
2. GENDER MAINSTREAMING
IN URBAN PROJECTS WITH
PARTICIPATORY PROCESSES ....................8
3. DESIGNING GENDER-FAIR
PARTICIPATORY PROCESSES...................10
3.1 Initial Engagement.......................................10
3.2 Participatory Assessment.............................12
3.3 Co-creation and Project Design...................23
3.4 Piloting and Project Implementation...........31
3.5 Evaluation ...................................................32
3.6 Communication............................................36
4. CONCLUSION..........................................39
Endnotes ..............................................................40
CONTENTS

4 5
DEFINITIONS
INCLUSIVE PARTICIPATORY PROCESSES:
Inclusion of women, girls, and sexual and gender minorities of all ages and
abilities in planning and designing decision-making processes, and working to
combat the gendered imbalances in the built environment that prevent their full
social and economic inclusion4
.
INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS:
Informal settlements are residential areas where:
• Inhabitants have no security of tenure vis-à-vis the land or dwellings
they inhabit, with modalities ranging from squatting to informal
rental housing,
• Neighbourhoods usually lack, or are cut off from, basic services and
city infrastructure and
• Housing may not comply with current planning and building
regulations, often being situated in geographically and
environmentally hazardous areas. In addition, informal settlements
can be a form of real estate speculation for all income levels of urban
residents, both affluent and poor5
.
INTERSECTIONALITY:
• Relationship between different social categories of race, gender,
sexuality, age and so on.6
• The acknowledgement that everyone has their own unique
experiences of discrimination and oppression, and we must consider
everything and anything that can marginalise people – gender, race,
class, sexual orientation, physical ability, etc7
.
• “The interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race,
class and gender, regarded as creating overlapping and
interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage”.8
PARTICIPATORY PROCESS:
Collective decision-making process that combines elements of direct and
representative democracy: citizens have the power to decide on policy proposals
and politicians assume the role of policy implementation.
The participation of citizens or community members in decision-making, joint
analysis, visioning, and design of the changes in the built environment that
affect their lives. It involves the “co-development” or “co-design” of plans and
physical interventions with community members and technical experts to ensure
the results meet the needs of the end users9
.
GENDER:
The social attributes and opportunities associated with being male and female
and the relationships between women and men and girls and boys, as well as
the relations among women and those among men. These attributes are socially
constructed and impact responsibility and activity assignment, access and
control over resources, as well as decision-making opportunities1
.
GENDER EQUALITY:
The absence of discrimination on the basis of a person’s sex in opportunities,
the allocation of resources and benefits, or access to services2
.
Equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities for people of all genders.
Equality between women and men is seen both as a human rights issue and as
a precondition for, and indicator of, sustainable and people-centred
development. Here it should be stressed that gender equality implies equality
for all genders, not just men and women.
INCLUSIVE AND GENDER-FAIR CITY:
A city that works well for women, girls, and sexual and gender minorities of all
ages and abilities, and that therefore supports their economic and social
inclusion.
Six main features:
• Accessible - Everyone can access the public realm freely, easily and
comfortably to use the spaces and services on offer.
• Connected - Everyone can move around the city safely, easily and
affordably to reach key opportunities and services.
• Safe - Everyone is free from real and perceived danger, in public and
in private.
• Healthy - Everyone has the opportunity to lead an active lifestyle,
free from environmental health risks.
• Climate Resilient - Everyone has the tools and social networks to
successfully prepare for, respond to and cope with climate disasters.
• Secure - Everyone can obtain or access secure housing and land to
live, work and build wealth and agency.
In such cities, women, girls, and sexual and gender minorities have the same
right as straight, able-bodied men: the same freedoms, the same opportunities
and the same levels of participation. They are able to access a full range of
public services, workplaces, schools and other key amenities whenever they
need or want, enabling them to combine reproductive and productive roles
efficiently and unlock economic opportunity. They feel at ease and connected
to others in the city, allowing them to stay mentally, physically, and emotionally
healthy and build social networks to cope with the everyday stresses of urban
life, as well as the shocks and disasters that can occur3
.

6 7
Participatory planning processes are crucial to gather citizen inputs regarding
the construction or governance of urban spaces and the design of liveable and
inclusive cities. Nevertheless, the different ways in which women and men
contribute to participatory processes are significantly shaped by prevailing
constructions of gender norms and expectations. As such, women are not
always present, nor are they sufficiently considered in citizen participation.
These inequalities harm both the presence of women and their ability to influence
decisions. This discrimination results in the loss of experience and knowledge from
some of the most active users of the urban space and reinforces gender stereotypes.
Urban governance needs to adopt new forms of engagement that can better
understand and reflect upon the needs and expectations of women in all age
groups and consequently implement their capacities and desires. The gender
perspective must be included both while structuring the participatory process
(choice of physical and digital spaces, language, facilitation, setup of women-only
sessions, etc.) and while defining objectives and questions asked (factoring in the
cultural specificities of the context). This process should ensure that women feel
empowered as they gain self-awareness and reaffirmation of the right to the city.
Another important aspect to be considered in the design of participatory
processes is the diversity of women, by targeting those who are normally
excluded from decision-making processes. For instance, most of the women
who live in informal settlements work, but are employed in the informal sector,
often earning less than US$1.90 a day: their work activities are low paid,
temporary, strenuous and exploitative10
. Some are unable to travel to practise a
trade, which is why they are domestic workers. This situation limits their capacity
to participate in city consultation and slum upgrading processes11
.
MAKING INCLUSIVE CITIES:
PARTICIPATORY PROCESSES
AND CHALLENGES
1
Binyam Teshome, World Bank.
Only by incorporating these aspects, participatory processes will improve and
increase women’s contribution in infrastructures and city development and foster
gender awareness and competence amongst planners, designers and engineers.
Intended for Cities Alliance staff, international development professionals and
city officials, this toolkit addresses the need to know more about how to engage
women in participatory processes, with a focus on cities in the Global South.
The toolkit provides detailed explanations and specific tools and activities for
each phase of the project cycle. By catering to all possible biases and problems
specific to gender issues, these tools provide solid elements to best mobilise
women in urban projects. They have been used in specific development projects
and initiatives especially in informal settlements and communities.
The toolkit is divided into two main parts. The first part presents the various steps
for gender mainstreaming within participatory process throughout the project
cycle. The second part explains how to design gender-fair participatory processes,
giving insights on the necessary data and tools to choose, how to maintain them
and how to communicate in a gender-sensitive way using examples.

