Where life happens. Proximity, everyday life strategies, and gender in the dense city

Abstract

This thesis is about the everyday life in the dense city, and gendered aspects of the everyday. Drawing on the fact that many cities densify in order to increase sustainability, and that gender differences in terms of mobility exist, this thesis takes an interest in how the everyday is achieved while living in the dense city applying theories of gender and time geography. This is done by studying one densified area in Gothenburg called Kvillebäcken, using time diaries in combination with interviews with residents living in the area. In terms of accessibility, the findings illustrate three strategies used while living in the dense city: strategy of the near, strategy of the near through digital options and strategy of the not-so-near. While an individual makes use of a combination of these strategies in order to perform everyday activities, the results illustrate that the strategy of the near stands out as a main strategy. Further, the strategy of the near through digital options is found to be a proximity strategy, supporting the strategy of the near. This study also shows that the move to a dense area encourages a shift towards more sustainable modes of transport, where the move eases an already existing sustainable modal choice or supports such a shift. The use of these transport modes tends to maintain over time. In addition, this study shows that gender structures are partly dissolved in the dense city. In the dense city, modal choice becomes a less gendered issue where men embrace women’s pattern of proximity and also, women and men share household responsibilities more equally. The dense city is a city more on women’s terms. Even if gender differences still remain in some respects, and some take new forms, the dense city supports gender equality.