The Big Picture

Chiara Corazza is the Managing Director of the Women’s Forum, a leading platform dedicated to highlighting women’s voices and perspectives on global issues. On the occasion of International Women’s Day, NewCities Executive Director Sébastien Turbot sat down with Ms Corazza to discuss how cities can take the lead in promoting gender progress. Sébastien Turbot: Chiara,…

As Mayor of Christchurch I am very pleased that the NewCities Foundation has decided to #PressforProgress to honour International Women’s Day 2018. This is a special year for our country, New Zealand, which marks 125 years since we became the first country in the world to grant women the right to vote. And it is…

The city is a melting pot of human relations and plays a considerable role in social relations between those who live in it. This is why the gender agenda cannot be far removed from the urban agenda. More often than not, the city replicates existing patterns of social dominations. Only a holistic political plan –…

Women’s participation to a city’s development process is critical to having a prosperous society. It enhances socialization and promotes cooperative behavior between different actors in the city. Urbanization that does not consider gender issues is a threat to a city’s overall stability. In urban areas, cooperation is based on a mutual common interest. When a…

Urbanism remains a niche and even “nerdy” subject by many accounts, but I think that’s an outdated mindset. With the vast majority of humans living in cities worldwide — for the first time ever — the time has come to make cities front and center in our conversations on the future. The reason why this is such a big…

2017 was a turning point in the history of Montréal. For the first time in 375 years, the population chose to elect a female Mayor and a majority of women to the City Council. The arrival of this new era has brought a breath of fresh air to Montréal. In becoming Mayor, I became part…

I will not begin with an anecdote about my 25+ year long career, about transgressions I’ve experienced in the work environment and not to mention in life, being referred to as “cute” or “babe” is really the least of it. We’ve all been there, and we all bear the weight of these experiences. Rather, I…

The most important for ending gender inequality worldwide is a change in the education of both women and men, especially girls and boys, to accept and expect the integration of women in all aspects of public life. Not surprisingly, such changes are achieved more easily in urban rather than rural settings, where patriarchal structures are…