GENDER RELATIONS AND THE SPATIAL STRUCTURE OF THE CITY

This paper begins with the premise that gender relations are socially and culturally constructed and, as such, vary over time and space. It is argued that the particular nature of gender relations at any point in time is reflected in the spatial structure of cities, and as gender relations are not constant over time, neither is the spatial structure of cities. These ideas are initially explored in this paper through a brief discussion of social theories and how they facilitate an understanding of the spatial structure of the city from the viewpoint of gender relations. This is followed by interpreting the recent history of American cities as one of increasing spatial and functional separation of public and private spheres to produce a city with distinct areas of production and reproduction. Two post-Second World War trends-the increase of women in paid employment and the changing composition of households-have highlighted the inadequacy of this form of the city. Given these trends, attention turns to an examination of how the city is being restructured by new household forms such as single women householders in well-paid jobs (gentrifiers) and poor women householders. The concluding section consists of a discussion of some of the points raised in the paper and how these should be interpreted in light of the insights gained by employing social theories. © 1991.