#5SmartReads - July 17, 2020

Feminist cities, Yara Shahidi, and contact tracing

Is it time to build feminist cities? (Vox)

Short answer - yes.

Nearly every thing that touches our lives - the medicines we take, the furniture we sit in, the cars and trains we ride, even the height of steps - was designed for men. Invisible Women talks about this in greater detail, but let’s focus on cities for now.

Think about the lack of elevator in train stations. Of bus and train schedules in and out of cities, and how they’re skewed towards a more structured 9-5 workday than the flexible schedules that women commonly have.

This piece was slightly depressing. But it had me thinking of the many women running for office up and down the ballot, about my niece who’s studying urban planning, and it gives me hope that we can make cities - and the world - better for women.