Creating care-full urban spaces: two perspectives of planning for caring cities

There is a growing interest in how cities can be reshaped through care-focused policies and practices and how urban success might be redefined by how well we care for people, places, and the planet. Welcome to a seminar about how to plan for creating care-full urban spaces.

Time and place:

February 19th, 08.15–09.15 at Översten (Umeå city hall)

Coffe, tea and a sandwich will be available from 8.15 for those of you who register for the seminar. Last day for registration is February 16.

About the seminar:

Umeå municipality and the city of Bogotá are part of an ICLD-partnership where they explore care in urban planning. In February a delegation from Bogotá comes to visit Umeå and would like to invite you to listen to their work with care in urban planning and to get a research perspective from Ebba Högström, Professor at the school of Architecture in Umeå, Umeå University.

Presenters

Social infrastructure as an infrastructure of care

Looking at infrastructure through a “care” lens helps us think about who cares for whom, where that care happens, and what it looks like in everyday life. It also pushes us to reflect on how fair and inclusive our living environments really are. Social infrastructure — the everyday places where people meet, connect, and feel a sense of belonging — can be understood as an important part of this wider infrastructure of care.

This presentation is about why it matters to look after the network of everyday gathering places in our communities. When these spaces are supported and maintained, they’re better able to support the people who use them and contribute to the wellbeing of their neighbourhoods.

Presenter: Ebba Högström is a Professor of Architecture at the School of Architecture, Umeå University. She is currently involved in research on age‑friendly cities and communities, social infrastructure, and the geographies of welfare institutions, addressing themes such as spatial justice, care, spatial agency, and cross-sectoral collaboration.

Rethinking urban care for care givers: the case of Bogotá

The city of Bogotá, Colombia is tackling the gendered burden of unpaid care work through an innovative approach called Care Blocks, placing caregivers at the center of the policy and service delivery design. Bogotá's Urban Master Plan has adopted a gender perspective with the inclusion of women-oriented care blocks at the core of its territorial planning to create an equitable and safe city for women and people of all diversities.

Presenters: Laura Tami Leal (Women Affairs Secretary) and Ana María Buriticá Alzate (Head of knowledge management at the Women Affairs secretariat) from Bogotá, Colombia.