8 9
GENDER MAINSTREAMING
IN URBAN PROJECTS WITH
PARTICIPATORY PROCESSES
2 A gender mainstreaming approach can be applied along the different phases of the project cycle
through different activities. In order to have a more detailed overview of actions to ensure gender
is mainstreamed in every project phase, the checklist attached as an annex to this document
should be checked.
Makes it possible to analyse:
Existing gender roles, inequalities and gender-based needs.
The distribution of responsibilities and activities between women and men,
and existing opportunities and constraints for women and men.
and cut across various sources of vulnerability (social, economic and
environmental), particularly numerous in informal settlements.
This step consists of collecting qualitative data through participatory and
sociological tools, and quantitative sex-disaggregated data through official
sources, research, documentation and self-administered questionnaires.
Conducting a gender participatory analysis
This phase involves running pilot projects, testing
scenarios and collecting reactions. To convince about
the need of focusing on gender, data are also key.
Pilot projects are also an effective way to demonstrate
the overall benefit of involving women through
tangible results and overcome institutional or
individual resistance to recognizing and addressing
gender equality in cities.
Creation of new data to be weighted against the
baseline data set. This step is an ongoing monitoring
task to keep track of activities, their evolution, and
possible modifications/adaptations.
The scaling up phase involves multiple activities
with the aim of ensuring the project
sustainability and long-term transformation.
The allocation of a dedicated budget for
gender sensitive activities.
The identification and engagement of political
and institutional actors and gender champions
to support the project.
The creation/modification of policies and laws
aligned with the project.
Gender-sensitive project management to
ensure the involvement and project ownership
of women.
Scaling Up
Piloting
Collecting data from the activities
Analysis based on collected data from the
project’s implementation and
gender-responsive budget
Identification of lessons learned to build up
knowledge and direct future project designs.
Participatory evaluation is advised.
Evaluating the project and identifying
lessons learned
2. Identification of the best communication channels (the same
ones used during the design and implementation phases) through
two objectives:
Toward beneficiaries: same channels used during participatory processes
(social/national/local media, community centres, etc.)
Toward institutional stakeholders and/or the city network: other
channels such as workshops or panel discussions within local authorities to
share information and experiences.
Communicating on the project’s results
1. Communication on the project’s results:
New dynamics produced by the project’s implementation
The project’s influence on gender inequality
The project’s successes
The communication phase about
the project’s results aims to share
the results of the project with its
beneficiaries and/or institutional
stakeholders. This phase creates
trust between decision-makers
and citizens and in the context of
a gender-sensitive project,
communication must be
inclusive, requiring specific
strategies.
6
COMMUNICATION
The initial engagement phase is
essential to identify the context
of action, type of intervention,
stakeholders and objectives of
the project.
Setting gender-sensitive objectives
These objectives provide a preview of how the urban project will act
upon gender inequalities.
Engaging stakeholders through communication and creation of
general project framework documents
Identification and definition of the role of the key stakeholders:
Implementation of gender-inclusive project terms of reference.
1
INITIAL
ENGAGEMENT
For the best project definition,
conducting a participatory
gender analysis is essential.
A participatory process enables
the best representation of
beneficiaries' needs.
This means encompassing the
inhabitant's local and
contextualised knowledge
derived from their experience of
living in the neighbourhood.
2
PARTICIPATORY
ASSESSMENT
In this phase communities and
women, especially from
marginalized groups, are engaged
in defining policy responses,
identifying priority services, and
designing urban plans or
interventions to respond to
specific challenges. For the
gender-inclusive approach to be
complete, the project’s
governance must also be taken
into account.
3
CO-CREATION
AND DESIGN
The project piloting and scaling
up phase is necessary to test
implementation modalities, collect
data, and showcase evidence on
the positive impacts, especially of
incorporating a gender
mainstreaming approach.
The results and evidence can be
used to advocate for project
replication and scaling up in
similar contexts.
4
PILOTING AND PROJECT
IMPLEMENTATION
In the evaluation phase, the
project is evaluated after its
implementation to measure its
success and impact on gender
inequalities. Identified lessons
learned are needed to build up
knowledge and direct future
project designs.
5
EVALUATION
Combine gender with participatory
approaches
Target women who are excluded from
decision making
It is important to map groups or individuals that
need to be invited, approach community leaders
to collect information and take advantage of
informal networks of family and communities.
In order to engage women from marginalized
neighborhoods it could be useful to organize
sessions close to homes, and prioritize issues that
are important to them (access to basic services,
gender based violence, education etc). The
prioritization of consensus based participatory
models allows for a more equal representation of
all the voices and opinions.
Ensuring the project’s governance
is gender inclusive
The involvement of women in the decision-making
process guarantees the representation of women’s
needs throughout the project. This can be effective
through gender equality employment clauses,
for example.
The gender perspective must be included both in
the structuring of the participatory process (choice of
physical and digital spaces, language, facilitation,
definition of women-only sessions etc.) and in
definition of objectives, questions asked (taking into
account the cultural specificities of the context).
1
6
2
5
3
4
EVALUATION
COMMUNICATION
INITIAL
ENGAGEMENT
PARTICIPATORY
ASSESSMENT
CO-CREATION
AND DESIGN
PILOTING
AND PROJECT
IMPLEMENTATION

10 11
DESIGNING
GENDER-FAIR
PARTICIPATORY
PROCESSES
3
Gender-fair participatory processes relate to the wider field of citizen participation. This chapter focuses on
methodologies for gender-fair participation which can be applied to all urban participatory processes.
It is a selection of participatory tools to engage women in the various phases of project preparation and
implementation.
This chapter begins by providing tools to engage stakeholders and future beneficiaries in the process, mobilise
women in participatory processes and provide guidance regarding the deployment of various tools to implement
a participatory assessment. Then it showcases the tools to co-create and design projects with women, and
concludes by presenting the tools to use project communication for improved mobilisation and empowerment.
DESIGNING
GENDER-FAIR
PARTICIPATORY
PROCESSES
3
3.1 INITIAL ENGAGEMENT
Several tools are available to secure the stakeholders and beneficiaries’
initial engagement to the project. These tools are also a means to gather
local knowledge and frame interventions as a preparatory stage to the
participatory assessment.
Stakeholder mapping and engagement
First of all, key stakeholders must be identified to:
• Foster dialogue with local policy makers in order to collect local and
national data and identify and discuss relevant policies in place.
• Provide general understanding of the wide range of intermediaries
playing a social role in the project’s development in informal
settlements.
• Understand how local policy makers perceive women’s engagement.
This step can lead to wider transformation and mobilisation, as stakeholders
have the field experience needed to identify issues and are in direct contact
with their population. Based on this identification, a stakeholder map can be
drawn to guide the stakeholders’ engagement.
GRASSROOTS COLLECTIVE’S STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS
Grassroots Collective support local development solutions, helping community non-profits from around the world achieve their goals.
To help these local organisations, they have drafted a comprehensive project planning guide, where they set out a methodology for
establishing a stakeholder analysis. These stakeholders can be internal (directly affected) or external (indirectly affected) to the project12
.
The first step consists of distinguishing three types of stakeholders:
• Key stakeholders: parties (people, groups or institutions) that play a significant role in
the project’s success.
• Primary stakeholders: people or groups that are directly affected by the project – beneficiaries and dis-beneficiaries.
• Secondary stakeholders: people or groups that have a stake or interest in the project and/or are indirectly affected by it.
For better identification of stakeholder groups, Grassroots Collective recommend using the P.E.S.T.L.E Model:
Political Stakeholder
• Government departments
• Lobby groups
Economic Stakeholder
• Funding agencies or donors
• Local businesses
Social/Cultural Stakeholder
• Cultural or ethnic groups that are
integrated or marginalised
• Gender groups
Technological Stakeholder
• Companies that propose specific
equipment for the project
• Skilled workers
Legal Stakeholder
• Government departments
Environmental Stakeholder
• Persons and infrastructure affected by the
project
• In a project which focuses on sustainable
development: organisations that defend
the environment, for example
A stakeholder analysis template can be implemented after the identification of all these actors. In a table, this will
synthesise information about stakeholders, their possible involvement in the project and the potential success and/or threat of
their engagement.
Stakeholder What is their
interest in the
project?
What level of
impact do they
have on
success?
What can they
contribute to
the project’s
success?
What potential
threats do they
pose to
success?
What strategy
will you use to
build a
relationship
with the
stakeholder?
Who is
responsible for
this relationship?

