Feminist City: Claiming Space in a Man-Made World

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Kern] introduces readers to a number of different ways the city is at once emancipatory and endangering.

Residential isolation not only affects women’s independence but also contributes to the decay of the public realm, as the famed urban critic Jane Jacobs argued back in the 1960s. While it is true that the opportunities offered by cities have favored the progressive participation of women in the job market, the struggle to conciliate their double days of paid and unpaid work is still real. From the analysis of queer women’s spaces to racialised social movements, it adds scholarly value to the literature not only on urban feminist geography, but also urban planning and policy as well as the social sciences more broadly.On the other hand, more examples are needed, both from the Global North and South, to point out new possibilities for overcoming these inequalities. Kern clearly loves cities, and believes in their potential: "The city is the place where women had choices open up for them that were unheard of in small towns and rural communities. But this is the first book I read that discusses this topic from this perspective and I am interested to learn more. Some of this content overlapped with Caroline Criado-Perez' incredible Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men, which I would recommend for a more thorough, all-encompassing perspective. I thought it was great that Leslie Kern within the first few pages outlined her position as white, cis-gendered and able-bodied women and how that experience has guided lots of her interactions in city spaces.

One of the best things about Feminist City is that Leslie Kern always, always brings an intersectional approach to each issue. By also reflecting on her own experiences in Toronto, Kern adds aspects of motherhood into the discussion of gentrification.Ia pun mengkritisi bahwa kehadiran ahli tata kota, arsitek, dan ahli geografi di luar gender laki-laki, berkulit putih, dan cis masih sangat sedikit. Taking on fear, motherhood, friendship, activism, and the joys and perils of being alone, Kern maps the city from new vantage points, laying out a feminist intersectional approach to urban histories and proposes that the city is perhaps also our best hope for shaping a new urban future. Rather, most of this book is about women's experiences in the here and now, what life is like now, nd how women use those spaces.