Designing a feminist city: Public libraries as a women’s space

Public libraries are crucial everyday spaces for many women. Different spatial arrangements and design decisions put in place here make it possible to accommodate and support women's various activities and needs of libraries as micro urban spaces. Yet, in many cities, the built environment continues to reflect outdated gender roles, which makes it important to better understand what women find impactful design elements of public spaces like libraries. By presenting findings from women who use three different public libraries in Bremen, Germany, this paper highlights that micro design elements can reduce symbolic and felt barriers to how women perceive and use these spaces, and the public city by extension. Viewing public libraries through the eyes of some women, then, shifts attention to women's needs and requirements of public spaces and their everyday spatial experiences, thereby contributing to a more feminist and just city.