Gender Renovation : A case study analysis of the feminist urban development project #UrbanGirlsMovement discussing gender-transformative urban planning techniques as a means for more equal cities

This thesis is a case study analysis of the feminist urban development project #UrbanGirlsMovement discussing how gender-transformative urban planning techniques impact local girls in the Million Dwellings Program area Fittja south of Stockholm. The thesis draws on a theoretical framework of feminist geography, intersectionality, and territorial stigmatization to analyze narratives from eleven girls participating in #UrbanGirlsMovement. The girls’ narratives reveal that it has been an empowering experience to be part of an urban development process as it has enabled them to recognize their own abilities. By re-evaluating the role of the planner to take on a more facilitating role, the girls shouldered the role of experts. It legitimized the girls’ ideas and designs, enabling them both to recognize and to use their own agency. Additionally, the process of redesigning a familiar place enabled the girls to regenerate the meaning of the urban public space around Fittja to mirror their own subjective spatial identities. The thesis shows that intersectional planning tools that transform, rather than inform, power and spatial oppression are crucial when renewing the Million Dwellings Program of Swedish suburbs. #UrbanGirlsMovement shows that a planning process is more than physical designs, it is as much a tool for enhanced democracy, equality, and justice in cities