There is wide recognition that integrating gender-responsiveness is an important element in efficient urban planning and management and that no participatory process will be complete without gender mainstreaming. City experiences show that lack of gender awareness can lead to poor decision-making and inefficient implementation of action plans; action plans and project implementation improve considerably if gender concerns are appropriately integrated into programme and project design.

The toolkit's purpose is to ensure that the needs of both women and men are considered and addressed and to improve decision making and implementation.
This toolkit to support participatory urban decision-making has been prepared as one of the flagship products of the Global Campaign on Urban Governance, a campaign led by UN-HABITAT in collaboration with a whole range of partners. Participatory decision-making processes are an essential means to achieve the Inclusive City . This toolkit, has been designed to enhance knowledge and capacities of municipalities and those working in the field of urban governance, especially by improving and helping to institutionalise such participatory approaches. It is, therefore, aimed at contributing to the realisation of "Inclusive City" . 2001