I still believe that cities are places of contradiction, having lived in different cities around the world. They will never be perfect or equal for all. However, they have a tremendous capacity to host spontaneous and permanent micro-communities to create spaces for diversity. The spaces where the micro-community 'happens' are usually thriving social, physical and economic palimpsests. Organising into smaller communities: mini-cells of the city with their own identities, can help people living in the city to find a variety of roles and scenarios beyond the roles of workers or consumers. Creating a safe social space in the city is an antidote to the capitalist city and urbanisation.

As my eldest daughter's 7th birthday approaches, I am also thinking about how (not) to work in architecture after becoming a mother, something that has also been with me for the past 7 years. Preparing for a job search and interview after becoming a mother is not an easy task. The terrain seems uncertain, you have to come to terms with one of the biggest transformations in a woman's life, you aren’t sure what to expect.

When I started looking for a job, I thought nothing had changed. I can still do it, push myself, work long hours, I will be able to do it all. I will be at home and at work and it will all work out magically. I didn't know that working full-time and being a mother was the hardest job in the world. Sure, there are nurseries and schools and babysitters, but there is a price to pay for the time we spend at work away from our children and the time we spend with our children away from work.

When I first became a mother, I didn't realise how many challenges and political issues I would face in my professional life as an architect.

At the beginning, after my maternity leave, I thought, no problem, a piece of cake, I'll come back full-time, overtime - I have to stay on track. Despite having a child, I worked tirelessly, first combining office hours and the construction site. Then in academia, running from the studio to the kindergarten, to give lectures, to give consultations to my students, worried that at some point the phone would ring and it would be the kindergarten telling me that I had to go pick up my child. I thought nothing had changed, I just needed to work a little harder, a little longer, to achieve my dreams and keep my CV on track. I was a full time architect and a full time mother.