Charted: Detroit women feel less safe than men

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."