Critical Urban Safety
Over recent decades, urban scholars, criminologists, and planners contributed to a growing understanding of how the built environment and socio-spatial relations affect the distribution of crime, in/security, and un/safety across urban locations. While conservative studies and programs emphasize territorial defense, spatial control, and increased surveillance, critical studies direct out attention to financial disinvestment, spatial inequality, racialized class stratification, displacement, and gentrification. The two approaches also differ in their approach to the urban setting: The former views it as a collection of defensible and securitized properties and assets, whereas the latter views the built environment and urban society as one intermeshed fabric.
At 3S lab, we join forces with critical scholars, practitioners, and activists promoting just and sustainable urban development by developing a set of urban peace concepts, methodologies, and strategies. Indeed, while drawing on a host of local and comparative critical criminology and critical security debates, we also aim to envision and model forward-looking, critically inspired, urban change.
Our case study and primary site of intervention in 2021 was Hadar neighborhood in Haifa, Israel. This urban quarter of some 40,000 residents is home to a diverse population of Jews and Palestinian-Arabs, Ultra-Orthodox congregations, a large minority of migrants from the former Soviet Russia as well as asylum-seekers from Eritrea. Established in the 1920s by Jewish entrepreneurs in the context of Zionist colonization, Hadar has certainly become a “mixed” community and gained new urban charm. However, the neighborhood has also been facing steady urban decay since the mid 20th century, due to the relocation of commerce and middle-class residents—a process that primed it for gentrification over the last two decades. We began our study of personal residential safety in Hadar in response to calls by businessowners and residents who care about the fate of their neighborhood, seek to improve the quality of life for all its residents, promote security and justice for victimized populations, while also curbing displacement. Can this ambitious plan be achieved, especially under conditions of municipal austerity, when crucial redevelopment relies on financing from the private sector? What could residents expect, and what could they demand, if their goal is to make the neighborhood safe for everyone?
To investigate this complicated problem, we developed a multi-stage research plan. During the first stage, we used GIS software to map reported crime statistics across Haifa and within Hadar. As could be seen in the following maps (check our Digital Twin for a more interactive interface) deciding at what scale to observe the data determines how we understand it. Residents of Hadar typically view crime in their neighborhood as outstanding, however, looking at Haifa’s crime map it becomes evident that high levels of offending characterize a much broader terrain—stretching from the Eastern outskirts of the city across the low-income districts of downtown. The area colored in dark red in the map are not only socioeconomically disadvanategd and populated mostly by migrants and Arabs, but they also suffer from other physical and environmental hazards, trapped between highway, railway, and industrial space, and suffering the highest rate of air pollution from Haifa’s chemical factories.
Focusing on Hadar itself, we observe that crime is not evenly distributed across the entire neighborhood. Of course, we should not take official crime data at face value. Such data is shaped by uneven reporting and enforcement patterns. Minority groups are known to have less trust in the police, and therefore appear to have “lower crime rates” (as evident, for example, by observing the light-pink colored tracts, where most of Hadar’s ultra-Orthodox community, known for its use of internal communal justice mechanisms, is concentrated). In turn, crime rates tend to be inflated by excessive policing and over-reporting that characterizes early stages of gentrification. Nevertheless, with some caution, we may observe that the statistical areas (census tracts) surrounding the Municipality of Haifa building, Talpiot Market, and Yalag Street in the neighborhood are most problematic, in terms of reported crime and unsafety, a finding further validated through our discussions with residents.
Because Hadar is undergoing gentrification, and because housing security concerns most residents, we investigated the relationship between crime and property values. The results of our study, which are awaiting publication, show a counterintuitive relationship between high crime rates and high property values in Talpiot Market Area. We explain this by reference to the financialization of real estate and the rise of asset logics of discounting, that figure the anticipated success of gentrification into property prices. We also discuss several ways in which financialization of housing may differ from resident-owner led gentrification, as it relates to the politics of crime, criminalization, and displacement.
The second stage of our research consisted of interviews and focus groups with residents representing the diversity of groups in the neighborhood: low and middle-income residents, singles and families, Jews and Arabs, religious Orthodox and secular, Russian speaking and immigrants, of different ages; we focused especially on women and LGBTQ people, who are particularly vulnerable to violence and harassment. Our goal was to understand the variety of experiences and needs concerning security and safety. One of our most prominent findings was that while residents across sectors feel unsafe and demand better protection and services, the experiences of insecurity and strategies used to cope with it vary dramatically. For example, while middle class residents—especially parents—mainly complain about discomfort resulting from encounters with drug dealers, junkies and sex workers, lower-class residents—most of them Arabs—fear the growing infiltration of gangs and arms. The latter fear for young men who may become victims and perpetrators or suffer police brutality on account of their national identity. We are currently working on writing up some of the findings of this ethnographic stage. Among other things, we wish to stress that minority experiences, especially in colonial or divided urban locations, demand rethinking some established principles of safe cities, pioneered by Jane Jacobs.
