Sergey Tokarev, the founder of tech company Roosh, believes there is a misconception in business that only men are stakeholders in large-scale activities such as designing, building, and creating cities. However, to achieve maximum comfort and equality for all, as well as add value to the business, it is necessary to consider the needs of women as well as men when rebuilding Ukrainian cities.
Cities for Men
Modern cities are built around the needs of men. Historically, social roles were clearly segregated, and male architects created the infrastructure to support the economy. However, the needs of women were not considered since power was also in the hands of men. The needs of those living in residential areas were often ignored.
Currently, society is moving towards rejecting stereotypes, but this is happening rather slowly. According to Sergey Tokarev, one of the main reasons is that business continues to pay more attention to the needs of men. However, this is a great mistake from the point of view of building an equal civil society and economic feasibility. Therefore, the restoration of Ukrainian cities should be focused on the needs of all citizens, not excluding women.
Who is an interested participant in the development of the urban environment?
Sergey Tokarev said that he thought about this issue several years ago when there were active preparations to hold a major event on the topic of business relocation. A study was conducted to find out what desires developers and their families have when they possibly move to another country. All aspects that affect the overall comfort of living and working in different cities were analyzed.
Subsequently, a large difference was found in the answers of men and women to questions related to housing. Men did not express wishes regarding internal and external infrastructure, while women paid serious attention to security, the environment, and infrastructure in general. According to Sergey Tokarev, mothers were even pickier – children’s infrastructure is important to them.
The development of infrastructure and the organization of additional benefits increase the cost of the project but make it more attractive to potential buyers.
If developers start creating comfortable conditions for all target audiences, this may lead to an increase in demand.
In Europe, pilot projects of spaces have already begun to be implemented that meet the needs of women no less than the needs of men.
The restoration that considers the interests of all groups of the population
When asked how this direction could be promoted in Ukraine, Sergey Tokarev said that it is necessary to focus on the reconstruction of the country after the war and not to avoid the participation of women in this process from different sides.
The process needs to be started sooner, the better, and conduct educational campaigns in Ukraine based on world examples of building inclusive spaces. In Ukraine, in turn, STEM is FEM developed a free course on urban studies for Ukrainian girls, which included group projects developed together with mentors, architects, and urbanists. This course was created as part of the UNITY (Mriemo ta Diemo) program, which began in the fall of 2022. According to Sergey Tokarev, such educational courses are only one of the tools to popularize and attract women to the restoration of Ukraine. The more such opportunities, the higher the chance to build an inclusive environment in Ukraine and develop civil society.
