Editor’s note:

The warmth of urban governance is reflected in its attentive response to the needs of every citizen. As the protection of women’s rights becomes an increasingly prominent global issue, creating a more equitable and inclusive environment for women through public policies and innovative designs has become a key direction in modern urban governance.

From career support to safe environments, from public services to cultural empowerment, cities are adopting diverse measures to foster gender-friendly societies—ensuring that women are not only beneficiaries of urban development but also indispensable co-creators.

This issue of In Focus highlights the theme of International Women’s Day, featuring outstanding initiatives from Guangzhou Award. It explores how cities incorporate gender perspectives into public governance through policy innovation, spatial transformation, and community support to create a more inclusive development ecosystem for women. These initiatives not only enhance urban inclusivity and competitiveness but also harness the power of women to drive social innovation, offering valuable insights for the equitable and sustainable development of cities worldwide.

Bogotá, Colombia: Bogota Care Blocks

(2023 Guangzhou Award Winning Initiative)

It has long been recognized that women’s “time poverty” is a structural cause of gender inequality. The unpaid burden of care falls disproportionately on women, which translates into women lacking economic autonomy. Women who are primary caregivers often forgo higher education, face a higher risk of chronic mental and physical illnesses, and are more vulnerable to gender-based violence. 30% of Bogotá’s female population does unpaid caregiving full-time; 91% of this population is low-income; and 33% is deprived of free time for self-care. 

In 2020, the city of Bogotá, Colombia’s capital, launched its Care System to recognize, reduce and redistribute care. This initiative operates mainly through Care Blocks with an “ease-of-access” modality that provides educational, leisure and income-generation services to caregivers, while simultaneously offering professional assistance to those being taken care of – children, people with disabilities, and the elderly. 

The initiative also includes a cultural change strategy, a “Care School for Men”, so that men can learn to recognize care, and distribute care more equitably within the household. As a result of this initiative, which provides childcare and a laundry service, caregivers have gained a total of 4 hours daily to study, generate income, or rest.

Learn more: https://www.guangzhouaward.org/a/3313.html?lang=en

Pimpri Chinchwad, India: Navi Disha: community toilet model

(2023 Guangzhou Award Shortlisted Initiative)

The Indian city of Pimpri Chinchwad being a prominent industrial hub, hosts a significant number of migratory industrial labourers who have established residence in low-income settlement areas. The city has 160 Community Toilets that provide clean and hygienic sanitation facilities in these areas. Under the Navi Disha initiative, women from the targeted communities have formed groups that have taken responsibility for operating and maintaining the community toilets ensuring superior sanitation standards.

The project adopts a community consultation mechanism, where women actively participate and take on the operation and maintenance of community toilets in their area. In addition to management training, the city government provides monthly payments to women's groups for sanitary equipment and cleaning supplies, creating a source of income for these groups.

The initiative is a good example of gender mainstreaming in the sanitation value chain along with effective public-community partnerships and agile administration. Over 400 women are now engaged within the initiative managing 40 toilets with total of 862 toilet seats. Over 30,000+ beneficiaries are getting access to clean and safe toilets every day. With overwhelming interest from other women groups, municipality has planned to scale over 120 community toilets, engaging more than 1,200 women and tripling the number of beneficiaries by June 2024.

The municipality aspires to introduce the women groups to alternative revenue streams, involving them in decision making for future initiatives such as women-led sustainable Solid Waste Management and establishing robust feedback and monitoring mechanisms.

Learn more: https://www.guangzhouaward.org/a/3323.html?lang=en

Mezitli, Türkiye: Mezitli Women Producers Market

(2018 Guangzhou Award Winning Initiative)

In response to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the Municipality of Mestri in Turkey initiated the “Women Producers Market” project in 2014 to establish an economic empowerment platform for urban and rural women. This project, through innovative mechanisms such as rent-free stalls, women-exclusive businesses, and prioritizing support for organic agricultural products and handicrafts, breaks traditional market barriers. It has established 8 standardized markets and over 730 stalls, benefiting more than 700 practitioners. Rural farmers and urban entrepreneurs showcase their products on the same platform, creating a complementary industry chain of citrus fruits, olives, and handicrafts. The weekly market attracts an average of 2000 visitors, leading to a 37% increase in average household income.

