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Space for Her

PARTNER: PVR NEST       LOCATION: NEW DELHI

Participatory Design

Campaign Development

Design Reserach & Insights

Community Engagement

01.

Public spaces aren’t public until women feel safe in them.

(yet women have long been designed out of them)

In Delhi, 95% of women report feeling unsafe in public places (UN Women, 2020). Space for Her is a research report, audio-visual presentation, and set of implementable design tools by Designed for Good, developed in partnership with PVR Nest and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, to imagine and facilitate inclusive public spaces for women in Delhi, building on PVR Nest's existing body of work in women's empowerment. 

 

Broken pavements, low lighting, and no access to clean toilets or clear signage are just some of what keeps women out of public spaces. Space for Her set out to show that an existing space — Delhi's Anupam PVR Complex, Saket — could be redesigned using simple, implementable measures to make it inclusive, safe and encourage women to stay out longer. 

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Learn more on spaceforher.net

02.

Objective

With this project we explored how the principles of design thinking can contribute to creating more inclusive, enriching public spaces for women in Delhi, regardless of background or circumstance. Space for Her aims to envision Delhi's Anupam PVR Complex, Saket as a space that is easily accessible, comfortable to use, and capable of fostering a sense of belonging among the women who visit it — one where women directly impacted by infrastructural, social, and economic change hold primary stake in shaping the solutions built for them.

Through surveys, in-person interviews, and focus group discussions with 1000+ women aged 16–66 — using tools like sensorial mapping and user journey experience charts — we surfaced the behaviors, temperament, reservations, and preferences that shape how women experience public space, supplemented by secondary research (Why Loiter by Shilpa Phadke, Feminist City by Leslie Kern)

03.

Impact

Through surveys, in-person interviews, and focus group discussions with 1000+ women aged 16–66 — using tools like sensorial mapping and user journey experience charts — we surfaced the behaviors, temperament, reservations, and preferences that shape how women experience public space, supplemented by secondary research (Why Loiter by Shilpa Phadke, Feminist City by Leslie Kern).

6+ design tools 

1000+ women reached 

12 recommendations

The research is organised around sensory mapping and the five senses — sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch — plus a sixth: instinct. Each sense frames a distinct set of case studies and design tools, substantiating how it shapes a woman's perspective and experience of public space:

  • A Sight to Behold— visibility through layered lighting, and a buddy system for women leaving or arriving at odd hours

  • The Sound of Silence — representation in decision-making, and female leadership filtering through how the space is run

  • The Smell of Success — the Shakti Cart, boosting the visibility and mobility of women vendors

  • The Taste of Freedom — community night walks and late-night screenings that reclaim the space after dark

  • A Gentle Touch — tactile play elements and community creches for mothers and children

  • Sixth sense (instinct) — the "invisible cloak," the discreet personal-safety habits women already carry

These translated into reasonable, implementable recommendations delivered to the MCD and PVR Nest — including tiered lighting levels, a Toilet Pass for locating clean, well-stocked restrooms, and clear signage for navigation — to positively shape women's everyday urban experience at Anupam PVR Complex, Saket.

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