Spatial Justice: Who Gets to Move, and Where?
The concept of spatial justice asks a simple question: is urban space distributed fairly? For women cyclists, the answer is almost always no.
The Right to the City
French philosopher Henri Lefebvre coined "the right to the city" in 1968 — the idea that all inhabitants should have equal access to urban space, not just those who can afford cars. Geographer David Harvey expanded this: "The right to the city is the right to change ourselves by changing the city."
For women, the right to the city means:
- Safe routes at all hours, not just during commute times
- Connected networks that serve care-work patterns (school-market-work-school-home)
- Infrastructure that doesn't discriminate by gender, class, caste, or age
- Data that counts women — most cycling data is not disaggregated by gender
The Invisible Commute
Women's travel patterns are systematically different from men's — and systematically ignored:
| Pattern | Men's Typical | Women's Typical |
|---|---|---|
| Trip shape | Linear (home → work → home) | Chained (home → school → market → work → school → home) |
| Peak time | Rush hour (8-9 AM, 5-6 PM) | Spread across day |
| Route | Arterial roads | Residential streets |
| Distance | Longer, single trips | Shorter, multiple trips |
| Mode choice | Car or motorbike | Walking, cycling, bus |
Cities build infrastructure for men's patterns — long arterial cycling lanes used during rush hour. Women's patterns need connected neighbourhood networks with safe crossings.
Key Thinkers & Books
Essential Reading
- "The Death and Life of Great American Cities" by Jane Jacobs (1961) — The foundation
- "Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men" by Caroline Criado Perez (2019) — The data gap in transport, health, and design
- "Bike Lanes Are White Lanes" by Melody Hoffmann (2016) — Race, class, and cycling infrastructure
- "Feminist City" by Leslie Kern (2020) — How cities fail women and what we can do about it
- "Doughnut Economics" by Kate Raworth (2017) — Rethinking economics for a just city
- "Transport for All" UK charity — Accessibility and inclusion research
Research Papers
- ITDP: Gender & Transport (PDF) — Global evidence review
- World Bank: Gender in Urban Transport — Policy framework
- UN Habitat: Planning for Gender Equality — Planning guidelines
The Indian Context
In Indian cities:
- Women make up 8% of counted cyclists — but this is an undercount because counting happens on arterial roads, not residential streets
- 84% of transport budgets go to roads and flyovers (car infrastructure)
- Zero Indian cities have gender-disaggregated cycling data
- First census: Janaagraha + She Cycles, Bengaluru, 2025
"We've been building cycling infrastructure where women aren't. Literally looking in the wrong places." — Dr. Swati Ramanathan, Janaagraha