Gender mainstreaming in Toronto's urban planning framework

Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, women, those who identify as women, and marginalized groups more broadly, have been more severely impacted by the social and economic effects of the public health emergency as the result of pre-existing gender inequities. Gender mainstreaming presents a useful tool for planners to adapt urban planning policies, practices, and decision-making processes to close this gap for more equitable and inclusive cities. This MRP looks to Vienna, Austria as a case study for gender mainstreaming with the goals of first, identifying key concepts and methods for gender mainstreaming in urban design and urban planning practice currently in place within the framework of Toronto, second, identifying to what extent the Toronto budget reflects gender mainstreaming in its allocation of resources, and third, making recommendations regarding potential structures and systems that might be required for successful implementation of gender mainstreaming in the Toronto framework.

Key words: Planning, gender mainstreaming in cities, gender budgeting, Vienna, Toronto