Charted: Detroit women feel less safe than men
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Men and women in many U.S. cities, including Detroit, feel notably different about their personal safety, per new Gensler survey data.
State of play: Gensler surveyed about 13,500 residents across 27 major U.S. cities between July and November 2024.
- The design and architecture firm's research wing recently published City Pulse 2025: The Magnetic City, a look at how city residents feel about many different issues.
By the numbers: Detroit's gap between female and male residents was 6%, with 60% of women and 66% of men saying they feel safe.
Zoom in: Aside from street safety, Mayor Mary Sheffield has said a top priority when it comes to crime is tackling domestic violence, which disproportionately impacts women.
- "For me as a woman, I just want to ensure that we prioritize this very important issue because we know it truly impacts our communities and our neighborhoods and the safety and well-being of our residents," Sheffield told WXYZ.
- Early this year, the city reported a historic drop in homicides and an overall decrease in violent crimes.
Zoom out: Uber began rolling out its women-only ride preference nationwide this month, expanding a safety feature that lets women riders and drivers match with each other. It piloted the program last year in Detroit and California.
- The move mirrors Lyft's Women+ Connect program.
- Both rideshare companies have faced thousands of reports of sexual assaults.
The bottom line: Perceived and actual safety can sometimes be two different things — but city leaders need to address both.
- Sofia Song, global leader of cities research at Gensler's Research Institute, tells Axios: "Safety shapes how people experience a city, and our data shows that when women feel secure moving through the city, satisfaction with the city rises across the board."


