Gender Inclusive Urban Spaces: Issues and Questions

By Prof. Binitha V Thampi | IIT Madras

Learners enrolled: 374 | Exam registration: 35

ABOUT THE COURSE:

This MOOC examines the theme “Gender Inclusivity of Urban Spaces” and highlights the question of unbalanced and inequitable urbanisation in the Global South. It brings into focus the urban processes and policies in the two south Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, known for their long-standing collective political mobilisation and claim-making.
The lectures are organised broadly around three themes:

1) conceptual questions concerning gender inclusivity in cities,

2) relations between the urban infrastructure and exclusionary practices and

3) intersectionality and marginalisation in the urbanisation process.
The course delves into urban mechanisms that effectively marginalise sexual minorities, gender minorities and people with disabilities. It offers insights into the physical, mobile and planning infrastructure as well as into the prospects of sustainability. The lectures will also delve into and explore the intricacies of gender in urban governance mechanisms and urban labour markets. They are offered by a team comprising of academics, social and political activists, NGO representatives and policymakers

INTENDED AUDIENCE: Master’s students in Sociology, Development Studies, Urban Planning/Urban Studies, Civil & Architecture, Women/Gender Studies, as well as those who work in implementing urban governance and poverty alleviation programs including Urban Planners

Summary

Course Status :	Upcoming
Course Type :	Elective
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	4 weeks
Category :	Humanities and Social Sciences English Studies
Credit Points :	1
Level :	Postgraduate
Start Date :	17 Feb 2025
End Date :	14 Mar 2025
Enrollment Ends :	17 Feb 2025
Exam Registration Ends :	24 Feb 2025
Exam Date :	03 May 2025 IST

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.

Page Visits

Course layout

Week 1:
1. Introduction and overview of the course
2.Women and the urban transport systems
3. Cities and the marginalisation of sexual minorities

Week 2:
4. Women and inclusive urban housing
5. Women leaders in urban governance
6. Women and urban slums resettlement programs

Week 3:
7. Engendering urban sustainability and livelihood programs
8. Migrant Women Workers in the Urban Centers
9. Inclusive cities and disabled women and children

Week 4:
10. Women and the urban informal labour market
11. Women and the self-help group programs in the urban locales
12. Summary and Reflections