12 13
Individual surveys or interviews
To understand local context and start engaging women and future beneficiaries:
• Contacting local associations, women’s groups and inhabitants to organise individual surveys or
interviews. This enables the collection of data on how to facilitate women’s engagement in city
development.
Gender-inclusive project terms of reference
Terms of reference are useful in building a framework that will guide project design and implementation.
For the framework to be gender sensitive, it should include:
• Definition of a project’s purpose.
In a gender-sensitive project, the project’s purpose includes gender-sensitive vision and
objectives. For example, the purpose of the project can be to make public space more inclusive
through gender-sensitive green spaces.
The framework must also define the project’s structure and governance. For the framework to be
more inclusive, terms of reference must set up requirements regarding parity and the presence
of women in the project’s governance and preparation.
• Definition of the expected participatory work.
Terms of reference will set up requirements in terms of participatory work with groups of women:
which profiles of women, how many, which participatory tools are expected, etc.
3.2 PARTICIPATORY ASSESSMENT
Theparticipatoryassessmentinformsontheproject’sdesignandco‑construction,
but also engages future beneficiaries in the project.
Several tools can be mobilised to conduct a participatory assessment.
Participatory tools are selected according to the results required for the
assessment. Such tools require the participation of women; during various
workshops, women provide information about their city, neighbourhood, needs
and feelings. To implement these tools, the first step is to mobilise women to
participate in workshops.
Mobilisation among various groups of women
To implement participatory processes, mobilisation is a major step and also one
that consumes the most time and energy. Designing and implementing widespread
mobilisation is particularly important as it shapes the participatory process.
Mobilisation must reflect the need to be inclusive, as inclusivity during the participatory assessment means
paying extra attention to mobilising among various groups of women, to represent the whole diversity
of women and their specific needs in our society. It also aims to include women who generally have less
access to and influence in the public sphere.
Inclusivity means paying attention to diversity in terms of:
• Age
• Social class
• Occupation
• Children under their care, if any
• Marital status
• Membership in association networks, if any
One important point to keep in mind is that the composition of a group, its diversity and the organisation
of activities in line with fair processes is more important than the number of participants13
.
Mobilisation in informal settlements constitutes a challenge due to the precarious living conditions of the
very people whose mobilisation is sought. Facing daily challenges due to precarious living conditions
prevents people from getting fully involved in mobilisation dynamics, being especially difficult for women,
as their household chores in informal settlements become more burdensome due to their living environment.
Indeed, women face many hurdles when getting involved in urban project mobilisation, both due to
precarity and the gendered social role attributed to them. Many women have difficulty finding time to
take part in public mobilisation. For example, if they work in the informal or formal sector and have a family
to support, engaging in the participatory process might represent a loss of earnings.
Another challenge in mobilising women is their difficulty in expressing their wants and needs, particularly
in informal settlements, as they might be unaccustomed to this type of exercise. Potential fear of a lack of
consideration and mistrust of local authorities make the process even more complex.
A good step that helps to strengthen citizens’ trust in their local authority is building a real link between
the mobilised women and local authorities, explaining information about the project and selecting
recommendations from inhabitants in the urban project design.
Participatory processes can, for example, be presented as a way to take part in community life. They can
also encourage women to participate, knowing that they will be able to meet other women and be a part
of the social dynamics at stake. Mobilisation and participatory processes can be used to broadcast
messages and raise awareness regarding women’s rights to the city and their needs in the urban
environment. Improving the neighbourhood and providing women with better access to public spaces
are also strong angles to convince potential participants.
Exploratory walk in Oujda, Morocco. Womenability, 2020.

14 15
COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION IN THE WORLD
TOUR INITIATIVE BY WOMENABILITY
Womenability is an association internationally advocating for the inclusion of gender issues within urban projects. In 2016, a world tour
was conducted to organise exploratory walks in cities all over the world and collect data about women’s well-being in cities. The
Womenability team trained their local NGO partners before any exploratory walks so that they could gain a better understanding of the
process and then replicate it. The team therefore organised 13 training sessions on inclusive mobilisation and organising, conducting,
evaluating and optimising exploratory walks. Thanks to their local knowledge and bond with women, local NGO partners took on the
responsibility of women’s mobilisation. Some criteria were jointly determined to mobilise the most diverse group of women possible for
the walks14
. As an example, the walk held in Khayelitsha, an informal settlement of Cape Town, South Africa, gathered 36 walkers: 35%
were 35–65 years old, 27.5% were 26–35 years old, 27.5% were below 25 years of age and 10% were above 65 years of age. Age
diversity to understand the various scopes of issues for women in the neighbourhood was a main criterion in inclusive mobilisation15
.
Exploratory walk with SJC and Sonke Gender Justice in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, South Africa. Womenability, 2017
What data are needed for a participatory assessment?
A participatory gender assessment is composed of a compilation of quantitative data (collected from
documentation sources and/or thorough digital tools (apps, social media, online questionnaires, drones)) and of
qualitative data (collected from the participatory tools) .
A gender participatory diagnosis can be made through data, compilation and analysis.
Results can be presented in various formats such as:
• Raw data.
• Recommendations integrated into urban planning documents.
• Gender-sensitive urban planning design.
• Activities integrated into the Gender Action Plan
THE GENDER ANALYSIS FOR THE KERALA
SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
The Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project (KSUDP) is an initiative of Government of Kerala with financial support from Govt.
of India and Asian Development Bank to improve urban infrastructure services in Kerala in a sustainable manner. During the project,
an extensive gender analysis was conducted. It combines all forms of data to better identify and analyse the socio-economic status
of the population (including financial, physical and social assets), access to urban infrastructure (water, sanitation, drainage, solid
waste disposal, roads and transport), current consumption and expenditure, and needs and priorities for future provision.
Quantitative data were obtained through gender-disaggregated data collected by various local and national governments and
sample household surveys in each of the five cities analysed. These surveys were always conducted with a gender dimension in
different questionnaires.
Qualitative data were obtained through questionnaires, discussions with government and corporation officials, non-governmental
representatives, invited citizens’ focus group discussions in each city and participatory rapid appraisal exercises in selected wards and
slums of each city16
.
• Series of participatory assessments on the issues of access to infrastructure and services, and priorities to focus on
during the project: “In particular, different perspectives were sought from women and the very poor concerning the nature
of their experience in accessing basic services and their needs and priorities”17
.
• Series of city-level workshops were conducted with corporations, Kudumbashree district mission officials, community
development society representatives, resident welfare associations and key resource people. These workshops looked at
citywide issues of service delivery18
.
Available quantitative sex-disaggregated gender data are first collected from:
• Official sources,
• Research,
• Documentation, etc.
Questionnaires can also be handed out to a large number of people to retrieve quantitative data.
Qualitative data are mainly acquired through participatory and sociological tools, which can be very
useful in informal settlement contexts when little data are available.
The implementation of such participatory tools requires several steps, such as the mobilisation of
participants, organisation of the activity, etc.

16 17
What tools should be selected for the participatory assessment?
The selection of at least two or three participatory tools is recommended to conduct a participatory
assessment because they complement each other and produce different types of information.
Determining what information is necessary to collect data for the assessment is key to selecting the
participatory tool to implement.
What type of information is needed for
the gender participatory assessment?
What scale is used for
this information?
What participatory tool is needed?
Information about women’s involvement in
different social spheres to determine the
level of gender responsiveness of an urban
area
Information about a
selected urban area, be
it a village,
neighbourhood, city,
metropolis or town
The WEC is a tool developed by Cities Alliance to
understand and interpret the gender responsiveness of a
selected urban area. The assessment is based on a series
of qualitative questions organised around a four-
domain model including economic engagement,
institutional and political engagement, and human and
social capital. Each dimension encompasses different
aspects of urban life and participation. These elements
can be collected through collaborative workshops, focus
groups, history interviews or exploratory walks.
Daily use of urban settings,
experiences and needs
Information about
specific areas in the
neighbourhood
Exploratory walks enable women to link how they feel in
urban public space with urban planning and also make it
possible to understand how women feel unsafe.
Daily mobility and use of urban settings,
needs and recommendations
Information on a
neighbourhood scale
Sensitive cartography workshops are held to understand
the use of public space and explain the sensitive
experience of women through elements of urban
planning. They also give an understanding of the
interaction between the space and the emotions that it
arouses in the participants.
Information about social dynamics Information on a
neighbourhood scale
A focus group of women will hold discussions through
participatory activities to provide a general overview of
the neighbourhood, the problems it faces and its
challenges.
Recommendations Neighbourhood scale Co-design participatory workshops
Specific expertise linked to specific roles in
the neighbourhood (e.g., running the social
service centre)
Depending on the
interviewee’s expertise
Semi structured interviews
THE FEMMEDINA PROJECT
IN TUNISIA
Femmedina is a project implemented by tCities Alliance and the Municipality of Tunis and funded by
USAID. This initiative, which started in December 2020, employs a participatory, gender-sensitive approach
to urban planning that supports women living in the area, including working with city leaders to improve
participatory decision-making, urban revitalization, and activating public spaces in the historic center of
Tunis through a broader process of women’s participation.
The challenges that women face in the Medina have been identified through were
identified through the use of different qualitative and quantitative tools: the
preparation of a WEC, a documentary study, a survey, history interviews, key
stakeholder interviews, interactive and co-conception workshops and community
mapping.
The co-design workshops, held at a location that took into account participants’
preferences, were adapted to the needs of the women to ensure effective
participation. The format of each workshop was also adapted to the interests and
needs of the women, adapting also to persons with reduced mobility and in an
entirely oral format to address some women‘s reading and writing difficulties.
The research team used a combination of tools during the co-design workshops,
including focus group discussions, community mapping, co-design exercises and
neighbourhood walks. For example, participants guided the research team on a
neighbourhood exploratory walk where they walked through different parts of the
city, discussing their perceptions, feelings, experiences and stories in these
different spaces.
© Dana Smillie, World Bank

