ABSTRACT

This chapter explores the way cities of the global north and south are planned and managed, alongside the dynamic gender systems by which societies are segregated and organised. By asking who plans, how, what and for whom, this chapter builds upon earlier observation of androcentrism discussed in Chapter 5. Here we lift our gaze from the everyday infrastructures of homes, jobs, transport and emotion-work to consider the role and influence of multi-layered governing institutions. Our discussions are structured in two parts to reflect two principal routes by which traditional gender norms may be challenged: the first by working to change the apparatus of the state and associated governance (from within); the second by grassroots resistance – against the state.