Cities, Slums and Gender in the Global South

Towards a feminised urban future

Sylvia Chant author Cathy McIlwaine author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd

Published:30th Nov '15

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Cities, Slums and Gender in the Global South cover

Developing regions are set to account for the vast majority of future urban growth, and women and girls will become the majority inhabitants of these locations in the Global South. This is one of the first books to detail the challenges facing poorer segments of the female population who commonly reside in ‘slums’. It explores the variegated disadvantages of urban poverty and slum-dwelling from a gender perspective.

This book revolves around conceptualisation of the ‘gender-urban-slum interface’ which explains key elements to understanding women’s experiences in slum environments. It has a specific focus on the ways in which gender inequalities are can be entrenched but also alleviated. Included is a review of the demographic factors which are increasingly making cities everywhere ‘feminised spaces’, such as increased rural-urban migration among women, demographic ageing, and rising proportions of female-headed households in urban areas. Discussions focus in particular on education, paid and unpaid work, access to land, property and urban services, violence, intra-urban mobility, and political participation and representation.

This book will be of use to researchers and professionals concerned with gender and development, urbanisation and rural-urban migration.

‘This is an important volume by two of the foremost experts in the field that offers a much-needed re-centering of gender within urban development debates. Focusing explicitly on the "gender-urban-slum" interface, it highlights the fundamentally gender-differentiated nature of contemporary urban life, and puts forwards new and more inclusive perspectives on cities in the Global South.’ — Dennis Rodgers, Professor of International Development Studies, University of Amsterdam

‘This is a wonderful, thought-provoking book, packed with up-to-date information and insights from the authors' significant research experience. Chant and McIlwaine not only elucidate the nature of urban gender inequalities, but provide compelling arguments as to how and why gender is key to urban theorising, planning and policy.’ — Professor Katie Willis, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK

‘In this volume, the authors challenge the invisibility of women’s lives through a rich and nuanced account of their actions and challenges. This will be of value to all those interested in learning more about gender and cities in the 21st century.’ — Diana Mitlin, Professor of Global Urbanism, University of Manchester, UK

'One advantage of the structure of this volume is that readers can directly dive into themes and chapters that interest them. A nuanced understanding of the theoretical framework of the book is not necessary to use it productively. It is in this sense that the book is not limited to academics and research scholars...given that this book primarily engages with policy discourses, it provides a positive contribution to the literature on gender in the global south.' — Rahul De, School of Liberal Arts, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, India

ISBN: 9781138192782

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 476g

300 pages