18 19
How should each of these participatory tools be implemented?
Several tools shall be selected for a gender participatory analysis. They might need to be adapted,
depending on the context and women’s needs. If illiteracy is an issue, it can be addressed by recording
voices instead of requesting written answers from participants.
Using these participatory tools to collect data about women’s feelings, needs and experiences in the city
requires the consideration of various gender biases which might hinder women’s expression.
WHAT TOOL? WHAT RESULTS WILL
EMERGE WITH THIS TOOL?
WHAT STEPS SHOULD BE TAKEN TO
IMPLEMENT THIS TOOL?
The Women’s
Engagement in
Cities (WEC)
profile
The WEC profile methodology aims
to collect quantitative data, as well as
the perceptions, opinions and
experiences of participants through
open fields. Respondents also
associate their responses with specific
locations, which allows the data to be
geo-located and analytical maps to
be produced, reflecting women’s
participation in a given space. The
corresponding questions need to be
adapted to the local context of each
urban area surveyed.
Workshop 1: collective assessment workshop
The objective is to generate a shared identification and prioritisation of the
most pressing challenges faced by women.
In a survey, women are asked to rate their level of satisfaction with women’s
participation in four societal aspects on a scale from 1 to 9. The facilitator
encourages participants to elaborate on their answers and conducts
individual interviews.
The collected stories contribute to developing a contextualised
understanding of women’s engagement and use of public space.
Over time, the tool can be used to frame a full and in-depth process, with
the possibility of recording changes and improvements.
Workshop 2: local women-led ideation workshop
The second workshop will be a facilitated one-day ideation workshop to
explore the issues in all directions and identify initial ideas and possible
solutions. Ideation is the early stage of the co-creation process and it
involves a mixed group of stakeholders who collaborate and contribute to
find and create ways to address the needs.
Exploratory
walks
Exploratory walks make it possible to
spatialise women’s practices on a
neighbourhood scale, but also
problems they encounter such as
feeling unsafe or experiencing
practical limitations.
Preparing an exploratory walk:
1. Identifying the dynamics at work on the targeted territory.
2. Drafting a map, tracing the route of the walk.
3. Pre-testing the appropriateness of the route to ensure its duration,
functioning, pace, etc.
4. Compiling the questionnaire that covers: (i) various profiles of
women, (ii) how they use the urban space and (iii) their feelings and
perception of the urban space.
Conducting an exploratory walk:
1. A group of about fifteen people travel for two hours along a
predefined route. A facilitator leads the walk and initiates discussions
between participants.
2. Along the way, participants stop (in small groups) to answer the
questionnaires on the themes that are the focus of the diagnosis.
3. At the end of the walk, the groups give a briefing about their
experience. Furthermore, the team seeks to draw out the
participants’ initial recommendations from their feedback.
WEC Profile assessing the level of gender responsiveness and engagement of women in the Medina
(Cities Alliance, 2021).
Critical
Bad
Highly unsatisfactory
Unsatisfactory
Almost satisfactory
Satisfactory
More than satisfactory
Highly satisfactory
Full
1 4 7
2 5 8
3 6 9

20 21
4. Questionnaires are collected and the results are compiled using
software. Two types of information emerge:
• Qualitative information, such as the women’s feelings and their
interaction with the space.
• Quantitative information, such as the number of women who
share these feelings. Its relevance depends on the sample size of
people who answered the questions in the safety audit.
5. The facilitator will draw on what emerges from the safety audit to
identify issues to be addressed in the sensitivity mapping phase.
Sensitivity
mapping
workshops
Sensitivity mapping allows women's
practices to be spatialised more
accurately and on a larger scale than
the exploratory walk.
Preparing a sensitivity mapping workshop:
Mapping support, which is the basis of the discussions, should be prepared,
as well as the discussion themes and questions for the participants.
Conducting a sensitivity mapping workshop:
A large map of the studied area will be the basis of the work. A group of 15
women will be guided through different themes and questions by the
facilitator, who ensures that the discussions are simultaneously transcribed
spatially. Post-it notes or printed images illustrating usage can be mobilised.
Women can discuss and brainstorm in groups, in the form of a debate, or
be invited to speak individually. They can then propose the types of usage
they would like this space to be for and use Post-it notes to mark the
location of facilities they deem necessary.
Life-size sensitivity mapping can also be used. Using chalk drawings in the
studied space, women physically delineate their usage and write down what
they would like to see implemented and where.
Focus groups Different participatory workshops can
help to identify problems
encountered by women and
inhabitants in an urban space.
Problem box: Each participant anonymously writes down on paper a
problem they encounter in their habitat. The pieces of paper are then put
together in a box and read aloud by a facilitator in front of all participants.
Women can then discuss the highlighted problems, give their points of
view, share their experience and draw up solutions all together.
Moving debate: A question is raised by the group facilitator, and
participants must physically position themselves in the room depending on
whether they are for or against the statement. Women are asked to stand up
and align themselves, for example, in a column depending on whether they
agree or disagree. Once they are in position, each group prepares arguments
and then presents them one by one to the other group. People can switch
sides based on the arguments made as many times as they want.
Forum theatre: Participants embody actors who disagree on issues related
to their cities to launch the debate. Arguments and solutions are imagined
to bring the actors into agreement.
1. Preparing the scene
• The context of the simulation needs to be presented (what scene
are we going to play and why?).
• Presenting the list of actors makes it possible to set a strategy
and position in relation to the problem. Roles are then
distributed to participants.
• Participants not performing on stage will take on the role of
observers.
2. Acting out the scene.
• The significance of the improvisation results from the interaction
between the actors (the outcome of the scene is unknown
beforehand).
• The role of the audience who can, if they wish, interrupt the
simulation and change its course by going up on stage.
3. Analysing the scene
• All participants discuss together and ask themselves: What were
the problems and obstacles encountered? What solutions or
responses have been enforced? How could the situation have
been improved?
• This tool allows for the anticipation of potential obstacles before
they arise, in order to seek ways to avoid them.
Exploratory walk with SJC and Sonke Gender Justice in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, South Africa. Womenability, 2017.

22 23
© Nugroho Nurdikiawan Sunjoyo/ World Bank.
An exploratory walk in Oujda, Morocco Womenability, 2020
3.3 CO-CREATION
AND PROJECT DESIGN
Adapting participatory activities to women’s needs and
the informal settlement context
The participatory process must adapt to the various activities of women, who
generally have a double workload (childcare, elderly care, household duties
and formal or informal work, etc.).
In informal settlements, gender inequalities are often related to a lack of fair
access to sanitary infrastructures, with more women reporting feeling unsafe or
confined to domestic and/or care tasks. All these points also restrict women’s
involvement in participatory projects, which result from:
A sensitive cartography workshop in Oujda, Morocco Womenability, 2020
A set of systemic inequalities affecting women in the division
of labour and access to financial and educational resources,
confining them to tasks within the household, excluding them
from the public sphere and preventing them from attaining
financial independence.
Potential solution: Identification of these inequalities before the
beginning of the consultation process.
A set of physical barriers due to constrained mobility because
of the lack of transport and roads, and inadequate pedestrian
infrastructure. They are also symbolic, compounded by feeling
unsafe or afraid to participate in a process outside their own
community.
Potential solutions: Activities should be located in easily
accessible spaces where women feel comfortable and not
take place when it is dark19
. Measures such as suggesting that
women wait together at the bus stop after the meeting, offering
them rides home, organising carpooling or the reimbursement
of transportation tickets are also relevant20
.
A set of language barriers due to a lack of technical language
specific to the participation process. Women could also have
difficulty expressing themselves in the national language due
to the presence of other languages in the country or illiteracy.
Potential solutions: Presence of a translator, use of an
accessible language and showing the cruciality of women’s
engagement. In this case, other means of communication can
be used, such as pictograms or illustrations21
.

