TU DARMSTADT II FB13 - GENDER IN BUILT ENVIRONMENT II PROF. DR. DONNA J. DRUCKER 2137382 II IMRAN KARDAS II SS 2015 Summary „What would a Non-Sexist City be like? -Speculations on Housing, Urban Design, and Human Work” by Dolores Hayden The article „What would a non-sexist city be like? Speculations on housing, urban design, and human work” was written by Dolores Hayden, an American professor for Architecture, Urbanism and American Studies at Yale University. Hayden asserts that the built environment suppresses women economically, socially, and physically because of the implicit understanding of architects and urban planners that women belong to the home. In that, her main point of criticism is the architectural type of the isolated suburban single-family house. She suggests, instead, a community-oriented living with shared household amenities that supports employed women and their families. The first critique focuses on how isolated, suburban living affected the life of women. Hayden traces this back to the diversion of workplace and residential place. This type of settlement was formed in the late nineteenth century, when demonstrations occurred among the industrial workers. The industrial firms started campaigns to avoid conflicts by improving the social and economic status of their male workers. They became homeowners of single-family houses isolated in the suburbs with family wages. In this scenario the husband is going to his paid work and the wife is working at home and caring for the children. More importantly, this type of living arrangement in the suburbs and also the household with the paid breadwinner and the unpaid homemaker became the national goal. In addition, the physical separation of workplaces from the home increased the demand for private transportation and fuel. Hayden writes about driving nine miles to work every day, which improved the economy. Another point of Hayden is that isolated houses need every appliance like a lawnmower etc. which increases the bills in every family. Hayden writes about how homebound women became the target of commercials for home appliances and how they were manipulated with the pressure of consumption. Moreover, most of the appliances were for only a single purpose such as kitchen gadgets. In the same way, Hayden critics the zoning of rooms. For example, a kitchen necessitates SUMMARY 01 - GENDER IN BUILT ENVIRONMENT 1
TU DARMSTADT II FB13 - GENDER IN BUILT ENVIRONMENT II PROF. DR.
DONNA J. DRUCKER 2137382 II IMRAN KARDAS II SS 2015
SummaryWhat would a Non-Sexist City be like? -Speculations on
Housing, Urban Design, and Human Work by Dolores Hayden
The article What would a non-sexist city be like? Speculations
on housing, urban design, and human work was written by Dolores
Hayden, an American professor for Architecture, Urbanism and
American Studies at Yale University. Hayden asserts that the built
environment suppresses women economically, socially, and physically
because of the implicit understanding of architects and urban
planners that women belong to the home. In that, her main point of
criticism is the architectural type of the isolated suburban
single-family house. She suggests, instead, a community-oriented
living with shared household amenities that supports employed women
and their families.
The first critique focuses on how isolated, suburban living
affected the life of women. Hayden traces this back to the
diversion of workplace and residential place. This type of
settlement was formed in the late nineteenth century, when
demonstrations occurred among the industrial workers. The
industrial firms started campaigns to avoid conflicts by improving
the social and economic status of their male workers. They became
homeowners of single-family houses isolated in the suburbs with
family wages. In this scenario the husband is going to his paid
work and the wife is working at home and caring for the children.
More importantly, this type of living arrangement in the suburbs
and also the household with the paid breadwinner and the unpaid
homemaker became the national goal. In addition, the physical
separation of workplaces from the home increased the demand for
private transportation and fuel. Hayden writes about driving nine
miles to work every day, which improved the economy.Another point
of Hayden is that isolated houses need every appliance like a
lawnmower etc. which increases the bills in every family. Hayden
writes about how homebound women became the target of commercials
for home appliances and how they were manipulated with the pressure
of consumption. Moreover, most of the appliances were for only a
single purpose such as kitchen gadgets. In the same way, Hayden
critics the zoning of rooms. For example, a kitchen
necessitates
SUMMARY 01 - GENDER IN BUILT ENVIRONMENT !1
TU DARMSTADT II FB13 - GENDER IN BUILT ENVIRONMENT II PROF. DR.
DONNA J. DRUCKER 2137382 II IMRAN KARDAS II SS 2015
someone who cooks. More appliances and the traditional
organization of rooms result in more housework for women and in
turn, women become more isolated from the family and other social
activities. Likewise, isolated women are more often victims of
domestic violence which remains unnoticed. However, gender equality
does not improve just with the employed women. The society expects
that women spend the same or more time with housework and child
care that they spent at their paid work. Hayden discusses in the
article how women have alternatives to this way of living. The main
problem remains the isolation of women from society that offers no
real alternative. Thus, women are looking for a living situation in
which they can combine living and raising children with work.
Hayden explores how various so-called opportunities could alleviate
womens living conditions.However, for instance, state-funded
support is still directed towards the ideal family with a
traditional role allocation of husband and wife. Issues such as
child care of employed women are seen as private problems that are
not the responsibility of the government. On the contrary, these
problems were exploited for profit with new business models,
specifically tailored to these problems like baby-sitting per hour,
fast-food delivery services, or loans for cars. As a result, women
are hindered in their economic and social development and fail to
reach their independence. Hayden proposes a division of labor both
in the private household as well as in the neighborhood scale. She
suggests that both, husband and wife, are both equally responsible
for unpaid housework and child care. As a result, both can pursue
their professional careers at the same time. Furthermore,
organizations which support the traditional role of women in the
household financially have to adapt their programs to recognize
both women and men as equal. Also, spatial segregation has to end
and unpaid domestic work has to be minimized. As an example, Hayden
illustrates a neighborhood with private housing and collective
spaces such as day-care, shared laundry, food-court, a grocery
market, and domestic aid for residents. All these collective spaces
employ paid residents who also have social security and health
benefits for their work in the neighborhood. To conclude, Hayden
believes that communal living could overcome gender inequality and
both women and men can take advantage from this. Examples in
Denmark and Germany have proven the success of this concept and
Hayden hopes that more cities will follow recognizing the
benefits.
