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Lecture 3: Cities, Crime & Development, Meth, 2014 (But urban poor…
Lecture 3: Cities, Crime & Development, Meth, 2014
Cities, Crime & Development - Meth, 2014
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Crime research heavily focused on statistical analysis as it illustrate factors such as scale, extent etc. But important to have humanist, qualitative perspective to understand experiences and consequences on e.g. mobilities/culture of fear.
Whilst impactful on residents. World Bank, 2011 state 30% of firms in Latin America, Africa and Asia state crime as the primary concern of their business. A development hindrance.
Comparative analysis of crime is difficult due to limitations. E.g. Drug related crimes in Mexico were recorded as 68 per 100,000 whereas Switzerland recorded 619. Differences in crime classification, reportings and justice systems come into making the comparison futile.
"The notion of crime is contested and whether particular practices are criminalised or not tells us much about power relations within a society" (e.g. gender violence) - (: 325)
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World Bank, 2011 globally, young men are the main instigators and victims of crime.
Caldeira, 2000 states that black men in Sao Paulo and Johannesburg are viewed more with an aggressive and criminal profile. Impacting their human rights, access to justice and are more prone to state-directed violence e.g. police brutality.
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But urban poor cannot be only viewed as only instigators of crime. In fact many are criminalised through everyday practices of survival.
80% of urban poor in global south live in informal settlements which do not meet legal requirements of habitation. Precarious materials, illegal supplies of the likes of electricity and the state's inability to address this with adequate housing can be argued as also criminal. Housing is considered a basic human right.
Informal economies such as in Harare, Zimbabwe suffer disproportionate exposure of law enforcement such as police raids to street raiders as opposed to many middle class businesses whom also adopt illegal practices but have a greater blind eye turned (Kamete, 2010)
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