Gender and the City S.F.\'s

Gender and the City

S.F.'s Castro district faces an identity crisis and What would a nonsexist city be like

Both of these articles look at problems in urban planning combined with how different areas attract and support certain genders. The Castro article is a look at a long-standing gay neighborhood in San Francisco that is attracting heterosexual residents because of its safety, security, and convenience. The other article shows how suburban neighborhoods have few of these same features. The article about how suburbs and American housing standards do not favor women really made me think about how we live today. The author feels that American housing standards promote consumerism and a way of life that does not support women, and after reading this article, it seems that she is right. Women "buy in" to the American dream of a family owning its own home, but they are the ones that have to do most of the work to support that dream, especially if they have children. The design plan for a housing area with a restaurant and children's area is really interesting, but it seems that kind of living arrangement would never work here in this country. People want their own place, and the Castro article brings that home.

The gay community wants to keep Castro "their own," but they won't try to stop straight couples from moving in. When they move in, they will change the face of the community, and that will probably cause the Castro district to change. It is one of the largest gay communities in the world, and that is history making, so it is easy to see why they don't want to lose that. However, that being said, why can't gays and straights live together in harmony? They do in many other areas that don't have different areas, and they should be willing to share their area with others. Castro is kind of like the German, Polish, Irish, Asian, and other areas of big cities that grew up as immigrants came to this country. Today, those areas are not so standard, and they have opened up to many other people, as well. The same is true for Castro, and the gays have to acknowledge that and accept it. Their area may change as the times change, but that is an accepted way of life in cities.

Gender planning in public transit

This article talks about planning travel according to gender, and how one transit authority accomplished that. This was another area that I really hadn't thought much about, especially women's access to transportation. I was surprised that women comprise 70% of the public transportation population. I can see why access to public transportation would become an issue for women, and that transportation companies should address these issues to help serve the population and even add to their ridership, which is an issue in the recession. Many transportation companies are actually cutting their routes and services, making it even harder for people to find or keep work.