EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - The safe city – safety and urban development in European cities

The safe city – safety and urban development in European cities

Introduction

Numerous local authorities of European cities invest in the attractiveness of their urban areas in the hope of attracting new inhabitants and economic activities. Perceived safety is a major factor in a city's attractiveness. Fear of crime can have a large impact on location decisions, with ensuing economic consequences. “The safe city” gives a strong analytical framework for studying urban safety issues, in which urban development is linked to perceived security, urban attractiveness and spatial behaviour, and specific policy reactions. The case studies provide a valuable illustration.

Description

“The safe city” examines the role of security in urban development and its local policy implications. Comparing eleven European cities, it analyses how actual and perceived security is evolving, and what the economic, social and spatial consequences are of a changing perceived security.
To illustrate their theory, the researchers have analysed eleven cases. While crime has decreased in eight of the eleven cities, fear of crime has increased in all of them.

This book identifies and discusses factors influencing this fear, including:

the role of the media
the quality and maintenance of the built environment
socio-economic inequality
calamities
terrorism

The study examines how perceptions of insecurity can persist, and require more innovative local safety policies and the involvement of a larger number of actors and other forms of social policy, such as education, employment and improving social cohesion.

“The safe city” includes case studies of:

Antwerp
Bari
Birmingham
Gera
Glasgow
Heerlen
Helsinki
Leeds
Prague
Rotterdam
The Hague

Background information

The study is embedded within the European URBACT SecurCity network. This network concentrates on the improvement and effectiveness of policies and actions to combat (perceived) insecurity in the participating cities.

Conclusions

In all studied cities fear of crime has increased. At the same time, in all those cities, actual crime has decreased. Fear of crime is thus influenced by more factors than actual crime alone. The following factors are considered most relevant to safety perceptions:

quality and maintenance of the built environment
unbalanced socio-economic structures
role of the media in reporting on crime

The researchers make the following recommendations:

Focus on fear of crime – fear of crime seems to have a larger influence on spatial behaviour than actual crime does.
Adopt a multi-agency approach – sustainable safety policies have to focus on a relatively broad range of policy topics.
Strike a good balance between repressive, preventive and proactive safety policies, taking into account the current local situation.
Policy makers should possess good information and statistics – it appears there is a lack of specific knowledge about the actual problems in declining districts.
Develop a sound and consistent communications strategy, contributing to less biased reporting on crime in the (local) media.

Contact info

European Institute for Comparative Urban Research (EURICUR)
Professor Leo van den Berg (Director), tel. +31 10 408 1186

Publication date

01/01/2006

Researcher

Leo van den Berg, Peter Pol, Giuliano Mingardo and Carolien Speller

Article info
ISBN: 0754647234

Links

For more information, please visit the European Institute for Comparative Urban Research website Order "The safe city - safety and urban development in European cities"Read more on the SecurCity network

Document type

research

Themes

Urban Policy

Keywords

Security & crime prevention