Feminist City Network
The city is a place of opportunity and liberation, but it is also a place where interlocking inequalities take concrete shape. The provocation of the ‘Feminist City’ allows us to think critically about the past, present and future of cities.
Aligned with the Heseltine Institute’s urban focus, and our role as a convenor of dialogue and collaboration to address urban challenges, the Feminist City network offers a space for University of Liverpool researchers, policy-makers and practitioners to come together to address the question of how can we live more justly in an urban world.
A ‘Feminist City’ is one which is human-centred and inclusive of marginalised groups, including but not limited to women. A number of cities internationally have now aligned with this label, including Glasgow which became the UK’s first self-proclaimed ‘Feminist City’ in 2022.
Our work
Using an intersectional lens, the Feminist City Network considers how women experience and engage with the city, and harnesses the lively debate and ongoing experimentation with this idea, re-framing conversations on urban design, public space, public safety, governance, institutional design, and public policy and services, and aiming to understand how can we create cities that work better, not only for women, but for us all.
The work of the Feminist City network aligns closely with the University’s commitment to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, notably to:
- Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls (Goal 5)
- Reduce inequalities within and between countries (Goal 10)
- Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable (Goal 11).
We meet regularly as a network to share and profile our research activity, and provoke research connections and collaborations.
Feminist City network is open to researchers (including doctoral students) across disciplines and Faculties. Collaborations between network members involve co-supervision of doctoral students and externally-funded research applications.
The Feminist City network is convened by Heseltine Institute Co-Director Professor Catherine Durose and Geography and Planning’s Dr Catherine Queen.
To be added to the Feminist City network and to have your work profiled here, please contact heseltine@liverpool.ac.uk.
Original Ideas Podcast
Members of the Liverpool Feminist City network, Professor Catherine Durose, Dr. Catherine Queen, Dr. Shreyashi Dasupta and Dr Emma Spruce discuss what a ‘Feminist City’ means and how this concept connects to their research.
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