In a captivating series of conversations earlier this year, dozens of St. Louis women and men gathered to envision what a city would look like if everyone was at the table to design it. The discussion focused on how the physical forms, systems of mobility, investments, and growth policies would look if women had helped build our city.

The momentum led to an in-person event on November 15th, where over 75 individuals came together to hear from our captivating speakers.

Some key insights from our speakers included:

• We say rooms need to be more diverse, so when you’re in that space, say, why aren’t there more people of color? Why didn’t you invite them?
• Invite everyone to the table – when we see that the other decision-makers in the rooms we occupy are not diverse, we must use our voices to change it.
• Prioritize mental health – it’s a long journey through this life, and we can’t make change unless we take care of ourselves.
• Be a mentor to the next generation – learning how to become a mentor and how to help the next generation overcome challenges we face, will empower them to go further than we have.
• Every person must adopt ownership and leadership to affect change in their communities.
• If you design for the most vulnerable population, you design for everyone.

These conversations and the culminating event were merely a step in the right direction. We invite everyone to read through our Guiding Principles below and to continue this conversation as we shape the future of our City.

In researching this topic, we found numerous resources, references, and articles discussing women’s impact on shaping cities. We have included several of them below.