HASSELL TALKS: Designing safer cities for women, girls and the gender diverse

Rail precincts don’t always feel like the safest places to be for women, girls and the gender diverse, particularly after dark.

Alert and constantly on guard, it’s a relentless navigation of sightlines, lighting, exposure, surveillance and positioning for safety.

“We live in a world that is not equal and that gender bias and inequality affects the built environment… leading to messages that are both subtle, but also not very subtle, that we don’t belong in public space, particularly if you’re a woman,” says Associate Professor of XYX Lab, Dr Nicole Kalms.

As designers, we believe we can do more than simply meet the governing standards and technical requirements demanded of rail stations — we can change the way people feel while using them, creating a more equitable and prosperous society.

Hassell partnered with the team at Monash University’s XYX Lab to gather data and a better understanding of the design elements that shape women’s perceptions of safety. What we discovered was that through materiality, better lighting design, wayfinding, sightlines and even access to toilets - we can make a big difference into how safe many parts of our population feel.

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