24 25
Trusted spaces that will encourage their participation must also be created therefore meetings must be
held in places known to the women, where they are accustomed to meeting and discussing. These spaces
should also be accessible to all, serviced well by public transport and located in a lighted and
well‑frequented street. In addition to these criteria, a range of services such as breastfeeding rooms,
childcare facilities or special activities for children should be offered.
In addition, the session time slots should coincide with the timetable of the participating women. Doubling
the number of sessions (one in the morning and one in the afternoon) and scheduling meetings at time
slots other than when schools start and end may be relevant alternatives. It is also essential to stick to the
duration of the sessions. Complying with these criteria is a first step in the gender-inclusive participatory
process, but it is not in itself sufficient22
.
Tools for co-creation
The co-creation phase deepens the participatory perspective by involving inhabitants in solutions and
project design.
HOW SHOULD THIS TOOL BE IMPLEMENTED?
Co-design
workshop
This tool makes it possible to create
concrete recommendations with
participants to co-design urban
spaces and solutions.
• During the initial co-design workshop, women address the important
themes of their urban area and propose project ideas while the facilitator
takes notes.
• Graphic facilitation and schematisation are effective tools in creating a
visual map, without needing to know how to read or write.
• During the second phase, inhabitants create a participatory prototype to
shape project ideas mentioned during the first workshop. When the result
of this prototype is presented to other women, participants can
themselves express their opinions about the proposed ideas and how
they can be implemented. The project management team can get a
grasp of how those co-created ideas are received among other
inhabitants.
• An alternative to the second phase is to involve women in creating a
participatory prototype of their ideal public space, without imposed
technical constraints. It allows the project team to better understand what
women want from the planned redevelopment of this space.
• Co-creation workshops can be enriched by using various tools to facilitate
discussion and collective thinking:
• Graphic facilitation
• Participatory mock-up or building collaborative Lego replicas as an
alternative for younger audience
• Theatre or forum theatre
• Collective mapping
Several of the tools presented in the participatory assessment encompass
some co-construction phases:
• exploratory walks
• sensitivity mapping
• focus groups
• forum theatre
• In all these workshops, participants can be asked to provide
recommendations.

26 27
THE CO-DESIGN PROCESS OF THE
ALIAR PLAZA PROJECT IN ARGENTINA
The Aliar Plaza is a project implemented in the neighborhood of La Favorita, in Mendoza, Argentina, by the Kounkuey Design Initiativewith
the World Bank and Argentine Ministry of Interior to understand how informal settlements, and public spaces within them, can be
designed to work better for women and girls. In Mendoza, the project’s stakeholders worked directly with the women of La Favorita. The
aim was to provide an evaluation of the Plaza Aliar, come up with solutions to the daily problems encountered by women and suggest
changes that could be made to public areas to overcome them.
A whole participatory methodology was designed to focus on developing a common understanding of gender issues in urban
planning. It consisted of:
i. examining the public spaces in the neighbourhood
ii. identifying challenges in the urban environment and potential solutions,
iii. collectively prioritising these potential solutions23
.
These activities were conducted in collaboration with Mendoza city officials, local
community groups and other stakeholders. These included walk audits,
exploratory walks and participatory workshops
As a result of the diagnosis for the rehabilitation of the Aliar Plaza, women developed, through co-design participatory workshops, six
conceptual plans for a place that would best meet their needs. These plans were thereafter submitted to the community, who voted for
the most appropriate project.
They emphasised in particular the need for better lighting of pedestrian crossings, seating and programmes to improve the safety and
mobility of women24
. The choice was made for a multifunctional plaza that includes, for example:
• A playground surrounded by raised vantage seating for women and other caregivers to watch their children and a
community market where women can sell their goods
• A protected bus shelter where women can wait for the bus safely
• An amphitheatre with stepped seating for community events
Adopted in 2018, the municipality is committed to delivering the new plaza project in 2020.
Overcoming barriers in organising and facilitating discussions
It might be more difficult for women to take part in participatory processes because of the gender roles men
and women are traditionally assigned. In fact, women often feel inhibited by their way of speaking when
discussing in public workshops.
Understanding and identifying barriers is essential and should be taken into consideration in the
organisation and facilitation of discussions. Different tools and strategies can then be used to provide a safe
space where women feel comfortable. Two settings are possible: gender-diverse participatory processes or
women-only activities.
In gender-diverse participatory processes
To get women properly involved in a gender-diverse participatory process (involving both women and
men), several parameters must be respected in organising discussions where both women and men are
present. The barriers that women face which prevent them from fully participating in discussions must be
taken into account. Participatory workshops and the organisation and facilitation of discussions then need
to be adapted to these specificities.
In a workshop, every speaker, value and preference must be listened to with equal consideration. To do so, a
“talking stick” makes it possible to regulate speech within a group. This reassures all those present at the workshop
that they will be heard, especially those who might be afraid to speak. Facilitators may decide to pass the baton to
another participant to prevent the debate from being monopolised by the most verbose. It also prevents any
counterspeech or manterrupting, which is unnecessary interruptions of a woman’s speech by a man.
Workshops promoting debate on public policies must offer women a safe and comfortable context to freely
express themselves. In this way, different forms of language from what is usually used in the public sphere must
be listened to and considered. It ensures that women who express themselves more emotionally or who make
contributions linked to personal experiences will not be overlooked, as is often the case in general workshops.
The dynamics of the dialogue should enhance the relational aspect, mutual recognition and cooperation among the participants. The
Ministry for Foreign Action, Institutional Relations and Transparency of Catalogna (2020) developed relevant points:
• Starting contributions with the expression of feelings and experiences related to the use of the services,
benefits and regulations that are the topic of the dialogue.
• Stimulating alternative forms of narration: life stories, graphic elements and visual aids such as cardboard
or Post-it notes.
• Mobilising theatrical techniques such as role games: recreating the use of public facilities.
• Using prototypes or models in urban development projects or the design of facilities.
• Group forms of artistic expression, such as composing songs or making drawings as a group.
© Lakshman Nadaraja/ World Bank.

28 29
In women-only activities
For women-only activities, the MTElles Toolkit25
develops many inspiring practices that can encourage the
participation of women in participatory processes:
Before the session:
• Identify the organisational elements that demonstrate your transparency and explain the contribution that women
bring to the process.
• Clearly explain the process of the discussion and the available materials. This will ensure that all participants start on
the same footing.
• Make documentation and discussion accessible to all: use translation services, childcare facilities, language
accessibility (if not, use visual communication).
• Organise events where registration is not required.
• Set up a reception area that will help participants to find their way around.
• Show interest in new faces and have staff present whose role is to spot women who have come for the first time and
welcome them.
• If possible, limit the presence of security guards and police. If this is not possible, train staff and show them that they
can contribute to a welcoming environment.
During the session:
• Explain the rules of the debate and that all voices are equal.
• Make sure that everyone has the right to speak and that there are several microphones available.
• Highlight the importance of this discussion and of giving women a voice. The importance of including racialised
women can also be emphasised.
• Use inclusive and gender-neutral language and an accessible language (for example, by avoiding acronyms and
jargon as much as possible and simplifying specialised language).
After the session:
• Allow time at the end of the discussion for women who did not speak to share their thoughts and questions.
• Measure the level of satisfaction participants had with the meeting. Criticism should be received in an open atmosphere.
• Measures such as suggesting that women wait together at the bus stop after the meeting, offering them rides home,
or organising carpooling are also relevant. Participants could also wait inside for their means of transport to get home.
During the session, the Ministry for Foreign Action, Institutional Relations and Transparency of Catalogna
(2020) guide proposes the involvement of women’s circles, feminist movements, migrant women’s groups,
employment services or entities that work with socially excluded women, so that they can hold discussion
workshops, promoting debates on public policies in an environment that is familiar and safe for them. In this
way, it is possible to get to know the points of view of groups that might not attend joint debates with other
social groups.
Implementing these practices when possible is a first step in establishing a safe place for women
participants, where everyone feels fully accepted.
A women-only activity organized by Womenability in Casablanca, Morocco. Womenability, 2019.

