Where Women Shape the City
When women and girls are involved in planning of our cities, they think about everyone — especially those often left out. They care about diversity, community needs, and the environment. Growing skills and knowledge with women and girls on how to shape their cities and neighborhoods equals smart urban development. Because when women lead planning, cities become healthier, safer, and fairer - and everyone has a say in the future of their city.
The city wasn’t built for her
Walk through most cities, and it becomes clear: They weren’t designed with women in mind. Poorly lit streets to limited public restrooms, unsafe transport systems, male-dominated decision tables - urban environments often overlook the daily realities of women. Women face structural challenges in influencing how cities grow: underrepresentation in planning roles, lack of access to funding, and limited platforms to voice their needs. As a result, cities often don’t make room for the understanding women bring — about safety, accessibility, caregiving, sustainability, and community cohesion. This is not just a gender gap - it’s also a design flaw. And without women at the urban planning tables, cities remain incomplete. In Dreamtown, we have partners who are working to change this urban image. One of them you will meet right here.
Ronah Ahumuza - Team leader and founder of HADE
Urbanisation - but not for everyone?
Some of the major global challenges of our time are related to urbanisation. Cities grow at a pace where the formal planning system is struggling to provide adequate infrastructure and services to the growing urban population. This leads to increased inequalities, where the gap between those who do, and those who do not, benefit from urbanisation, grows bigger. It is expected that 70% of the world’s inhabitants will live in cities by 2050, and that the number of people living in unplanned settlements will double. Unplanned urbanisation leads to unequal spatial distribution, where resources, services and infrastructure benefit the already well-off citizens, but do not reach the less fortunate population groups. This results in social and economic marginalisation of areas that are not included in the formal planning system. Among the most vulnerable inhabitants in these areas are women. Urban decision-making processes are often dominated by men. Urban spaces are largely developed according to male priorities, not considering the needs of women and non-male population groups. This results in up to 80% public spaces being likely to be dominated by males. Furthermore, up to 70% of women express that they feel insecure and excluded in public spaces, as shown by findings from UN-Habitat (UN-Habitat. 2022. Her City: Report from the Vinnova Innovation for Gender Equality Project).
An organisation where women can grow
HADE isn’t just an organization — it’s also a family, and represents a movement. Born from Kamwanyi, an informal settlement community in Kampala along the shores of Lake Victoria, HADE is driven by lived experience. By women who are committing their time to build community initiatives. With a vision to grow women- and youth-led spaces where dreams can take root - and futures are rewritten. From transforming forgotten corners into vibrant play spaces to mentoring women into changemakers, HADE is reimagining what inclusive urban development looks like. At the core, HADE is all about giving women and youth the space, tools, and voice to build cities that reflect their vision. Whether it’s through economic empowerment, digital access, or collective advocacy, it is work that is laying the foundation for a Kampala where women aren’t just included — they lead. Because when women shape the city, they shape it for everyone, and bring empathy, sustainability, and community into play.
“Learning from our experience, to make the city her own, we must be intentional in investing in creating spaces in cities where she has control and influence to demonstrate her dreams through voice and action. We need to show the world the added value when the city is planned by her and with her in mind. This should not be demonstrated in books and proposals, but rather in inspirational physical spaces that illustrate the vision we are discussing.”
Ronah Ahumuza is the founder of HADE. She had previously worked in other organisations, gaining experience in the field of civil society work - but had also reflected on seeing boys and men gain opportunity over women. “This compelled me to start an organization that provides women with space to grow and excel at their own pace, without being judged or compared to men, and to let them be the women who contribute to sustainable development in their capacity”. This organisation became HADE - Holistic Action for Development and Empowerment.
Spaces by women, for women
One of the major initiatives that Ronah and the team of female city shapers have done is The Green Play Space - a recreative, green, lush, and creative safe space in Kamwanyi, Kampala, where children come to play and learn. While their mothers can access trainings, socialize, and get some time off from home responsibilities.
“The green play space is essential because play areas in slum communities are very scarce due to land shortage. A green play space in Kamwanyi and other communities is particularly relevant for young people, as they come to play, meet their peers, socialize, and network, both physically and virtually, due to the free Wi-Fi. The space is also essential for their mental health, as many feel relaxed when they come here and spend less time thinking about the social hardships at home, which are caused by both climate change and economic difficulties.”
How do we make the city “Her’s”?
HADE and the team in Kampala are already doing a lot to mobilize around more female-led urban spaces. In 2023, HADE mobilized a core group of 25 girls and young women to assess community needs, co-design, and transform a rooftop into a vibrant, green, female‑centred urban space. Guided by the UN‑Habitat/Shared City Foundation toolkit “Her City”, their inclusive workshops produced a multifunctional venue featuring green walls, seating, water taps, a library, and shaded areas. This rooftop and the green space around it isn’t just architecture — it’s a safe, social, and economic incubator, space for meetings, trainings, play, micro‑enterprises, street art, and events in an area where urban space is scarce.
To Ronah, we need to create and support different types of spaces like this in order to make more opportunities for women in Kampala. She highlights three categories of women-led spaces that can provide opportunities: A space where women get the right mentorship and economic support to kick-start their enterprise ideas. A space where women can engage in business skills development. A space where women can engage in collective voice and action for policy advocacy. Finally, Ronah highligts how there is a need to invest in infrastructure support as part of the primary foundation for sustainable investment. For example, the need to make proper investments into machinery and the expansion of space to enable young people to develop products that they can sell to sustain their initiatives.
“Over the next decade, we aim to create a physical space where women can turn their ideas into reality. We strive to establish a museum that showcases women’s ideas shaping and influencing physical urban planning at both the policy and implementation levels. We aim to set the pace for women to run urban enterprises, effectively operate women-led organizations, and be at the heart of local policy influence in the city authorities.”
Meet Ronah and Her City…
