Urban Criminology offers an accessible analysis of our urban
condition, viewed through the prism of crime, disorder and social harm.
This book gathers cutting-edge treatments, research field reports and
critical examinations of crime and harm in cities, from the disciplines
of urban studies and criminology. The social, economic and political
composition of cities and the various inequalities that mark out and
drive the problem of crime in many cities today are foregrounded.
Readers follow a series of thematic engagements, generating a deeper
understanding of a range of key areas that include problems of violence,
social and spatial divisions, housing, policing and the role of the
urban economy in issues of financial crime.
This book comes at a time of rising crime in many cities and complex
responses by city administrations and communities. It presents a
critical, political thesis - that crime in cities must be understood
with reference to the varying social structures, political forces and
economic opportunities of cities. These influences intersect to produce
dramatic variations in victimisation and attempts at social control,
often felt most strongly around class and gender divisions. To
understand crime, we must better understand the life of the city. Urban
Criminology seeks to present an integrated framework that brings to
life these key issues and seeks to enthuse students of our urban
condition - to locate the harms within it and to identify ways of
reducing the risk of crime.
This book is ideal reading for all students with an interest in cities,
crime, community life, urban sociology and urban cultures.
