Gender Inclusive Urban Mobility is essential for both effective city planning and business innovation. Women experience urban spaces differently because of caregiving demands, safety concerns, and mobility barriers. Failing to address these needs limits economic potential and social impact. For planners and entrepreneurs alike, inclusive design unlocks smarter solutions, broader markets, and more equitable cities.
Why women’s urban experience matters for smart city entrepreneurs
Women make up over half of the urban population. Yet planners and tech developers often ignore their daily needs and routines. Cities rarely reflect how women live, work, or care for others. There are many unmet needs and specific challenges for women and girls in urban spaces.
For example, in Bogotá, 60% of walks over 15 minutes are made by women, mostly performing domestic tasks – unlike men’s more work-focused trips. This difference affects how, where, and for how long women move through the city. Over 80% of surveyed women in Cairo face harassment while walking, waiting, or boarding public transportation. By excluding women’s perspectives, cities lose valuable insights and markets. Smart city solutions that ignore gender-specific needs risk failing both socially and commercially.
Gender inclusive urban mobility acknowledges that caregiving, safety concerns, and inadequate infrastructure all influence how women navigate cities – or avoid moving altogether. Inclusive planning must address these realities. Entrepreneurs play a key role in developing tools that reflect women’s real, everyday mobility patterns.
What makes urban space feel unsafe? Women’s perspective
Urban safety goes beyond crime prevention – it’s about designing spaces that promote dignity, predictability, and peace of mind for everyone. For women, feeling safe is closely linked to how public spaces are experienced, especially when alone or in transit. Fear often stems not from isolated incidents, but from a persistent sense of vulnerability shaped by urban design. Gender inclusive urban mobility requires addressing these structural issues to ensure all citizens can move freely and confidently.
Women often report feeling unsafe due to:
- Poor lighting on streets, paths, and transit stops, which reduces visibility and increases fear of unseen threats.
- Obstructed sightlines and blind corners, where lack of transparency and passive surveillance (e.g., shop windows or foot traffic) reinforces isolation.
- Insecure waiting areas at bus stops and train platforms, especially where there is no staff presence, CCTV, or rapid access to help.
- Overcrowded or understaffed public transport, where harassment—verbal, physical, or non-verbal—often goes unchecked.
- Lack of accessible emergency support, such as help buttons, responsive reporting systems, or well-trained personnel.
These factors contribute to a sense of unpredictability that shapes women’s mobility choices – what routes they take, when they travel, or whether they travel at all. For example, the Scottish Government’s 2023 report report on women and girls’ safety in public transport highlighted that many women avoid evening trips or change their behavior (e.g., walking with keys in hand, making phone calls) to feel more secure. Others skip trips altogether due to fear, limiting their access to education, employment, or healthcare.
By listening to women and understanding their daily vulnerabilities, cities can shift toward inclusive design principles that prioritize lived experiences over assumptions.
The mobility gap: how women move differently
Traditional urban mobility models often cater to linear, home-to-work commutes, predominantly reflecting male travel patterns. However, women’s mobility tends to follow more complex and layered routes:
- Multifaceted trips involving caregiving tasks: Women’s journeys often combine multiple destinations in a single outing—such as school drop-offs, grocery shopping, and medical visits. This reflects their disproportionate responsibility for unpaid care work and increases both travel time and physical burden.
- Preference for walking and public transportation: Women are more likely to walk or rely on buses and trains due to limited access to private vehicles and budget constraints. This makes the quality, frequency, and safety of public infrastructure critical for gender inclusive urban mobility.
- Travel during off-peak hours: Many women travel outside rush hours due to part-time jobs or caregiving responsibilities. However, services tend to be reduced during these times, making their journeys longer and less predictable.
- Heightened concern for personal safety: Fear of harassment or violence shapes how, when, and where women move. This includes avoiding certain routes, dressing cautiously, or changing travel times—further limiting access to opportunities and reinforcing inequalities.
In Mexico City, the Cablebus system improved travel for women in hillside neighborhoods, making it safer and faster to fulfill caregiving responsibilities. In Cairo, a gender-sensitive redesign of the Bus Rapid Transit system, informed by women’s travel data, enhanced safety and accessibility for female commuters.
To close the mobility gap, urban planners must design systems that reflect women’s lived realities—not just as passengers, but as central actors in urban life.
Smart tech for gender inclusive urban mobility: what actually helps?
Integrating technology into urban planning offers promising tools to enhance women’s safety and mobility. Smart solutions that prioritize care – not just convenience – can help close the gender gap in mobility and access. These include:
- Smart street lighting: In Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, improved lighting in markets and public areas has increased safety for women vendors and customers.
- Safety navigation apps: Mexico City’s Vive Segura app enables users to report harassment and conduct safety audits of public spaces. Safetipin, a social enterprise in South Asia, allows users to evaluate urban safety and provides data to city authorities.
- Childcare-integrated transport hubs: A World Bank-supported initiative in Egypt reintroduced childcare centers at transport hubs, improving women’s access to employment and gender inclusive urban mobility.
- Women-focused ride-sharing: Just Her Rideshare connects female riders and drivers, creating a safer, more comfortable transport experience.
These examples show that technology, when designed with women’s experiences in mind, can transform urban life. By embedding gender-sensitive design into mobility innovations, cities become not only smarter but more equitable and responsive.
Read more about sustainable transport solutions here.
By embracing gender inclusive urban mobility, cities can unlock new social and economic opportunities while fostering more just and resilient environments. Entrepreneurs, urban planners, and policymakers must recognize the specific challenges women face and co-create solutions that empower them to move freely, safely, and confidently. The path to truly inclusive cities lies in continuous innovation, active listening, and a commitment to designing for the lived realities of all urban residents.
