Politics of Space: Women in the Urban Realm

The research aims to understand the ‘night’ as an urban condition and how women fit into this urban realm. Critical analysis of existing case studies helps give crucial understanding to the perceptions of safety, real or imagined, when observing the urban fabric. This thesis is a very personal response to the issue, and the research has taken form by designing for a character – Anna Fox (The Woman in the Window) – as a lens for subjective investigation.

An analogue experimentation method is adopted involving different media and mediums, which gives life to architecturalised form. The theory and making as a design process inform a design solution that proposes a connected pathway of ‘interventions’ from the University of Auckland to Queen Street, focusing on Albert Park.

The significance of this research is to understand agoraphobia of the night, and to illuminate the politics of gender as a relationship to the urban environment – in terms of perceived safety within Auckland city. The final outcome of this thesis creates a considered design solution and framework that can be applied to make people and the community, especially women, feel more connected and safer in their city.