Navigating Gender, Using Transportation: Theme and Variations in Urban India

Institute for Transport Studies research seminar with speaker Morgan Campbell, University of Leeds.

Starting with the awareness of overt patriarchal structures and gender norms that affect when, where, and why women in urban India travel, this presentation focuses on how gender and class positions are moved and removed by available transport. The geographies of Bengaluru and Delhi were chosen for the significant physical and social transformations that reflect realities of globalization, conflicting political ideologies, internal migration, and rapid urbanization. These changes are embedded within slick metro systems, the millions of new car owners, company provided transportation for employees of multinationals, and failing public bus systems. They are transcribed onto the bodies of urban women in which a tension between mobility in a literal sense and immobility with respect to gender norms and socio-economic hierarchies constantly plays out.

Bio: Morgan Campbell is an interdisciplinary researcher with a background in urban planning and gender studies. She has worked on issues related to urbanization, gender, and mobility in India for the past eight years.

Institute for Transport Studies Research Seminar Series: Our seminar series is for anyone interested in the latest transport research. Presented by members of the Institute and guest speakers, the programme is designed to stimulate cross-disciplinary conversations across a range of transport and mobility research areas. The short seminars will be followed by a discussion. The remainder of the session will be a chance to meet up and network. No booking required.