Feminist Cities are also Deaf-Friendly Cities

As most Canadian cities have been designed and built by men, it is their experiences that have been used as a blueprint for how we plan our cities. This has left out the experiences of anyone rendered the ‘other’, which includes women, and especially, women with disabilities. 

Disabilities may be visible or hidden to others and can include vision impairment, deafness or being hard of hearing, intellectual disability, physical disability, acquired brain injury, chronic illness, and more. Many experiences of disabled people have been left out of city planning, including individuals who rely on visual cues and sightlines to have conversations, see potential threats, and socialize. These unique needs are aligned with the needs of many women, with feminist interventions related to sidewalks, lighting, and public seating providing benefits for both women and those experiencing deafness. 

Here are three ways that feminist cities are also deaf-friendly cities.  

Wide and Well-Maintained Sidewalks

Wide and well-maintained sidewalks are fundamental for women’s mobility as they are more likely to walk, push strollers, and develop a mobility limitation than men. Despite their importance for women, most sidewalks are too narrow, making it extremely difficult to accomplish the above. Although narrow and unmaintained sidewalks may be mobility barriers for women, it also constrains individuals who rely on wider spaces to move and communicate.

The space for two people to communicate through sign language and lip reading is wider than the space of two hearing people. Because in most cases, people who sign and read lips walk further apart to turn their bodies to have a conversation. It also requires more space to comfortably move their arms to sign. 

Similar to how curb cuts increase wheelchair accessibility, they also benefit cyclists and people pushing strollers. Wider sidewalks will create a similar ripple effect in helping all spatial users move and communicate with comfort, confidence, and ease.

Model of deaf-friendly sidewalks. Source: Bloomberg CityLab Design.

Narrow shoveled sidewalk in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.

Increased Street Lighting 

As mentioned above, people who sign and read lips typically rely on their sight to communicate. The ability to communicate can be compromised by the lack of street lighting at night. Although hearing people can still continue to carry a conversation down an underlit path, deaf people cannot or experience difficulty reading what the other person is saying. This can also pose an issue with regard to safety, as the ability to spot a potential threat becomes compromised.

People with disabilities are three times more likely to be victims of crimes, specifically victims of robbery and rape. Women with a disability were two times more likely to be a victim of violent crime compared to women without a disability, with similar trends seen amongst men with a disability. An increase in street lighting has been shown to reduce crime in areas with pre-existing high crime rates, which benefits everyone. 

As beneficial as lighting is to increase safety for deaf people and women, it is worth mentioning this does not mean installing the brightest of lights - but installing consistent lighting. Deafspace, an architecture and planning project in conjunction with Gallaudet University, the only university dedicated to deaf and hard-of-hearing students, redeveloped the campus using deaf-friendly guidelines. Ayisha Swann, who was part of the project says the contrast of bright lights and dark spaces tends to make space feel even darker. Though, “when you have balanced lighting…you create a safer feeling environment.” 

Multi-lit path in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.

Public Seating

The public seating we see today is typically a bench facing an urban landscape, which is visually appealing but restricts communication amongst people who depend on visual cues. Additionally, public seating is typically arranged in rows, which limits sightlines to view and communicate with everyone, which is better achieved in a seating arrangement known as “conversation circles”. 

Forming public seating that allows for conversation circles is key for social activity, for everyone! Author and Danish Architect, Jan Gehl, says “the most widespread social activity are passive contacts, that is, simply seeing and hearing other people.” (Life Between Buildings, 14).

This applies to mothers as well, as 60% of women with children under five years old reported experiencing loneliness, and 68% of first-time mothers feel isolated from family and friends. Having a public space with seating options that face each other, can help facilitate social connections amongst mothers and other groups of women, girls, and the elderly. As well, it’s proven face-to-face conversations create stronger connections, which benefits everyone! 

Bench facing a river in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Photographed by Nicole Roach.

Accessible seating does not need to stop at formation, it should also include armrests at either end of benches (not in the middle) and putting a backrest on benches, chairs, and stools for mothers breastfeeding and people to lean back and rest. Additionally, maintaining pathways to reach public seating is key to accessibility. Like curb cuts and pavement instead of gravel or sand. These well-thought and low-budget interventions can help make public seating accessible by wheelchair, stroller, cane, bike, and much more.

Snow-covered bench and path in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.

Accessibility Benefits Everyone

Extended sidewalks, street lighting, and well-thought public seating can benefit deaf people, including deaf women, and all other women in different ways. These interventions can help provide more comfortable and accessible environments for socializing, travelling, and enjoying public spaces for diverse groups of people. 

Designing cities in a way that prioritizes accessibility for those with disabilities is crucial to allowing everyone to fully access the city. It is simply the right thing to do and makes cities better for everyone. 

What other ways are feminist cities also accessible?