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Public services delivered by cities have a huge impact on the quality of their residents daily lives. The range of services varies across Europe, but generally includes planning and regeneration, economic development and business regulation, housing, public transport, education, health, family and children s services, social and elder care, culture, leisure, parks, sports, libraries, as well as infrastructure such as water, waste, energy and recycling. Many local authorities have specific services for victims or survivors of gender-based violence, and most cities have close partnerships with other public services such as health and police. A comprehensive understanding of how gender limits or improves residents experiences of public services, based on robust data, is therefore an integral part of building a gender equal city. Key examples here include housing, healthcare and support for victims of gender based violence. Planning and public space are examined in chapter 6.
5A. HOUSING
42 Women s Budget Group (2017), Housing and Gender , available at: https://wbg.org.uk/wp-content/ uploads/2017/11/housing-pre-budget-nov-2017-final.pdf
43 Urban Agenda for the EU, Housing Partnership, see at: https://ec.europa.eu/futurium/en/node/1710
The scope of local government responsibilities for housing varies across the EU, and this is a policy area in which cities are operating within regional and national frameworks, which may limit the ability to control or influence at local level. Cities may be responsible for: Building new houses and neighbourhoods
and securing investment to do so. Maintaining and refurbishing housing stock
and neighbourhoods. Allocating social housing. Combatting homelessness. Improving energy efficiency. Regulating the housing market. Housing is a major factor in urban poverty affecting women. Women with low incomes are disproportionately present as heads of households, either in single-parent families or, due to their higher life expectancy rates, as individuals living alone at pensionable age. For example, in England, a 2017 survey found that 63% of those claiming housing benefit are women and only 39% of private tenancies were taken out by women42. This suggests that women, particularly poor women and lone parents, are more reliant on social housing than men, often due to being the primary carer for children.
Marginalised women are also likely to be impacted by lack of secure or good quality housing and familial breakdown resulting in temporary or precarious accommodation. The Urban Agenda for the EU Partnership on Housing has found that women, and especially low-income and vulnerable groups of women, are more likely to experience or fall into energy poverty due to inaffordability43. The URBACT and the Urban Innovative Actions (UIA) initiative Cities engaging in the right to housing looked at the no-one left behind issue addressing accessibility for vulnerable groups, and the URBACT ROOF Action Planning Network led by Ghent (Belgium), centred on the successful Housing First model and explored gendered perspectives.
Many European cities face housing challenges around supply and affordability due to a number of factors, including changing property markets, lack of public investment and displacement from growing tourist economies. The gendered impacts need to be better understood and addressed with disaggregated data and analysis. When families are priced out of the city, rent is under-regulated and private tourist accommodation takes over, women, who traditionally have fewer assets and income, tend to be disproportionately affected.
