Create a more equal world is a lot of work. We not only have to build inclusive cities, but first dismantle the long-established and accepted systems that stand in our way. It can be a lot to get to grips with, but as a starting point this easy-reference glossary will help you navigate some of the most common terms used in our articles and wider research.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
A
Asylum Seeker
Asylum seekers are people who leave their country for reasons of persecution and serious human rights violations in search of a safe haven. They have a genuine claim to protective sanctuary written into law.
They are refugees awaiting a decision on their claim to asylum. After a decision is made on an application, the individual ceases to be a seeker of asylum, but may be:
- granted asylum, obtaining the right to remain enjoying full rights as any other citizen;
- refused asylum and handed a deportation notice. They are both a refugee and an irregular migrant.
It is possible to appeal an asylum decision. Refugees may legally remain until this has been processed.
C
Citizen
Official definitions of citizenship link a person’s country of birth (or legal naturalised status) and the rights this grants them – often denied to others – such as the right to vote and claim welfare.
The term “citizen” can also refer to an individual who lives in a given place, such as a named city.
CityChangers.org acknowledges that, given the first of these two options, the use of this word can appear to exclude some people, such as migrants who have not been granted settled status. Unless specifically stated in the narrative, we never use it in this context.
In all CityChanger content, the term “citizen” is a catch-all to mean anyone within a particular jurisdiction, including people who live, work, and visit a city, neighbourhood, street, etc.
This considered editorial decision is based on the fact that often different groups of people – regardless of their legal status – are affected by the issues we cover. For example: day-trip tourists may be included in consultation exercises.
Other terms are used where necessary: e.g. “residents” referring to people who live in a particular space, from street to city scale.
Cooperatives
The European Commission describes cooperatives as “an autonomous association of persons united to meet common economic, social, and cultural goals” which “achieve their objectives through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise”. They are often set up to empower communities to act as one and represent the interests of members where individuals have otherwise been excluded from decision-making processes.
Members may be required to pay a membership fee, which contributes to the capital needed to run a specific project, such as through buying shares in a community energy initiative.
F
Feminist Cities
Feminist cities are those designed to ensure that women, as well as marginalised and underrepresented groups, are included and empowered on a par with men.
In a feminist city, the built environment, systems and processes, and facilities account for diverse and intersectional needs. Very often, they seek to move away from car-centric planning and design, which predominantly and disproportionately benefits men.
G
Gender Budgeting
The allocation of municipal spending and leveraging of resources disproportionately in such a way that the funding benefits all genders equally.
Which is not, as some believe, about having a separate fund for women or the issues that matter to them.
Gender Mainstreaming
Gender mainstreaming, Safaa Charafi explains, “is an approach that aims to integrate gender perspectives and analysis into policies, programmes, and practices”.
It works to move cities away from the traditional male-dominated planning, design, and decision-making processes, and inform the creation of urban systems and spaces by seeking diverse perspectives and lived experiences.
Global South
Although some dislike the term for its colonial connotations, Global South has become a generally accepted catch-all for the group of countries – usually on the continents of Africa, South America, and Asia – that have at one time or another been labelled as ‘third world’ or ‘developing‘.
It does not infer geographical separation between countries north and south of the equator. Rather, it refers to economic status: countries with high levels of poverty and economic disparities.
Generally, Europe and North America – but also Australia and New Zealand – are considered the Global North.
I
Intersectionality
Gender consultant, Safaa Charafi, gave CityChangers a bespoke definition of intersectionality as “the recognition that individuals have multiple and intersecting identities that can create unique experiences and needs in the city”, including gender, race, class, socio-economic status, sexuality, and whether we live with a disability.
These characteristics “intersect to create unique experiences of discrimination and privilege”. Feminist and intersectional policy aims to identify and cater to these diverse needs and the complex manner in which they overlap.
Irregular Migrants
Irregular migrants are those who fail to meet conditions for staying in a country, such as a visa or claim to asylum.
Also known as ‘undocumented’ migrants, even though few people (other than maybe refugees) arrive in a country without with a form of legal document, like a passport.
However, a change may occur where their permit to stay no longer applies. For example, a work visa that expires but the holder doesn’t leave the country in time. In the process, they become ‘irregular’ and usually lose rights to access services.
This generally applies to third country nationals – those without a European Union nationality. Although even EU citizens can become irregular in another country in the Bloc if the fail to meet the conditions of their visa.
M
Mental Maps
The name given to cognitive planning that many women use to select a safe route through a city – one that avoids isolated, dark, and high-crime areas. These internalised maps are created through one’s experiences and women’s shared knowledge.
Taking what is perceived to be a safer route may result in a longer journey, but moving through busy spaces where there are people who can prevent or help with dangerous situations can be reassuring. This may involve streets that are overlooked by residential windows and those with bars, restaurants, and adequate lighting.
Even so, women are often still on high alert, hyper-aware of their surroundings, making both Mental Maps and the actual navigation of a city a huge drain of energy.
P
Precarious Migrants
This is the group of migrant who face the most restricted access to rights, services, and welfare benefits of any group. They may be:
- refugees who have had their claim for asylum rejected
- EU citizens who are not entitled to social welfare support (e.g. because of the loss of a job) and are in danger of losing their right to free movement
- third country nationals that (will soon) no longer meet their conditions to stay.
A lack of formal employment eligibility can also be the starting point for legal precarity.
R
Radical Inclusivity
Ensuring everyone is represented in participation exercises can be a challenge. The usual voices tend to get heard the most: comfortably affluent, older, white males. They can drown out and undermine even the most confident citizens from other groups, or intimidate them so much they never take part at all.
Radical inclusivity aims to address this by seeking only those diverse, marginalised, and underrepresented voices and meeting them on their own terms.
This means inviting them to ‘closed door’ events, ensuring they feel safe and heard, and conducting activities that they are happy to participate in. Whereas they may feel uncomfortable speaking up in town hall meetings, they may willingly contribute to, say, art and drama sessions, discussions with peers of a single sex, or facilitated online meetings.
Refugee
Displaced people granted specific rights and protections under the binding international 1951 Refugee Convention.
Reasons include political, cultural, or ethnic persecution, conflict, natural disasters, and increasingly climate change.
Someone with refugee status does not automatically make them an asylum seeker but an individual can be both.
S
Sex Disaggregated Data
Statistics that break down the gender profiles of a city and details the needs of groups based on their intersectional characteristics.
So not just by gender, but also ethnicity, cultural or language groups, sexuality, nationality, and whether people live with a disability, for example.
This data enables us to pinpoint with accuracy how and where biases manifest, and informs the solutions to best address diverse needs with specifity.
Social Enterprise
Businesses that promote social or environmental benefits rather than make a profit for shareholders or company owners. They may, for example, provide services that fill gaps in provision, address inequalities, enhance social justice, promote wellbeing, or protect biodiversity.
it could be considered that social enterprises do similar work to charities, except that they run as businesses, and do not need to be non-profit. They may, however, reinvest income back into the business for the good of their client groups.
Social Enterprise UK claims that there are now “more than 131,000” operating throughout the country “with a collective turnover of £78 billion and employing around 2.3 million people”.
U
Urban Migration
The movement of people into urban areas. This includes both international migrants and internal migration, where people from within a country enter a city from the countryside or from one city to another.
It is important to note that in political and media arenas, migrants – especially refugees – are portrayed as a homogeneous group, with similar needs and behaviour. In fact, they represent a wide diversity in terms of cultural backgrounds, spoken languages, skill, beliefs, housing careers, and individual needs just as any other citizen.