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Survey
To analyze and assess
Short term
Top-down
Consultation
Groupless
About

Surveys are structured methodological tools used to systematically gather data on the attitudes, behaviours, experiences, and needs of a predefined population. In the context of feminist ecological urbanism, surveys are essential for bringing visibility to people traditionally excluded from urban planning processes—particularly women, gender-diverse individuals, caregivers, racialised communities, and people with disabilities.

Surveys collect quantitative and qualitative data and support participatory diagnosis, political responsiveness, and the generation of community-based knowledge. They provide evidence to inform decision-making and help build more inclusive and sustainable urban environments.

Benefits

  • Captures realities and urban experiences often hidden by aggregated and neutral data.

  • The data can be analysed by categories such as gender or income levels.

  • Provides community members with accessible tools to engage in decision-making processes actively.

Importance

  • It challenges dominant perspectives and narratives

Surveys shift the focus away from hegemonic narratives and toward the knowledge of those living in marginalised areas—those most impacted by the ecological and gender gap. This perspective supports an epistemology that values alternative ways of knowing, feeling and inhabiting the city.

  • It helps trace the links between gender issues and the climate crisis

Surveys gather information on time use, mobility, accessibility and safety in urban spaces. The aim is to analyse cities not in terms of efficiency or productivity but through their capacity to sustain dignified lives, nurture mutual care and support everyday sustainability.

  • It diagnoses spatial inequalities in urban contexts

The analysis focuses on gaps in access to basic services, green spaces, adequate infrastructure and safe public environments. With an intersectional and territorial lens, this method advances ecofeminist spatial justice by redistributing the right to the city and territory equitably and sustainably.

Steps

  1. Design the questions from an ecofeminist perspective, using inclusive and easily understandable language.

  2. Run a pilot test with a small group to refine clarity and relevance.

  3. Select the sample strategically, according to your goals and ensure participation from diverse profiles.

  4. Develop a system for data collection and processing.

  5. Use a wide range of distribution channels, both analogue and digital.

  6. Analyse and share the results to inform political decisions and community action.

Key Aspects

  • Set broad and flexible timeframes to encourage diverse participation

Inclusive survey design requires flexible timeframes of two to six weeks, diverse materials (digital, printed and assisted), and an ethic of care that ensures informed consent, anonymity and sharing of results with communities.

  • Anticipate and address structural barriers with strategies for inclusion and trust.

It is crucial to address common challenges such as low participation from marginalised groups, distrust of surveys, and design bias. Strategies may include co-creating questions, building trust-based relationships, and reviewing the analysis from an intersectional perspective.

  • Design tools that are sensitive to place, care and active listening

It is recommended to use situated and visual questions that connect with the territory, including indicators related to care work and leaving space for open responses that allow for emergent themes and enrich the analysis iteratively.

Outcomes

  • Provides disaggregated and diverse understandings of urban experiences

Inclusive data collection enables a detailed and disaggregated knowledge of how different groups experience and perceive urban environments. This intersectional approach reveals differences in access, use and meaning of space, uncovering exclusion patterns often hidden in aggregated analysis.

  • Identifies unmet needs and structural barriers

Analysis reveals structural barriers that limit equitable access to care, safe mobility and urban participation. Highlighting these inequalities generates critical insights for guiding public policy, urban interventions and transformation strategies rooted in gender and territorial justice.

  • Strengthens community trust and influence through inclusive data practices

Participatory and ethical processes help build community trust and civic engagement. Additionally, the systematisation of this information supports concrete policy recommendations, context-sensitive design and pilot interventions.

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This website reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

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