A Stockholm suburb is redesigning its streets to be 'feminist'

pulse

April 24, 2017 8:36 PM

The Stockholm suburb of Husby will get a "feminist" redesign of its suburban plan, says local housing company Svenska Bostäder. But how will that manifest?

A man walks in the centre of the Husby suburb of Stockholm April 7, 2014.

To make women feel a little safer in the Stockholm suburb of Husby, local officials will redesign part of its center.

More than one-third of women report feeling unsafe walking alone at night in the US, compared to just 11% of men, according to a recent Gallup poll. And 35% of the poll's female respondents in Sweden said they do not feel secure walking outside after sunset.

A Swedish housing company, called Svenska Bostäder, is leading the plan, which includes more street lighting, especially near Husby's subway station entrance. A bar and café, which , a coordinator from Svenska Bostäder, says is frequented mostly by men, will also be moved. A new, undetermined business will replace it.

says the goal of the redesign is to make Husby's streets "more feminist." He explains that means making Husby's center welcoming to everyone, especially women.

"," tells Business Insider.

The plan has been in the works since 2009, when the company started talking with local female residents. Some women said they do not want to sit outside at the café, which sits next to the dimly lit subway station, because they often receive unwanted attention from men. The women added that there isn't a natural meeting place for non-male residents in the center.

Though only a few small changes are moving forward right now,

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