Applause for Andreanne Bernard!
As part of her Master’s degree in Planning , option City, Territory, and Landscape at the Faculty of Environmental Design, Université de Montréal, Andreanne has submitted her master’s thesis titled: “Alone Among Others: Women’s Positive Solitude in Public Spaces through the Lens of the Ethics of Care,” supervised by Shin Koseki.
“ Existing research on the solitude of women in cities primarily addresses perceived risks, such as street harassment, which often causes women to feel insecure when alone in public spaces. Thus, the positive loneliness experienced by women in urban areas remains underexplored. This lack of positive representations of feminine solitude limits understanding of public spaces as environments that can foster women’s autonomy and well-being. Initially perceived negatively due to its association with social isolation, solitude remains rarely considered in public space design. For women, their experience of solitude is part of a gendered division between public and private spheres, historically confining women to the domestic sphere and marginalizing their solitary presence in public spaces. Social norms have long regarded women alone in the city as deviant or abnormal. Using the feminist theory of the ethics of care, this thesis considers positive feminine solitude as a form of self-care in urban settings. Based on semi-structured interviews with women who regularly spend time alone in public spaces in Montreal, the study shows that positive solitude occurs mainly in urban parks, which offer both a sense of control and co-presence. The findings invite reimagining the city as more inclusive, safe, and empathetic, where care and well-being emerge from green spaces and urban design, allowing women access to chosen, positive solitude “.
Congratulations to Andreanne on a great research journey! We wish her all the best as she takes the next steps in her career !