In South Africa, the gap between who designs buildings and who actually lives in them is one of the widest in the world. About 4 in 5 architects are white, though white South Africans are only about 9% of the population. Less than one-third of architects are women, and just 4% women of color.
The push to change that is part of the country’s overall transformation since the end of apartheid. But it also ties into an international conversation about who gets to design the spaces we move through every day. From Austria to India, city planners have wrestled with how to better accommodate people traditionally left out of design. That can mean anything from widened sidewalks to better accommodate strollers to women-only train cars meant to deter harassment.