30 31
THE CO-DESIGN PROCESS OF THE CARACAS BARRIO
UPGRADING PROJECT IN VENEZUELA
The Caracas Barrio Upgrading Project (CAMEBA) was launched by the Government of Venezuela and the World Bank in 2000 as a
community-driven development (CDD) initiative which aimed to improve the living conditions of residents in two barrios: Petare Norte
and La Vega, accounting for 15% of the city’s population living in slums26
. Indeed, there is a chronic lack of services in these areas: few
vehicles, no neighbourhood services (police, firefighters, waste treatment, etc.), and difficult access to resources such as drinking water.
To increase the participation of women, the Caracas Barrio Upgrading Project developed specific settings, such as:
Designation of specific roles to women in public consultations:
1. Neighbour inspectors (community representatives to supervise construction work27
).
2. Project staff.
3. Construction workers.
To fulfil these functions, women were paid, thus contributing to their financial independence.
The project comprised:
1. Implementation of workshops: A series of six training workshops, for female slum residents, on women’s rights,
leadership and domestic violence were also conducted. These workshops covered various themes:
2. Six workshops on communication, with emphasis on gender, for female barrio residents, addressing issues related to
gender identity, self-esteem, life plans, gender equality in domestic work and violence against women.
3. One workshop, for female barrio residents, addressing violence against women.
4. One workshop, for children barrio residents, addressing issues related to children’s rights and citizenship.
5. One workshop on violence within the family, targeting project staff.
6. One workshop on gender and development policies, for project staff.
7. Conduction of study walks28
: Different study walks, some exclusively dedicated to women, have been set up to better
understand and identify the needs of the community, especially in the area of sanitation and infrastructure improvement.
3.4 PILOTING AND PROJECT
IMPLEMENTATION
Piloting and scaling up.
This phase involves running pilot projects, testing scenarios and collecting
reactions. To convince stakeholders and donors about the need of focusing on
gender, data are also key. Pilot projects are an effective way to demonstrate the
overall benefit of involving women through tangible results and overcome
institutional or individual resistance to recognizing and addressing gender
equality in cities.
Once there is evidence of the gender specific results of a pilot projects, different
public and private stakeholders are identified and engaged to ensure the
scaling-up of the pilot. Policies and laws should be adjusted and created in
order to create an alignment with the project. Furthermore, incorporating a
gender-sensitive approach to the management of the implemented project will
contribute to the long-term sustainability, community ownership and impact of
the project.
THE BLOCKCHAIN PILOT PROJECT FOR CASH
TRANSFERS IN REFUGEE CAMPS IN JORDAN
Led by UN Women Jordan in partnership with the World Food Program (WFP), this pilot project tested the use of blockchain technology
to transfer salaries to women enrolled in Oases cash-for-work programs in Za’atari and Azraq refugee camps, beginning in June 2019.
The pilot reached 467 women and was expanded to all four camp-based Oases in June 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This project implemented the secure storage of participants’ compensation on the UN Women blockchain node. To access their funds,
recipients visit WFP-run supermarkets, where an iris scan identifies them and links them to their blockchain account.
Piloting the project made it possible to measure its qualitative impact, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic period, when the
project proved to be all the more useful. In fact, this project did away with physical contact and made it possible to deliver cash
assistance in the event that women were no longer able to work. Women have benefitted from their pay without delay.
To assess this pilot project, reports were conducted during the project to assess beneficiaries’ experiences. External independent
researchers prepared a value assessment of the pilot’s impact, after a series of visits, observations, interviews and focus group discussions
with beneficiaries. Findings have also emerged in a wider context of multi-stakeholder discussions and value analysis workshops,
involving several UN agencies and private-sector partners. These reports and inputs have all served to assess the pilot’s impact, for
beneficiaries and the organisation29
.

32 33
Implementing gender-responsive monitoring
Collecting data from activities on a regular basis enables the creation of new data to be weighed against
the baseline data set. Gender-sensitive monitoring tasks make it possible to keep track of activities and
their evolution and potentially adapt activities most efficiently and in the most gender-fair way possible.
Gender-
responsive
monitoring
Gender-responsive monitoring
represents a continuous effort to
measure the impact of a project and
its contribution to the promotion of
gender equality and empowerment
• Using this tool:
• Highlights inequalities.
• Enhances the understanding of why
there are changes for different
groups.
• Monitors partners’ performance.
• Makes stakeholders accountable
for achieving gender goals.
Key factors to consider in gender-sensitive monitoring:
• Beneficiaries must play a role in defining baselines and collecting data.
• Many stakeholders need to contribute data and analysis.
To conduct gender-sensitive monitoring:
• Develop gender-sensitive indicators within the monitoring plan.
• Gather, record and validate information (including sex-disaggregated
data).
• Analyse the data with a focus on gender equality outcomes (How are
women and men affected? Who benefits? Who influences decisions? Who
uses and controls assets and resources?).
• Communicate and use the information.
3.5 EVALUATION
Evaluate the project and identify lessons learned
The evaluation is a major phase in the project’s cycle because it represents a
way to sketch a first quantitative and qualitative picture of the project’s success
and impact on gender equality. Lessons learned during the project are also
identified during this phase.
Evaluation can be made participatory by involving the stakeholders of a
programme or policy in the evaluation process. Their involvement can occur at
any stage of the evaluation process, from evaluation design to data collection
and analysis, and the reporting of the study.
Involving beneficiaries in the evaluation is relevant and can be done through
multiple tools.
WHAT
TOOL?
WHAT RESULTS WILL EMERGE WITH
THIS TOOL?
Stakeholder
evaluation
An Evaluation Stakeholder Analysis (SA)
makes it possible to identify and assess
the importance of key people, groups,
or institutions in the evaluation. With it,
stakeholder interests and needs can be
determined, and it generates
information that is critical to planning
and implementing the evaluation.
This technique helps to predict the
influence that various stakeholders could
have on mobilising support or resistance
to the evaluation, as well as on the use
of evaluation results and the
implementation of recommendations. It
also contributes to providing a basis and
strategy for participation in the
evaluation. It acts as a participatory tool
to involve the user’s point of view and
reception of the project.
A general guideline can be followed (USAID, n.d) to conduct this analysis
optimally:
1. Identify the main users of the evaluation: partner country
institutions, users, implementing partner organisations or other donors.
Question what they really need to know about the programme and how
they will use the evaluation results. This step will identify what
information is required from the evaluation and how to obtain it.
2. Identify clients and other key stakeholders. This group will
probably be wider than those identified in step 1. It has important
interests, but will have less influence in the evaluation. It consists of
those who are likely to be interested in and/or affected by the
evaluation, both positively and negatively. Marginalised groups should
also be included.
3. Give each of these groups the opportunity to identify issues
that the evaluation should address.
4. Evaluate the interests, influence, importance and potential
impact of stakeholders on the evaluation. Consider the relationships
between stakeholders, possible aligned or conflicting interests, and the
short- and long-term implications of the evaluation.
5. Develop strategies to appropriately involve stakeholders in the
evaluation. It is also important that the interests and needs of specific
groups or individuals who have not been explicitly involved are
considered.
6. During the evaluation process, it is necessary to provide periodic
updates or briefings to stakeholders. This will enhance ownership and
eventual use of the evaluation results.
7. Ensure that the evaluation report indicates the nature and extent
of stakeholder participation.
Individual
story-telling
An individual story is a fragment of data
that provides a perspective at a given
time from a specific point of view.
Personal stories provide qualitative
information, which is difficult to classify,
categorise, calculate or analyse.
However, there is a tendency to give
more importance to information that is
considered anecdotal30
.
According to McClintock (2004),
personal stories are relevant to
evaluation due to their specific
characteristics:
• Narrative is appropriate for
participatory change processes
because it is based on people making
sense of their stories.
• Stories can be systematically collected,
and claims verified with other
independent sources.
Examples of topics for stories (Social Mapping, Better Evaluation, 2014.)31
:
Organisational topics:
• How I perceive the functioning of the team
• A major change and how we handled it
• A time when I needed help and couldn’t get it
• A time when I was delighted with the help I received
Programme topics
• Something wonderful that happened was...
• The best/worst thing about the programme was...
• Learning and change topics
• I learned something that changed how I work
• The biggest change I’ve ever made was...
• The most important thing I’ve ever learned was…

