Futures that did not happen: A feminist public space is a movement more than a statement

Abstract

This Master’s thesis critically examines the marginalisation of women from spatial agency in the urban environment of Gothenburg, Sweden since the early 20th century. As architecture was a male dominated field for centuries, European cities have historically been designed by men, reflecting traditional gender roles and gendered division of space. The building on Storgatan 47 was one of many venues for female resistance and self-organised space-making in Gothenburg. Between 1941 and 1980, the Idun Women’s Association inhabited this building and became the first women’s association in Sweden to own its selfdefined space. What if the Idun Women’s Association had not left the premises in 1980? This thesis is an attempt at using feminist critical spatial theory to develop a speculative scenario in which the ethos of Idun Women’s Association did not leave its House but evolved into a contemporary feminist public space. This explorative work addresses architecture and the spaces that emerge from it as power structures, nourished by enduring gendered, racialised and politically strategic hierarchies. Feminist critical spatial practices shift the focus from the architect as sole author of spatial design towards interdisciplinary approaches. They incorporate cultural history, art, maintenance, care, activism and climate justice. Feminist critical spatial practices, thus, ultimately strive for social justice and intersectional gender equity. Central to this thesis is the process of practicing critically while anticipating feminist futures in architecture with a focus on materialism and ethics of care. New ways of spatial analysis and production that challenge heteronormative and patriarchal standards are tested in pursuit of more resilient spaces. The finality of this project is a range of tested methods that are dealing with past circumstances, contemporary action and user participation, imaginaries about the future and ways to weave the outcomes together. By reclaiming a space once dedicated to women and imagining its continuation, this thesis advocates for self-organised and inclusive feminist public spaces that strengthen public spatial agency.