Issues which the lecture addresses

Violence in cities significantly compromises development and can have detrimental consequences for peace-building and political settlements in both conflict and non-conflict settings. The majority of the world’s most fragile and conflict-affected countries are rapidly urbanising, while much of the global burden of violent crime can be directly or indirectly linked to cities. But cities also abound with social, cultural and technological innovation and can bring 'smart' solutions to complex problems. Efforts to provide security, build political settlements and create safe cities for all need to go beyond reviewing simple statistics of death, destruction and violent crime. They need to engage 'the city' as a complex system.

Short analysis of the above issues

Urban violence is shaped by and shapes the physical and social landscapes of urban communities. For example, fear of violence prompts the physical separation of high-violence neighbourhoods from surrounding areas, and can force women, men and children to adapt their daily life to avoid areas prone to violence on their way to work, around their homes, or when they play. Beyond the psychological impacts of such circumstances, adapting one’s way of living in this manner usually also has a direct financial cost resulting out of the need to build barriers, take longer routes to work, or forego livelihood opportunities due to safety concerns. Implementing effective violence mitigation strategies therefore requires stakeholders to acknowledge varying types of urban violence, understand how these interact with the mechanics of security provision, and thereby bring a data-driven, spatially relevant, and city-specific thinking to how security is provided, and for whom it is provided.

Propositions for addressing the issue

Jaideep Gupte begins by presenting the nature and extent of urban violence, and summarises cutting edge evidence on data driven approaches to urban security provision in the global south. Approaches that seek to securitise the city are juxtaposed with inclusive visions of the city where no one is left behind.

Three main conclusions are arrived at: (1) To see urban institutions and process as central to security provision. Useful starting points in this regard are to focus on the ‘grid’ or the spatial design, layout and planning of the city to determine the institutions that exclude and include people, with a particular focus on the gendered dimensions that shape everyday realities of those living with violence or in conflict settings. (2) To set clear guidelines for policy responses and policing intervention to recognise different types of violence, particularly in the face of the varied nature of the experiences of violence and ‘everyday insecurity’ for city dwellers. (3) Consider identifying urban futures that are possible, probable, and preferable. Future scenario-planning approaches are useful in helping to assess the nature of future challenges, the types of policy response these might necessitate, and the potential long-term impacts of these interventions. Integrating urban futures within the frameworks of peace-building and political settlements in a rigorous and systematic way is essential as the world continues to urbanise, particularly in the most fragile and conflict-affected contexts.