This article highlights the creation of a toolbox, titled Her City, from a group of young women in the Botkyrka municipality of Sweden that want to redesign their city into one where they all feel safer. The women joined forces with local municipalities in order to reconceive how the Fittja neighborhood can be transformed for the better. To do so, research labs with the young women and girls, stakeholders, and local authorities were created to collect data on what it is like to design a city from a girl or woman’s perspective. Data collection included interviews, safety audits, explanatory walks, and observations. Using the data, the group developed action plans to redesign the neighborhood through the use of Minecraft. These Minecraft plans were then sent to the Mayor of Botkyrka and the planning commission. One of the participants, Moné Ukonu, describes how the project began with the group walking around Fittja and highlighting all of the things that made them feel unsafe. Through Minecraft, the women were able to test out their ideas for a new city and see what they could do with the space. The current pilot in Fittja is being facilitated by UN-Habitat and the independent Swedish think tank, Global Utmaning, and has garnered widespread media attention. UN-Habitat has teamed up with other organizations to provide mainstream access to the toolbox, with the ultimate goal being to have any city that wants to build a city for the inclusion of all its citizens be able to do so through the use of the toolbox as a guide.
Photo Credit: Tove Levonen
