How To Build A Non-Sexist City
In briefAI summary — tap to read
Solutions journalist Peter Yeung reports on how the French city of Nantes is building a "non-sexist city" through data-driven policies addressing gender inequality, from centralizing care for abuse survivors to renaming streets after women and redesigning schoolyards for inclusive play. His work demonstrates how solutions journalism reveals innovative, reproducible approaches to systemic problems that inspire communities worldwide.
Key takeaways
- Solutions journalism identifies evidence-based responses to problems, showing what works and its limitations rather than just documenting crises or early-stage initiatives.
- Nantes created the Citadelle, France's first centralized care center for women experiencing violence, with thoughtfully designed spaces that reduce barriers to accessing multiple services in one location.
- The city is increasing visibility of women through street renaming, redesigned schoolyards with vegetation and calm spaces rather than sports-dominated fields, and public breastfeeding benches to normalize essential activities.
- Public consultation and data collection on gender inequality—including street-name analysis and harassment surveys—helped build local investment and bipartisan support for projects targeting violence against women.
- Finding under-reported solutions requires conversations with real people and local experts, slow on-the-ground reporting, and seeking stories from places media overlooks rather than rehashing well-covered narratives.
About Peter YeungPeter Yeung is an award-winning solutions journalist based in France who reports on climate, environment, global health, and human rights, with extensive on-the-ground experience across Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
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Program: How To Build A Non-Sexist City
Speaker: Peter Yeung
Every week we bring you a new program on innovation, entrepreneurship, and education, and how they contribute to service to others.
Can a city be sexist? Definitely. For decades, urban design policies have overlooked the needs of women and other marginal groups.
The French city of Nantes is trailblazing efforts to make itself a "non-sexist" city, from redesigning public spaces like school playgrounds and installing breastfeeding stations, renaming streets after women, reallocating spending and inaugurating France’s leading center to counter gender-based violence.
Our speaker, solutions journalism reporter Peter Yeung, recently visited Nantes to see how efforts were progressing and to what extent other cities can learn from it.
Peter Yeung is an award-winning freelance journalist based in Paris, France, who covers a broad range of beats including climate, global health, migration, human rights, biodiversity, Indigenous cultures, and cities, often through a critical, solutions-orientated lens. He specialises in on-the-ground reporting about under-covered issues involving and giving a voice to the world’s most marginalised groups.
Peter has worked and written for a number of leading media outlets including The Guardian, National Geographic, The BBC, The Washington Post, The New York Times, NPR, The LA Times, Reuters, The Financial Times, Wired, CNN, The Atlantic, and Bloomberg.
Members and guests, please welcome Peter Yeung!
To learn more, go to:
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/nantes-france-non-sexist-city/
https://www.peter-yeung.com/
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