The project adopts a community consultation mechanism, where women actively participate and take on the operation and maintenance of community toilets in their area. In addition to management training, the city government provides monthly payments to women's groups for sanitary equipment and cleaning supplies, creating a source of income for these groups.

Recommended by the United Nations Global Compact as a Middle Eastern exemplary case, this initiative aligns deeply with goals such as poverty eradication (SDG1), gender equality (SDG5), and sustainable cities (SDG11). By activating the inherent power of the “she economy”, it promotes small-scale green production and synergizes urban and rural resources. At the time of receiving the Guangzhou Award, the project had expanded to 8 regions across the city, with plans to cover 40 blocks, providing an innovative model for sustainable urban development in the Mediterranean region.

Learn more: https://www.guangzhouaward.org/a/915.html?lang=en

Santa Ana, Costa Rica: Santa Ana en Cleta

(2018 Guangzhou Award Shortlisted Initiative)

Facing the high incidence of traffic accidents and the dilemma of motor vehicle dependence, in 2016, the city of Santa Ana in Costa Rica launched the country's first municipal project focusing on women's cycling education - the "Vibrant Traffic and Women's Empowerment" project. Through free training, customized facilities, and multi-stakeholder collaboration, the project provided 28 bicycles, enabling 700 urban and rural women to overcome travel barriers. It also had a ripple effect, influencing over 2,000 citizens to change their mode of transportation, pioneering the deep integration of gender equality and sustainable transportation. 

The project accurately targeted the high-frequency travel needs of women in the "care economy," collaborating with 12 institutions including the Mayor's Office and the United Nations Development Programme to build a cooperative network. By collecting feedback from 300 citizens through an electronic questionnaire system, the project planned bicycle priority routes for schools, public service institutions, and collaborated with real estate companies to build intelligent parking systems. Data shows that participants' commuting efficiency increased by 40%, family decision-making participation grew by 73%, and the project achieved an annual reduction of 309 tons of carbon emissions, earning recognition from "The World Report" for the "Smart City" award.

As a model for localizing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the project simultaneously responds to seven global agendas including gender equality (SDG5) and sustainable cities (SDG11). Its core innovation lies in breaking through the triple dilemma: breaking traditional transportation barriers through 280 hours of vocational skills training; leveraging a public-private partnership model to leverage 10 times the social resources with an initial investment of $10,000; and reshaping the public space allocation mechanism to increase the proportion of non-motorized vehicle road rights to 35%. The project's experience has been shared with surrounding cities such as Belen and Mora, and it is collaborating with the German Cooperation GIZ to develop Latin America's first female cycling digital management platform.

Learn more: https://www.guangzhouaward.org/a/928.html?lang=en

Luleburgaz, Türkiye: Sex, Egalitarian Approach and Directives

(2018 Guangzhou Award Winning Initiative)

The project has overcome the triple governance dilemma by pioneering a “time management negotiation” mechanism to balance the family responsibilities of female officials. It has also drawn inspiration from union election systems to nurture a female political ecosystem, leading to a 51% growth in activities of women's civil organizations over three years. By establishing a “cultural empowerment” pathway through traditional dance teams, a cross-domain network of influence has been formed among female leaders in politics and business. Data shows that 57.2% of chairpersons in the four core committees such as planning and budgeting are women, and 58% of the driving force in the execution of strategic plans comes from female civil servants, resulting in a municipal budget execution rate exceeding 86%.

This practice deeply aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 (Gender Equality). Its innovative value lies in pioneering a “step-by-step empowerment” model: creating pathways for female advancement at grassroots levels, implementing mentoring programs for middle management, and embedding gender budget analysis tools in high-level decision-making. The “12 Star Cities” title, awarded by European Democracy Week, affirms its institutional effectiveness. From 2012 to 2016, out of 150,000 public service activities planned during the strategic period, 63% were led by women. Luleburgaz has become a benchmark city for women's participation in politics in Turkey. Its governance model of “gender mirroring in decision-making” is now being shared with over 20 cities worldwide through the International Women's Council platform.