Women and men have different transport needs. This has become increasingly true in Johannesburg, South Africa, in recent years. But the city’s planners are failing to address transport issues that are particular to women. This risks reinforcing gender and race inequalities.

Research from University College London, in the UK, examines the gendered impacts of economic globalisation on Johannesburg and the implications for transport priorities. It examines the city’s current transport strategy and asks how well it responds to the new realities women and men face.

Economic globalisation has resulted in more women in Johannesburg participating in the workforce, but they tend to be in relatively low-paid jobs. The gender division of labour within households remains unchanged, so women have to balance multiple roles and responsibilities. This influences their transport needs as they commute, shop, accompany children on journeys and so on.

At the same time, the segregation of different groups into different neighbourhoods (or suburbs) of the city, which began during the apartheid era, is intensifying. Wealthy white residents tend to live in the northern suburbs, while poorer black residents live in the inner-city and neighbourhoods to the south.

The transport system reinforces this segregation: richer residents travel by car on the city’s freeways, while people living in the poorest areas walk, cycle and use a mix of cars, buses, trains and taxis. Women in poor areas are most disadvantaged as they have less access to cars than men.

The research examines the 2003-2008 Johannesburg Integrated Transport Plan. It shows that the Plan fails to acknowledge that women use the transport system in different ways from men, and so have different needs. Planning is presented as a technical, value-free and gender-neutral process, but in Johannesburg it is actually reinforcing gender inequalities.

Key findings of the Johannesburg case study include:

• Women have very different transport needs from men but these are not being met.
• Urban planners tend to prioritise men’s needs and business interests, rather than those of vulnerable groups.
• Some of the current proposals, such as a new public transport fare structure, would disadvantage women.
• The lack of gender-sensitive data (for example on travel behaviour) is partly to blame.
• In South Africa, gender biases intersect with class and race biases.

South Africa has already undertaken far-reaching institutional reforms designed to overcome the injustices of the apartheid era. However, urban and transport planning still excludes over half the population. Major changes to the way planning frameworks are conceived, and the way information is collected and used are required.

The researcher concludes that:

• Planning can be a powerful way to transform gender inequalities but in Johannesburg failure to acknowledge the effects of unequal gender relations on transport needs is reinforcing gender inequalities.
• Gender should be incorporated into urban and transport planning so that women’s needs and interests can be properly addressed.
• The collection and analysis of data used in the planning process also needs to be gender-sensitive.

Source(s):
‘Excluded Women’s Transport Needs: The Case of Johannesburg, South Africa’, DPU Working Paper 129, University College London, by Insook Kang, 2006 (PDF) Full document.

id21 Research Highlight: 27 April 2008

Further Information:
Insook Kang
Development Planning Unit
University College London
34 Tavistock Square
London WC1H 9EZ
UK

Tel: +44 20 76791111
Fax: +44 20 76791112
Contact the contributor: radioheadkang@hotmail.com

Development Planning Unit, University College London, UK

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