BBC: What would a city designed by women be like?
We’re delighted to see the BBC focusing on women working to make the cities more inclusive. This work is undoubtedly pioneering, but is also part of a long, distinguished history of female practitioners who have worked outside or across the boundaries of conventional professional practice to make the city more welcoming, equitable and safe. In its ongoing work to make the city a better place to live and work for everyone – regardless of ethnicity, orientation, age, physical ability or gender – Publica has been particularly inspired by Octavia Hill (1838–1912) co-founder of the National Trust and perhaps best known for her efforts to preserve open land for public use; Irene Barclay (1894–1989), who highlighted the crucial role of social networks in alleviating the plight of urban slum dwellers, Elizabeth Denby (1894–1965) whose book Europe Rehoused, a survey of social housing across Europe, was one of the most influential housing texts of the 1930s and the inspiration behind Vital Neighbourhoods, a survey of international housing renewal projects published by Publica this year and Jane Jacobs (1916–2006) who organized grassroots campaigns against slum clearance and show book The Death and Life of Great American Cities highlighted the way city-dwellers were negatively impacted by misguided attempts at urban renewal.
Posted: 6 November 2019
BBC: What would a city designed by women be like?
We’re delighted to see the BBC focusing on women working to make the cities more inclusive. This work is undoubtedly pioneering, but is also part of a long, distinguished history of female practitioners who have worked outside or across the boundaries of conventional professional practice to make the city more welcoming, equitable and safe. In its ongoing work to make the city a better place to live and work for everyone – regardless of ethnicity, orientation, age, physical ability or gender – Publica has been particularly inspired by Octavia Hill (1838–1912) co-founder of the National Trust and perhaps best known for her efforts to preserve open land for public use; Irene Barclay (1894–1989), who highlighted the crucial role of social networks in alleviating the plight of urban slum dwellers, Elizabeth Denby (1894–1965) whose book Europe Rehoused, a survey of social housing across Europe, was one of the most influential housing texts of the 1930s and the inspiration behind Vital Neighbourhoods, a survey of international housing renewal projects published by Publica this year and Jane Jacobs (1916–2006) who organized grassroots campaigns against slum clearance and show book The Death and Life of Great American Cities highlighted the way city-dwellers were negatively impacted by misguided attempts at urban renewal.
Posted: 6 November 2019