“Dwellings, neighborhoods, and cities designed for homebound women constrain women physically, socially, and economically. (page. 2, Hayden)”

It is no secret that there are restrictions in place for women. As we have been studying in the class, the design of architecture makes people behave in a certain way; the design of dwellings, neighborhoods, and cities as stated in the quote above, restrict women from things socially, physically, and economically. Many of these restrictions are seen in our everyday lives. Some of us even know of someone who could possibly be going through these restrictions and that is why we might understand the idea that Hayden is trying to explain in this article.

“Employed mothers usually are expected to, and almost invariably do, spend more time in private housework and child care than employed men; often they are expected to, and usually do, spend more time on commuting per mile traveled than men, because of their reliance on public transportation. (page. 6, Hayden)”

Employed mothers have more responsibilities than employed men. Yes, the men are many times fathers, but the mother is the person that children look for the most. Mothers have a special connection with their children and that’s why they are always there for their children cleaning up, cooking food, and other home labor activities. Because these mothers have such much on their plate, they don’t get the same opportunity to private transportation as men do and are forced to use public transportation.

“While some communal groups, especially religious ones, have often demanded acceptance of a traditional sexual division of labor, others have attempted to make nurturing activities a responsibility of both women and men. (page. 11, Hayden)”

Religion will always play a role in our society’s decisions whether we like it or not. Mostly everyone is part of a religion and their beliefs play a big role in their decisions. Personally, I don’t see anything bad with wanting to integrate labor forces. Both male and female can accomplish great things together. However, there are certain things that man can’t do and there are certain things that women can’t do.

“Most agree that it is the everyday experience of inhabiting the city that entitles one to a right to the city, rather than one’s nation-state citizenship. (pg.142, Purcell)”

This quotation is interesting to me because I have heard this before. The ideas that someone who lives in the city gets the right to that city over someone who is a “nation-state citizen” are always in conflict. In my opinion, the person who lives in the city is right. People are always born in a city but do not live there and therefore, they do not get to experience the everyday life of that city so they do not know how things work there.

“He says that modern citizenship takes the form of a contract between the state and the citizenry that specifies, among other things, the rights of citizens (2003a/1990, p. 250). But the current contract and its associated rights have remained much the same since their inception in the eighteenth century. What we require, he argues, is to radically extend and deepen the contract, to articulate a new and augmented set of rights, and to struggle to achieve them. (pg.146, Purcell)”

With new times come new changes. When many of this country’s laws were written, things were not as advance as they are now. The citizens only want their rights to be updated since their creation, as stated in the quote, was during the 18^th century.

“was long defined either in terms of the political change at the level of the state or else in terms of the collective or state ownership of the means of production . . . . Today such limited definitions of revolution will no longer suffice. The transformation of society presupposes a collective ownership and management of space founded on the permanent participation of the “interested parties,” with their multiple, varied and even contradictory interests. (1991/1974, p. 422, emphasis added) (pg.148, Purcell)”

As I stated before, with new times come new changes. Politics can never remain the same as the country modernizes. Both politics and citizens adapt to the changes that are occurring today. If the citizens see that their voice is not being heard, they will find a way to do so. If politicians only want to benefit themselves, the citizens will speak and make sure that they are heard.

PURCELL, M. (2014). POSSIBLE WORLDS: HENRI LEFEBVRE AND THE RIGHT TO THE CITY. Journal Of Urban Affairs, 36(1), 141-154. doi:10.1111/juaf.12034