Review of Gender Mainstreaming Provisions in Urban Planning Policies and Guidelines in India: A Comparative Analysis

Urban spaces in India are not gender-neutral. The strategies city planners use to plan, design and manage cities reflect basic assumptions about who uses public space, how and when. The current research provides an insight into how gender mainstreaming is integrated in significant urban planning standards and regulations in India. The study examines seven policy and planning documents, such as the Smart Cities Mission Guidelines, AMRUT 2.0 Operational and Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Guidelines, Master Plan for Delhi 2021, Draft Master Plan for Delhi 2041 and Development Control Regulations. A qualitative document review was performed which fell into five key categories: explicit gender recognition, data and evidence, participatory approaches, resource distribution, and accountability mechanisms. The results show that the gender integration was relatively low in the majority of the planning programs. While the most up-to-date AMRUT 2.0 GESI Guidelines give a comprehensive approach to gender mainstreaming, they are advisory and ineffective as mechanisms for their implementation. Other statutory planning tools, such as Master plans and Development Control Regulations, only have gender-specific sections and are rarely put in position in a systematic manner. The study concludes that an adequate legal framework as well as gender-disaggregated data systems, participatory structures, and formal accountability structures are necessary if gender-responsive urban planning are to progress in India.