34 35
WHAT
TOOL?
WHAT RESULTS WILL EMERGE WITH
THIS TOOL?
• Narrative data can be analysed through
existing conceptual approaches or
evaluated in relation to emerging themes.
• Narrative options can be integrated into
ongoing organisational processes. This will
facilitate programme planning, decision-
making and strategic management.
In addition to bringing another dimension to
evaluation, stories can be shaped to target
different audiences. They can take many
forms – oral and written narratives, music,
drama, photographs, film, etc. They are also
an effective way of demonstrating the
progress of a programme32
.
Participatory
social
mapping
Social mapping requires collecting
information from participants to identify
their households and rank their well-
being based on various predefined
indicators relating to socio-economic
conditions (e.g., status, skills, property,
education or income). Results are
produced about households’ relative
and qualitative well-being, rather than a
quantitative assessment. A map is
created from those results.
The following steps are proposed to be implemented:33
:
1.On a base map, all households that have been analysed in the defined
area (e.g., a village, neighbourhood or rural zone) are localised.
2.Participants code each household according to its level of well-being. To
facilitate this step for participants, levels can be given their own symbol
or colour code. It allows for the design of a base map in which
households are clustered according to different rankings of well-being. A
legend will explain the symbols of the map.
3.This map will help to focus on the indicators that are interesting for the
project (e.g., “school attendance of children”, “involved in a certain
project activity”, “member of a micro-credit group”). It enables each
household to be coded according to its status.
4.This final base map can be used to monitor the well-being of each
household from year to year and relate the households to changes
introduced by a project. Thanks to this map, any impacts on well-being or
other socio-economic indicators in focus can be examined.
Gender Mapping in Clara Town, Liberia.
Upgrading process led by the municipality of La Paz.
THE DIGITAL EVALUATION OF THE PROGRAMME
‘BARRIOS E COMUNIDADES DE VERDAD’ (PBCV)
The ‘Programa Barrios y Comunidades de Verdad’ (PBCV) is an urban improvement programme by the Municipality of La Paz that
provides better services and living conditions for residents of poor neighbourhoods in La Paz, Bolivia. One of the challenges that the
municipality of La Paz faced after the modernisation of these communities was to encourage its residents to give feedback on the
performance of the PBCV34
. This feedback allows for a better evaluation of the project. To collect the impressions about the project, the
municipalityofLaPaz,withthesupportoftheWorldBank,developedaweb-basedplatformcalled‘BarrioDigital’(DigitalNeighbourhood),
designed to allow residents of the upgraded neighbourhoods to send real-time feedback, suggestions and assistance requests, both
online or by SMS, on municipal services35
. This platform is an original tool to evaluate beneficiaries’ impressions, makes it possible to
better draw up the different lessons learned and will improve other upgrading programmes.

36 37
Establishing a map of actors
Firstly, a map of actors gathering data about women’s groups and stakeholders to be involved
must be established. These elements determine the communication strategy.
Stakeholders have different roles in the project:
• Stakeholders involved in the neighbourhood’s dynamics (working in education, urban
planning, public policy, social and cultural centres, etc.). Besides, stakeholders related to a
gender approach represent an important asset. Discussing with these stakeholders helps to gain
a better understanding of the neighbourhood’s dynamics and how to mobilise women.
• Gender experts, migration experts, activists who are knowledgeable about specific
inequalities women experience in their community. Their perspectives are also needed to
mobilise women’s groups.
• Community stakeholder representatives are also a source of knowledge to learn about the
specificities of women in their communities.
For a better appraisal of citizen’s views and interests, participation must include a maximum range of
participants involved in the decision, especially those who normally have less influence in the public sphere.
For this reason, it is also highly important to identify groups of women traditionally excluded from
decision‑making processes through identification of informal circles of family and community relations (for
example, parents at school communities, friends, civic centres, etc.).
Establishing a communication plan
After gathering information about the targeted women’s groups, strategic communication channels need
to be used to draw women’s attention to the participatory process. These channels must be diversified not
only to reach the widest possible range of women, but also to mobilise groups that do not have the same
access to and use of communication channels36
, which can be:
• Through the stakeholders identified above.
• In places where women are already present (school, market, etc.), after having proactively
sought out where women spend their daily lives.
• Advertisements can be inserted in magazines, newsletters and bulletins aimed at these groups
in a segmented way.
• Social groups or entities can disseminate information among their members.
• Through social media and networks (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, among others): find out
which channels are the most widely used to get information about events (in some places it’s
Facebook, for others, it’s WhatsApp) and keep in mind the digital gender gap, as not everyone
has access to the same digital assets.
• The use of printed paper (leaflets, newspaper etc.) is sometimes needed to reach certain groups.
Not only is gender-inclusive communication needed (e.g., inclusive writing), but a broader range
of inclusive communication is essential, for example, for those who are illiterate.
Communication for mobilisation is essential and must be inclusive.
• Communication must be effective. It must thus be concise and visual.
• It must correspond to the language, concerns and habits of women reached by the
communication plan.
• The communication plan must target women who have been integrated into the participatory
process, as well as women who will be the most affected by the decision-making process.
To disseminate the participation process, it is necessary to:
• Rely on community and informal networks.
• Be established in places/spaces where women are generally present.
• Use social networks, but other media as well – ads in magazines and newsletters for women’s groups.
• Create contact with community representatives.
MULTIPLE COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FROM
THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (ADB)
The ADB’s communication strategy is made up of various objectives to ensure women’s engagement during the execution of the project.
First of all, fostering strong collaboration between stakeholders reinforces their engagement, which the essential involvement of civil
society complements. In order to strengthen this collaboration, the plan has to (i) set up consultations with the various local, regional
and national stakeholders and (ii) ensure the effective spread and generation of information. This goes through various communication
channels: questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions or in-depth community dialogue, which also helps to develop compensation
measures and infrastructure design. To increase the acceptance of the project, communication must be transparent and thought of as a
vertical and iterative process.
For example, the ADB developed three successful communication cases. While they are not gender focused, they offer various relevant
elements to implement in future communication plans.
• In Sri Lanka, the implementation of an agricultural project was facilitated by various communication strategies that
targeted beneficiaries: awareness and promotional programmes, training and workshops.
• In the Philippines, the use of radio broadcast programmes helps to gain support for another agricultural project.
The strong support of radio programme listeners has attracted and nurtured private sector support for the
project, resulting in an effective partnership to support project activities.
• Lastly, public awareness campaigns for a forestry project in Bangladesh that mobilised six audiovisual devices,
and the conduct of “annual tree fairs” (i.e., staging of theatrical programmes and exhibits), created significant
public awareness37
.
3.6 COMMUNICATION
From the participatory evaluation to the dissemination of the project
results, communication is a cross-cutting phase that lasts throughout
the project cycle.
Communication for mobilisation
To better mobilise women for participatory assessment and co-construction
workshops, it is important to determine the best communication channels to use
and the stakeholders to involve and target.

