Grounds for future gendered urban agendas: Policy patterns and practice implications

This essay takes the international debates of the UN and the EU regarding a New Urban Agenda as its starting point for reconceptualising a gendered urban agenda for the 21st Century. While recalling the controversial debate on the implementation of a ‘gender mainstreaming strategy’, the paper reflects on the need to re-conceptualise gender as a constitutive vs. nominal essence to advance the debate. Theoretical criteria are suggested that mirror the complexity of gendered practices and create the conditions for their flourishing. These are further explicated for their policy relevance. The domains addressed include (inter)urban connectivity and the question of women’s food-growing/agriculture in a city-region context. Gender-sensitive policies, inspired by an analysis of an urban life experiment in Mondeggi, Italy are suggested.