Why women’s perspectives matter in urban mobility planning
- Thamires Pecis
- May 15
- 2 min read
Urban mobility is shaped by everyday details: the distance to a bus stop, the condition of the pavement, the lighting along the way, waiting times, and the cost of changing from one mode of transport to another.
For many women, daily mobility often involves several stops within a single trip: taking children to school, going to work, shopping, accessing healthcare services, or caring for family members. These journeys frequently combine different transport modes, and when these patterns are not considered, transport systems can become harder to use, less safe, and less accessible.
Daily trips are often more complex than commuting
Commuting between home and work is often not the most complex part of a daily routine. Yet transport planning still tends to focus mainly on peak-hour commuting patterns, which does not fully reflect how many people actually move through cities every day.
A route may technically exist and appear functional, but still be difficult to use if connections feel unsafe, waiting times are too long, pavements are in poor condition, or the trip becomes too expensive after several transfers.
This is where women’s perspectives become especially important. They help identify gaps that are often overlooked because they reflect more complex mobility patterns experienced in everyday life.
Poor lighting, isolated bus stops, unclear walking routes, or unreliable services can limit access to work, education, public services, and social life. These are challenges that also affect older people, children, people with disabilities, and anyone travelling alone.
How this connects to UEMI’s work
Because this is such an important issue within urban mobility, UEMI’s work on gender is closely connected to electric mobility, logistics, and public transport.
Through the We Drive Change initiative, UEMI is committed to empowering women through electric mobility. The initiative aims to demonstrate the benefits of electric vehicles, challenge gender stereotypes, and promote inclusion by supporting policies that create training and employment opportunities for women in the sector.
Within the E-Moviliza project, gender perspectives were integrated into training activities focused on electric mobility and sustainable urban logistics in Ecuador. This is particularly important in sectors such as transport and logistics, where women remain underrepresented, while electric mobility can open new technical and operational opportunities.
MobiliseHER works directly on gender-responsive mobility and improvements to public spaces, including safer access to transport, better lighting, visibility, accessibility, and overall conditions for safer mobility.
Representation changes what is noticed
In mobility planning, safety needs to be treated as part of the system itself, and more inclusive mobility also depends on who is involved in planning and implementation.
When women are present in technical training, logistics, public transport, research, and decision-making processes, different challenges are more likely to be identified. This helps cities plan with a more realistic understanding of how people move through urban spaces every day.
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