Five Women in Urbanism Transforming Cities at Urban Futures 22

A global gathering of city shapers took place this May in Helsingborg, Sweden, bringing together over 2,000 people for one cause - inspiring, sharing, and strategizing on the future of our cities. 

The Urban Futures Global Conference (UF 22) mobilized this large group and beyond through panels, speaking sessions, workshops, field trips, and even a Young Leaders Programme - which I had the pleasure to be a participant in.

Amongst many of the presenters and other participants I came across, I was moved by a handful of women from different corners of the world working for equitable, sustainable, and enjoyable cities. 

Here are just a few women who shared their stories with me:

Tatiana Bodnar - Co-Founder at Fluke Stockholm 

One of the very first Young Leaders I met in Helsingborg was Tatiana, a passionate placemaking project manager studying sustainable urban planning in Stockholm. We quickly connected by discussing our interests in urbanism and how we were both inspired to create communities to mobilize others.

Guided by her interest in play, Tatiana co-founded Fluke Stockholm, a noun describing an unlikely occurance, a piece of luck. Their name aligns well with the organizations initiatives - making playful and engaging places in unlikely spaces.

Creating unlikely play in public spaces doesn’t happen over night. The organization prioritizes co-design with citizens and organizations across the city, with children, parents, students, and everyone in between. 

To keep up with Fluke, you can visit their Instagram for creative and collaborative activities.

Tatiana at a Fluke placemaking event. Source: Fluke Stockholm.

Seble Samuel - Co- Founder at Menged Le Sew

Ethiopian Canadian geographer, Seble, first shared her story in co-founding Menged Le Sew, an open street movement, as a keynote speaker at the opening session of UF22. At the beginning of her presentation, she shared what really kickstarted the idea behind Menged Le Sew. It was how she saw the city her family lives in, Addis Ababa, as it was visibly dominated by people - but was designed for cars - inviting even more vehicles onto the streets.

Seble then met the Head of the Traffic Management Agency of Addis Ababa and a member of the Transport Programmes Management Office at Open Streets Exchange for African Cities, where the group of three decided to make open streets a reality back home in Addis Ababa. 

What Seble shared next was a tool many other speakers at UF22 emphasized - collaboration. She shared that her and her co-founder were members of the general public, but they sat and strategized open streets with city officials across the transportation, health, youth, and sports departments of Addis Ababa. 

It was energizing to hear how she and her co-founder were able to make Menged Le Sew a reality through sharing, listening, and working with decision makers and other groups of people to create open streets for the people of Addis Ababa. 

Learn about the creation of Menged Le Sew.

Seble Samuel speaking at the C40 World Mayor’s Summit. Source: Flickr.

Anastasia Sukhoroslova, Regina Schroter, and Nayla Saniour - All Things Urban

I first met the three women behind All Things Urban, the largest community-based career platform for urbanists worldwide, at a coffee shop before the first day of UF22. It was exciting to see the faces behind a platform I have been actively following and using for years.

At a panel on purposeful work that Regina was speaking at, she shared the initial motivation behind creating All Things Urban - developing a resource for individuals who are looking to work in urbanism but beyond the job title of “urban planner” and “architect”. The ladies hand-select opportunities that attract professionals with interdisciplinary skills to the field - from communications, project management, community engagement, and so much more. 

The platform has now turned into more than just a place to find work - it is now home for sharing micro-credential courses, programmes, and their very own blog Stories of Young Urbanists. 

As someone who is not a planner nor an architect myself, this is a platform that helps make the field more welcoming and inclusive for people like me and other women across sectors. 

To see what All Things Urban is doing, visit their website.

Regina Schroter speaking at the UF22 panel with Nayla and Anastasia sitting front row. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.

Maria Vassilakou - Former Vice Mayor of Vienna, Austria 

As part of the Young Leaders Programme at UF22 I had the opportunity to have a fireside chat with Former Vice Mayor of Vienna, Maria Vassilakou, talking about politics, being a woman in city administration, and her contribution to gender-mainstreaming in the Austrian city.

Amongst the many takeaways I had from our conversation, I was particularly interested in hearing how she was able to include gender in city administration and planning in a male dominated space. 

She pointed out that when first identified, the council understood the reasoning, but showed lack of concern to take it seriously. As a result, Maria and another woman arranged a group of 40 women from universities across the city in different positions. The goal was to use this group to inform students of the need for gender-mainstreaming and gender-budgeting at the municipal level. As a result, more women began to work for the city of Vienna, helping other women get hired for leading positions to push for change. 

Learn more about gender-mainstreaming and how it is accomplished in Vienna.

Maria with a group of Young Leaders at UF22. Source: Sharee Hochman.

Jennifer Keesmaat - Former Chief City Planner of Toronto

I had the opportunity to listen and speak with Jennifer more than once throughout UF22 and every time I did, her outlined steps for success became more intriguing and relevant.

Jennifer shared stories on working with her initial barriers - many being city councillors, businesses, and citizens resistant to change. Who, ended up being key partners in implementing transformation in the city. From what I gathered, here are the three key takeaways for how she overcame her barriers and turned them into partners:

First, building belief and understanding. This can look like pitching initiatives that give a glimpse into the possible future to help move cities towards something better than what is happening now. 

Second, finding your allies or “going to the love” as she put it. Your allies are also not always easily identifiable - so look in places you may least expect them.

Third, gain data that shows the need for change, or what happens when there is temporary change. Jennifer shared a story of proposing a bike lane in front of a popular street of shops rather than street car parking. Businesses were first against the idea, worried about losing customers, only to find out cyclists spent more money than drivers through an experiment Jennifer led. 

Giving clues, “finding the love”, and offering data are three tools that can be implemented in every project to help with resistance for planners to turn plans into reality.

Read more about Jennifer’s approach to city change.

Jennifer speaking at the opening session of UF22. Source: Sharee Hochman.

Transforming the Field 

I left UF22 with new energy, confidence, and tools with the help of these, and many more women, who took unconventional routes to make transformative change happen in their cities.

They taught me that without collaborating with communities, creating space for interdisciplinary roles and women, and building belief and understanding for change, city plans are just plans - and will not lead to transformative change for the future.

Read more about other speakers and sessions at UF22 and get inspired for next year’s conference in Stuggart, Germany!