The idea of gendered or feminist geography and cityscapes is really interesting, the author is scholarly in their approach to the topic which makes this book excellent to read as you can clearly see their expertise in the subject.

Feminist City: A Field Guide is a look at urban planning through an intersectional feminist lens, written by feminist and urban geographer Leslie Kern. With no background in this topic, I was a bit worried that this would be inaccessible. But, through chapters titled City of Men, City of Moms, City of Friends, City of One, City of Protest, City of Fear, and City of Possibility, I was able to get an introduction to many of the challenges, nuances, and imagined futures of cities. Kern talks primarily about the current state of cities, and how urban life continues to challenge equality, but she also begins the discussion of potential solutions.

Cities were designed for cis able-bodied middle-class white men, by cis able-bodied white men. Women, LGBTQ+ individuals, people of color, individuals with disabilities, and individuals of a lower socioeconomic status who want to access public spaces and city services must come up with their own work-arounds and carve out their own spaces, since they are not the “ideal imagined users” in their cities. Women are expected to navigate a public transit system that is often inaccessible for people with disabilities or people with strollers, and that is designed for a linear trip from work to home, not accounting for picking up children or stopping at the grocery store. We are made to feel culpable for any assault or violence endured when we venture outside of our designated spaces, especially if we dared to go out on our own.

Importantly, Kern also addresses the contradictions of an intersectional feminist city, and how there is not a one-size-fits-all way to create a feminist city. For example, the development of feminized spaces like coffee shops and highly monitored housing complexes might feel like the creation of safe refuges for some, but often serve as signs of gentrification and increased danger for others. Historically, this has targeted people of color, as well as homeless people and sex workers, especially when a carceral approach is taken. It also creates the expectation that we must each buy our safety and be held responsible for our own protection.

It took about a month for me to get through this book, primarily because I had some trouble getting invested. However, I really enjoyed the later chapters, especially the chapters on fear and possibility, where Kern’s conclusions really shine. There were so many fascinating ideas in this book, and I would recommend it if you want to take a different view on urban living.

Leslie Kern’s “Feminist City” was my first encounter with feminist geography. It is something one intuitively can conceptualize, but not necessarily successfully define and put into words. The problem afflicts not just the outsiders to the field such as myself, but seemingly Leslie Kern as well, despite her career in researching and teaching the subject.

“Feminist City” is a loosely structured look at different issues faced by women in cities, how they intersect with other peoples’ identities, how they are are spoken about and researched, how, if at all, they are being addressed etc. Some were pretty obvious e.g. there is generally a lack of accommodation for strollers, which make lives for mothers harder, and is intertwined with lack of accommodations for the elderly or people with disabilities. Other things she points at were more of a discovery for me. For example, the feeling of comfort and safety for women is often seen as a marker of success by urban designers and planners, however, the woman in question is often a white middle class able-bodied woman, who is also inevitably a marker of gentrification and displacement of other groups, including other women. I am myself guilty of thinking this way, and even though her point may seem painfully clear, I have never considered it. Fascinating and educational.

Kern relies on solid research and writing by other authors, acknowledges what she highlights as women's urban problems are not simply feminist or simply urban issues and cannot necessarily be addressed by city design and policy solutions. She also describes her personal experiences throughout the book, almost using her life story to structure it. I neither like such approach in nonfiction in general, nor do I think it is warranted in the book. Feminist writing already suffers from being accused of (and actually being) too reliant on case studies and individual experiences. While they are significant, Kern’s point is very well made without any reference to them and perhaps would be even stronger without their inclusion.
Another letdown was lack of concrete solutions offered. Kern states that tactics to address existing issues are not limited to urban interventions and must be a product of collective, inclusive decision making, that a “feminist city” is not a singular vision, but an ongoing process. I buy that, but in a book about cities and a particular issue, examination of some specific urbanist solutions would be welcome. The closet she gets is mentioning some “defensible space” style interventions, which is great, but hardly enough to form a more general idea of the discipline's direction.

I felt a little betrayed knowing Leslie Kern has not lived in a city (she teaches in a college in a tiny town in a sparsely populated area) for a decade herself, yet fascinated with how her experiences as a city dweller at an earlier time were only very vaguely relatable to me. The sense of security and ownership I feel even in the most squalid of city neighborhoods leaves little place for outsider fascination or level of worry she brings up (though the familiar feelings of ownership and security are prominent too). Perhaps it is because I’ve never been a suburban transplant or because the instinctive safety precautions of varying travel patterns and having one’s keys at the ready are too internalized for me, but I hope it is because things have much improved since Leslie Kern was a teenager and lived a city life.

Anyway, this was a great short introduction to feminist geography, a well-done book in general and an educational pleasant read. Would recommend to people interested in cities, intersectional feminism or both.

Thanks to NetGalley for a digital ARC of the book.

This started off strong, but at about 40% through, I found myself losing interest.
I think Kern makes really valid points and I think urban planning with inclusion in mind is important, but I'm not sure an entire book about it is necessary for those who don't work in the urban planning spaces.
I'd also suggest maybe adding a bit more about the WHY. Like why should we care that spaces cater to women, mothers etc. As a woman, I can understand, but non-women might not.
For example, I'm not a mother, so I found it hard to sympathise with why it was necessary for mothers to be able to access non-essentials starbucks or shops etc in the chapter about cities and motherhood. I live in a busy, overpopulated city, so to me, someone dragging a stroller onto the tube in rush hour is just annoying. My brain automatically goes to "Why didn't they use a strap on carrier" instead of "the tube should have more space for strollers".

I'd like to be able to sympathise though, but this chapter didn't do enough to get me to buy into it and I think that's a recurring theme throughout. Kern makes valid points, but she's preaching to the choir rather than trying to convert the others. This book would be a lot more powerful if spoke to a wider audience, rather than an echo chamber. A wonderful example of an author who's done this is Reni Eddo-Lodge. I am not a black woman, yet after reading her work, I have a far better insight into the things PoC face and things I should be more aware of, avoid doing, and how in small ways I can help when I see injustices.

In an ideal world, we'd all care about the needs of each other, but we don't live in an ideal world, and most of us are blind to things others face. I would strongly suggest getting more feedback from non-women and seeing how this book resonates (or not) with them.