Resources
Design Toolkit
The Women-Centred Housing Design Toolkit is a free downloadable PDF document to help you implement the women-centred spatial design principles, strategies, and actions and develop long-term housing for women and their children/dependents with experiences of violence.
Design Checklist
The Design Checklist is a free downloadable PDF document which consists of the spatial design principles, strategies, and actions in the Women-Centred Housing Design Toolkit. This checklist is a practical tool to use in your practices, consultation sessions, and design processes.
Recommended Resources
The following resources are a list of design guidelines and toolkits that we recommend for further readings. Many of these resources provide sets of design recommendations to inform designing and building housing through a gender-sensitive and trauma-informed approach.
A Design Guide for Older Women’s Housing (Donnelly et al., 2022)
Using research findings and insights, this guide provides design responses and recommendations to housing developers and designers to support the development and construction of quality, affordable housing for older women at risk of homelessness.
Architectural Principles in the Service of Trauma-Informed Design (Grabowska et al., 2021)
This pamphlet focuses on the ways to design a building to support a therapeutic approach. It offers design principles towards trauma-informed architecture and presents annotated spaces and examples to visualize the principles.
BC Housing Design Guidelines and Construction Standards (BC Housing, 2019)
This document provides standards and technical guidelines for the design and construction of new buildings, conversions and renovation projects funded and financed by BC Housing.
BC Housing Design Guidelines For Women’s Safe Homes, Transition Houses, Second Stage Housing, and Long-Term Rental Housing (BC Housing, 2021)
This guide includes design recommendations to assist development teams with the planning, and design processes for upgrading existing buildings or constructing new buildings that are to be used for the women safe homes, transition houses, second stage housing and long-term rental housing.
Designing for Healing, Dignity, & Joy. Promoting Physical Health, Mental Health, and Well-Being Through a Trauma-Informed Approach to Design
(Shopworks Architecture et al., 2020): This document offers a framework for trauma-informed design practice and process to promote healing, dignity, and joy in housing and offers examples to demonstrate the values of trauma-informed housing design.
HLC Design Guidelines Part 3, Module 3b: Children Living at Density (Isthmus Group Ltd, 2018)
This guideline offers design considerations related to ensuring the needs of children and their families are met in housing and neighbourhood developments.
HLC Design Guidelines Part 3, Module 3b: Children Living at Density (Isthmus Group Ltd, 2018)
This guideline offers design considerations related to ensuring the needs of children and their families are met in housing and neighbourhood developments.
Manual for Gender Mainstreaming in Urban Planning and Urban Development (City of Vienna, 2013)
In Vienna, all housing projects that require public funding are examined through this guideline to ensure housing is suitable for women and everyday life. Chapter 8 of this guideline includes a list of criteria to evaluate the gender equity and suitability to meet every day needs of housing projects.
Women-Centred Housing Design Toolkit Webinar
APRIL 2023
We participated in a live webinar presenting our journey with the toolkit, and how it can be used by members to enhance quality and suitability of long-term housing for women, and their children and dependants.
Share Your Ideas
We are looking forward to incorporating more diverse perspectives, and ideas on how to utilize the Women-Centred Housing Design Toolkit. If you have any comments or suggestions, or if you know of some other best practices, please share them with us.