Jenny Donovan

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The more comfortable women feel about breastfeeding in public, the better for both babies and society. Maxim Krivonos/Shutterstock

Here’s how to make our cities breastfeeding‑friendly

Jenny Donovan, La Trobe University; Julie Rudner, La Trobe University, and Lisa Amir, La Trobe University

Promoting the benefits of breastfeeding isn’t enough when uncomfortable and uninviting public places deter mothers. Places that help them feel comfortable breastfeeding have several key features.
Uninviting, car-dominated streets, like this one in Melbourne, reduce our experience menu by discouraging beneficial activities like walking and sharing places with other people. Daniel Bowen/Flickr

Is your ‘experience diet’ making you unwell?

Jenny Donovan, La Trobe University

If the menu of potential activities that do us good is made to look uninviting or challenging, we are more likely to choose the easier but less healthy option.
In poorer communities, shared spaces tend to be poorly maintained and utilitarian. from shutterstock.com

Our urban environment doesn’t only reflect poverty, it amplifies it

Jenny Donovan, La Trobe University

We wear our surroundings like a cloak. Lower-income communities often live in environments that discourage healthy, outdoor activities. This perpetuates their poorer health and traps them in poverty.
Originating in the Netherlands, the concept of ‘woonerfs’, areas designed to invite walking, playing, socialising and cycling while curbing motor vehicles, has spread to cities in other countries, including Berlin. Eric Sehr/Flickr

Designing the compassionate city to overcome built‑in biases and help us live better

Jenny Donovan, La Trobe University

All around us, the places we inhabit send us physical and visual cues that influence our behaviour. Good design can tilt the balance so our surroundings help us act in ways that fulfil our needs.

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