38 39
Communicate on a project’s results
Urban projects are characterised by long-term processes and results. When conducting participatory
processes throughout urban projects, it is important to understand and manage expectations and citizen
commitment, as well as provide accountability to citizens. Creating an info point for information and
collective activities to keep women involved in the project is an effective tool for this phase.
Communication helps to keep the participatory process alive. Good communication on results:
• Helps citizens to feel committed to the urban project process. For women, it enables them to
feel like their voice has been heard;
• Helps maintain and create social ties and dynamics in their urban environment;
• Creates an opportunity to offer an explanation about proposals that have been selected and
how they benefit gender equality. It can also explain why proposals have been rejected and
how they undermine gender equality. Informing about the results of participatory processes is a
good step in creating trust between decision-makers and citizens. In the context of a
gender‑sensitive urban project, it is important to communicate about the results of project
decisions following participatory processes:
• What proposals were rejected because they would harm gender equality?
• How were gender-sensitive proposals selected?
DISSEMINATING PROJECT RESULTS AS
EMPOWERMENT FOR BENEFICIARIES
During their world tour, Womenability collected data about women in cities by implementing exploratory walks. Womenability used data
created by the project and disseminated them to their local NGO partners, who eventually used them as an advocacy tool in their daily
work. In addition, Womenability created a report collecting and analysing information from their world tour and made it accessible for
free. They also created a web documentary covering their work and exploratory walks in the various cities.
The Womenability Webdocumentary.
The different ways in which women and men are involved in participatory processes in urban projects are
largely influenced by dominant gender constructions. These norms, expectations and institutional
expressions limit women’s participation, especially in informal settlements. In this kind of urban environment,
women face a host of hurdles, resulting mainly from a set of systemic inequalities.
To support their involvement, this toolkit seeks to provide, through a six-phase framework, resources, ideas,
tools and activities to better consider gender mainstreaming in urban projects with participation processes.
The toolkit provides insights for stakeholders to engage in more gender-sensitive projects. It is a flexible
framework that can be organised and sequenced according to the particularities of the urban environment
of the project, the resources available and the preferences of the stakeholders. Its flexibility allows it to
respond to the specificities of a territory and the desires and requirements of the women who live and
experiment on it.
Each phase has been explained with specific tools and activities which cover all the possible biases and
problems specific to gender issues. These tools and activities provide solid elements to best mobilise
women in urban projects. They were developed and used in specific project contexts, including within
informal settlements and communities.
The toolkit and the included tools and activities can be implemented under the guidance of Cities Alliance,
which benefits from proven expertise in the field of gender-responsive participatory processes and
gender‑mainstreaming in urban development projects. The checklist provided alongside this toolkit
summarises and sets out steps to optimally implement women’s participation throughout the urban
project cycle.
Cities Alliance invites all organisations inspired by this framework or these documents, and which want to
mobilise women’s voices in the implementation of an urban project, to engage in a potentially fruitful
collaboration.
Conclusion
4

40 41
ENDNOTES
1 UN Women, Concepts and definitions.
Accessible at: Concepts and definitions
2 WHO, Gender: definitions, 2002. Accessible at:
Gender: definitions
3 World Bank, Handbook for Gender-Inclusive
Urban Planning Design, 2020.
4 Ibid.
5 UN Habitat, Habitat III Issue Paper, 22-
Informal Settlements, 2015. Accessible at:
https://unhabitat.org/habitat-iii-issue-papers-
22-informal-settlements
6 Valentine G., Theorizing and Researching
Intersectionality: A Challenge for Feminist
Geography, 2007.
7 Womankind Worldwide, Intersectionality 101,
what is it and why is it important?, 2019.
Accessible at: Intersectionality 101: what is it and
why is it important? - Womankind Worldwide
8 Oxford Dictionary, Intersectionality, 2015.
9 World Bank, Handbook for Gender-Inclusive
Urban Planning Design, 2020.
10 UN Women, COVID_19 exposes the harsh
realities of gender inequality in slums, 2020.
Accessible at: COVID-19 exposes the harsh
realities of gender inequality in slums
11 Moser C., Gender, Asset Building and Just
Cities, Briefing Paper, WUF7 Networking
Event, 2014. Accessible at: Gender, Asset
Building and Just Cities
12 Grassroots Collective. How to Do a
Stakeholder Analysis for Community
Development. Accessible at: https://www.
thegrassrootscollective.org/stakeholder-
analysis-nonprofit
13 Ministry for Foreign Action, Institutional
Relations and Transparency of Catalogna,
Guide to gender mainstreaming in
participatory processes, 2020.
14 Womenability, Womenabilty Khayelitsha, 2017.
Accessible at: https://genderjustice.org.za/
publication/womenability-khayelitsha
15 Ibid.
16 ADB, Government of Kerala Local Self
Government Department, Kerala Sustainable Urba
Development Project, Final Report Volume 6,
Technical Analysis, 2005. Accessible at: https://
www.adb.org/sites/default/files/project-
document/75504/32300-06-ind-tacr-sectiona.pdf
17 Ibid.
18 Ibid.
20 CMTL, Promising Practices Toolkit. Making
public participation inclusive and equitable for
all women, 2020. Accessible at: https://
concertationmtl.ca/wp-content/
uploads/2021/09/MTElles-PromisingPractices-
apr2021-AN-VF.pdf
22 Ibid.
23 World Bank, Handbook for gender-Inclusive
Urban Planning Design, 2020
24 Konkuey.org, Gendered Spaces La Favorita,
Mendoza, Argentina, 2018. Accessible at:
Gendered Spaces La Favorita, Mendoza,
Argentina, 2018
25 CMTL, Promising Practices Toolkit. Making
public participation inclusive and equitable for
all women, 2020. Accessible at: https://
concertationmtl.ca/wp-content/
uploads/2021/09/MTElles-PromisingPractices-
apr2021-AN-VF.pdf
26 Chant, S., McIlwaine C., Cities, Slums and
Gender in the Global South: Towards a
Feminised Urban Future. Routledge, 2015.
27 In Petare Norte, about 60 percent of neighbour
inspectors were women (World Bank, n.d).
28 Aleman Ayala A., Community Organisations,
Misiones and Integration of Barrios of Caracas,
Venezuela - The Case of the CAMEBA
Upgrading Project, 2008. Accessible at: Urban
Upgrading Intervention and Barrio Integration
in Caracas, Venezuela
29 UN Women Jordan. Case Study UN Women-
WFP Blockchain Pilot Project for Cash Transfers
in Refugee Camps, January 2021. Accessible
at: https://jordan.unwomen.org/sites/default/
files/Field%20Office%20Jordan/Images/
publications/2021/Blockchain%20pilot%20
project/UN%20WOMEN-WFP%20
BLOCKCHAIN%20PILOT%20PROJECT%20
FOR%20CASH%20TRANSFERS%20IN%20
REFUGEE%20CAMPS%20JORDAN%20
CASE%20STUDY.pdf
30 Better Evaluation, Social Mapping, Alan
Mountain, 2014. Accessible at: Social Mapping
| Better Evaluation
31 Ibid.
32 Ibid.
33 Guijt, I., & Woodhill, J. International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD), Office of
Evaluation Studies. Managing for Impact in
Rural Development, a Guide for Project, M&E,
2002 Accessible at: https://www.ifad.org/
documents/38714182/39723123/toc.pdf/
e7c718e2-56b9-4f60-b404-3f31448a38a2
34 Cities Alliance, Do you know your city? Results
from collaborative data initiatives to drive
innovation in cities, 2019. Accessible at:
https://www.citiesalliance.org/sites/default/
files/2019-07/Cities_Alliance_Data_Initiatives_
Web_FINAL%20%283%29.pdf
35 Ibid.
37 ADB, Improving Project Success through
effective communication and participation,
2013. Accessible at: https://www.adb.org/sites/
default/files/evaluation-document/35013/files/
ll-communications.pdf

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