Books and references

Agarwala, R. (2007). Resistance and Compliance in the Age of Globalization: Indian Women and Labor Organizations. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 610, 143-159.
Alin Kadfak (2020) More than Just Fishing: The Formation of Livelihood Strategies in an Urban Fishing Community in Mangaluru, India, The Journal of Development Studies, 56:11, 2030-2044, DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2019.1650168
Banerjee, A., & Raju, S. (2009). Gendered Mobility: Women Migrants and Work in Urban India. Economic and Political Weekly, 44(28), 115-123. Retrieved July 7, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40279264
Bhagat, R.. (2017). Migration, Gender and Right to the City. Economic and political weekly. LII. 35-40.
Bhattacharjee, Mahua. (2010). Sustainable Livelihood in India: A Comparative Study between Rural and Urban Areas: A Case Study of Two Districts in Assam. Asia-Pacific journal of rural development. 20.10.1177/1018529120100105
Bisht, Tulsi Charan (2009). Development-Induced Displacement and Women: The Case of the Tehri Dam, India. The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology, 10(4), 301–317. doi:10.1080/14442210903271312
Chakraborty Anup Shekhar. (2020) Negotiating the Queer and the Politics of Sexualities in Urban Spaces: Sanitized Spaces, Vocality, Display and Visibility in Kolkata City. In: Joshi D., Brassard C. (eds) Urban Spaces and Gender in Asia. Sustainable Development Goals Series. Springer, Cham.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36494-6_7.
Chant, Sylvia. 2013. Cities through a ""gender lens"": a golden ""urban age"" for women in the global South?. Environment and Urbanization, 25(1), 9–29. doi:10.1177/0956247813477809
Chen, M. (2001). Women in the Informal Sector: A Global Picture, the Global Movement. SAIS Review (1989-2003), 21(1), 71-82.
Datta, Ayona & Ahmed, Nabeela. (2020). Intimate infrastructures: The rubrics of gendered safety and urban violence in Kerala, India. Geoforum. 110. 67-76. 10.1016/j.geoforum.2020.01.016.
Devika, J., and Binitha V. Thampi. “Between ‘Empowerment’ and ‘Liberation’: The Kudumbashree Initiative in Kerala.” Indian Journal of Gender Studies 14, no. 1 (January 2007): 33–60. https://doi.org/10.1177/097152150601400103.
Friedner, Michele, and Jamie Osborne. 2013. “Audit Bodies: Embodied Participation, Disability Universalism, and Accessibility in India.” Antipode 45 (1): 43–60. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467- 8330.2012.00990.x
Friedner, Michele, and Jamie Osborne. 2015. “New Disability Mobilities and Accessibilities in Urban India: New Disability Mobilities and Accessibilities in Urban India.” City & Society 27 (1): 9–29. https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ciso.1 2054
John, M. (2007). Women in Power? Gender, Caste and the Politics of Local Urban Governance. Economic and Political Weekly, 42(39), 3986-3993
Mcilwaine, Cathy. (2013). Urbanization andgender-based violence: Exploring the paradoxes in the global South. Environment and Urbanization. 25. 65-79. 10.1177/0956247813477359 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0956247813477359 .
O’Brien, Jennifer, and James Evans. 2017. “Informal Mobilities and Elusive Subjects : Researching Urban Transport in the Global South.” In Urban Mobilities in the Global South.
Priya Uteng, Tanu, and Jeff Turner. 2019. ""Addressing the Linkages between Gender and Transport in Low- and Middle Income Countries""Sustainability 11, no. 17: 4555. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11174555
Qudsiya Contractor (2008) Understanding the impact of involuntary slum resettlement on women's access to healthcare in Mumbai, India, Journal of Comparative Social Welfare, 24:2, 153- 163, DOI: 10.1080/17486830802231131
Ramanath, Ramya. 2016. “Defying NGO-Ization?: Lessons in Livelihood Resilience Observed Among Involuntarily Displaced Women in Mumbai, India.” World Development 84 (August): 1–17. doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2016.04.007.
Ramanathan, Ahalya & Paul, Sourabh. (2020). The effect of urban infrastructure development on female labour force participation among the poor and middle class in India. 314-316. 10.1145/3378393.3402234.
S. Sundari. (2005). Migration as a Livelihood Strategy: A Gender Perspective. Economic and Political Weekly, 40(22/23), 2295- 2303. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4416709 22.
Shah, Sonal, Kalpana Viswanath, Sonali Vyas, and Shreya Gadepalli. ""Women and transport in Indian cities."" New Delhi, India: ITDP India (2017): 10-1.
Sustainable urban development in India: An inclusive perspective, Development in Practice, 11:2-3, 242-259, DOI: 10.1080/09614520120056388
Thakare, Meenal M., Ravleen K. Bakshi, Purushottam A. Giri, M. K. Sharma, and N. K. Goel. 2018. “Prevalence and Correlates of Domestic Violence in a Resettlement Colony of Union Territory of Chandigarh, India.” International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health 5 (7): 3079–83. doi:10.18203/2394- 6040.ijcmph20182651.
Tucker, Andrew, and Neil R. Hassan. ""Situating sexuality: An interconnecting research agenda in the urban global south."" Geoforum 117 (2020): 287-290
Unni, J. (2016). Inclusive Urbanisation: Informal Employment and Gender. India International Centre Quarterly, 43(3/4), 55-64.
Vijay Panchang, Sarita. 2021. “Beyond Toilet Decisions: Tracing Sanitation Journeys among Women in Informal Housing in India.” Geoforum 124 (August): 10–19.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2021.05.011
Williams, Glyn & Devika, J. & Aandahl, Guro. (2015). Making space for women in urban governance? Leadership and claims making in a Kerala slum. Environment and Planning A. 47. 1113- 1131. 10.1177/0308518X15592312.

Instructor bio

Prof. Binitha V Thampi

IIT Madras

Binitha V Thampi is the coordinator of this MOOC. She is a Professor of Development Studies at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences of Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), Chennai. She has a background in Development Studies and researches in the broad area of Gender and Development. She has published several papers in international journals and authored (with J. Devika) a book titled New Lamps for Old: Gender Paradoxes of Political Decentralization in Kerala (New Delhi: Zubaan). The lectures in this course are offered by a team comprising of academics, social and political activists, NGO representatives and policymakers.

Course certificate

The course is free to enroll and learn from. But if you want a certificate, you have to register and write the proctored exam conducted by us in person at any of the designated exam centres.

The exam is optional for a fee of Rs 1000/- (Rupees one thousand only).

Date and Time of Exams: May 3, 2025 Morning session 9am to 12 noon; Afternoon Session 2pm to 5pm.

Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.

The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published. If there are any changes, it will be mentioned then.

Please check the form for more details on the cities where the exams will be held, the conditions you agree to when you fill the form etc.

CRITERIA TO GET A CERTIFICATE

Average assignment score = 25% of average of best 3 assignments out of the total 4 assignments given in the course.
Exam score = 75% of the proctored certification exam score out of 100

Final score = Average assignment score + Exam score

Please note that assignments encompass all types (including quizzes, programming tasks, and essay submissions) available in the specific week.

YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTIFICATE ONLY IF AVERAGE ASSIGNMENT SCORE >=10/25 AND EXAM SCORE >= 30/75. If one of the 2 criteria is not met, you will not get the certificate even if the Final score >= 40/100.

Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup.It will have the logos of NPTEL and IIT Madras .It will be e-verifiable at nptel.ac.in/noc.

Only the e-certificate will be made available. Hard copies will not be dispatched.

Once again, thanks for your interest in our online courses and certification. Happy learning.

- NPTEL team