Women’s Wise Walkshops: A Participatory Feminist Approach to Urban Co-Design in Ferrara, Italy

Letizia Carrera ()
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Letizia Carrera: Dipartimento di Ricerca e Innovazione Umanistica (DIRIUM), University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70121 Bari, Italy

Social Sciences, 2025, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-26

Abstract: This paper presents the Women’s Wise Walkshops (WWW) project, a participatory feminist methodology for urban co-design implemented in Ferrara, Italy. The research explores how women’s situated knowledge and lived experiences can inform inclusive urban planning through collaborative urban traversals and participatory design processes. Drawing on feminist epistemologies and combining elements of flâneuserie and Situationist dérive, the WWW methodology employs a seven-phase approach including semi-structured interviews, focus groups, urban walkshops, and collective mapping exercises. The study involved approximately 110 women across two distinct neighborhoods—Arianuova-Giardino and Krasnodar—representing diverse socio-demographic backgrounds. Through a thematic analysis of interviews, visual documentation, and post-walkshop discussions, six key thematic clusters emerged: safety, public space, mobility systems, community spaces and associations, public services for citizens, and participatory processes. The findings reveal that women’s perspectives from marginalized positions provide critical insights into urban inequalities and offer transformative visions for more inclusive cities. The research shows that structured participatory processes not only generate valuable urban policy recommendations but also foster community cohesion, democratic engagement, and spatial justice. The WWW methodology represents a significant contribution to feminist urban studies and participatory planning, offering a replicable framework for integrating women’s voices into urban governance and design processes.

Keywords: feminist urban studies; participatory planning; gender walkshops; urban co-design; spatial justice (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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