Finally, a crucial component of our study was grounded in historical archival research. Having identified contemporary patterns of crime and conflict in the neighborhood, we were eager to understand how these came about. Indeed, we were not satisfied with generic accounts of urban cycles of disinvestment and decay. First, because we know that these cycles do not follow directly from physical deterioration but result from social and political developments. Second, because failing to understand the process of urban decline in its rich complexity, we miss the opportunity of developing a locally specific “clinical” understanding of the situation and must resort to generic solutions, often with limited effects. Drawing on a growing body of research on urban marketplaces, illicit economies, and rural-urban transformation, we delved into the archives to produce a rich social history of the Talpiot Marketplace. Publications resulting from this study are also underway.
This research was designed and led by Dr. Eilat Maoz, and benefitted from significant contributions by Keren Sagi and Haya Bisan. It was funded by the Israel National Insurance Special Projects Fund.
Over recent decades, urban scholars, criminologists, and planners contributed to a growing understanding of how the built environment and socio-spatial relations affect the distribution of crime, in/security, and un/safety across urban locations. While conservative studies and programs emphasize territorial defense, spatial control, and increased surveillance, critical studies direct out attention to financial disinvestment, spatial inequality, racialized class stratification, displacement, and gentrification. The two approaches also differ in their approach to the urban setting: The former views it as a collection of defensible and securitized properties and assets, whereas the latter views the built environment and urban society as one intermeshed fabric.
At 3S lab, we join forces with critical scholars, practitioners, and activists promoting just and sustainable urban development by developing a set of urban peace concepts, methodologies, and strategies. Indeed, while drawing on a host of local and comparative critical criminology and critical security debates, we also aim to envision and model forward-looking, critically inspired, urban change.
Our case study and primary site of intervention in 2021 was Hadar neighborhood in Haifa, Israel. This urban quarter of some 40,000 residents is home to a diverse population of Jews and Palestinian-Arabs, Ultra-Orthodox congregations, a large minority of migrants from the former Soviet Russia as well as asylum-seekers from Eritrea. Established in the 1920s by Jewish entrepreneurs in the context of Zionist colonization, Hadar has certainly become a “mixed” community and gained new urban charm. However, the neighborhood has also been facing steady urban decay since the mid 20th century, due to the relocation of commerce and middle-class residents—a process that primed it for gentrification over the last two decades. We began our study of personal residential safety in Hadar in response to calls by businessowners and residents who care about the fate of their neighborhood, seek to improve the quality of life for all its residents, promote security and justice for victimized populations, while also curbing displacement. Can this ambitious plan be achieved, especially under conditions of municipal austerity, when crucial redevelopment relies on financing from the private sector? What could residents expect, and what could they demand, if their goal is to make the neighborhood safe for everyone?
To investigate this complicated problem, we developed a multi-stage research plan. During the first stage, we used GIS software to map reported crime statistics across Haifa and within Hadar. As could be seen in the following maps (check our Digital Twin for a more interactive interface) deciding at what scale to observe the data determines how we understand it. Residents of Hadar typically view crime in their neighborhood as outstanding, however, looking at Haifa’s crime map it becomes evident that high levels of offending characterize a much broader terrain—stretching from the Eastern outskirts of the city across the low-income districts of downtown. The area colored in dark red in the map are not only socioeconomically disadvanategd and populated mostly by migrants and Arabs, but they also suffer from other physical and environmental hazards, trapped between highway, railway, and industrial space, and suffering the highest rate of air pollution from Haifa’s chemical factories.
Focusing on Hadar itself, we observe that crime is not evenly distributed across the entire neighborhood. Of course, we should not take official crime data at face value. Such data is shaped by uneven reporting and enforcement patterns. Minority groups are known to have less trust in the police, and therefore appear to have “lower crime rates” (as evident, for example, by observing the light-pink colored tracts, where most of Hadar’s ultra-Orthodox community, known for its use of internal communal justice mechanisms, is concentrated). In turn, crime rates tend to be inflated by excessive policing and over-reporting that characterizes early stages of gentrification. Nevertheless, with some caution, we may observe that the statistical areas (census tracts) surrounding the Municipality of Haifa building, Talpiot Market, and Yalag Street in the neighborhood are most problematic, in terms of reported crime and unsafety, a finding further validated through our discussions with residents.
Because Hadar is undergoing gentrification, and because housing security concerns most residents, we investigated the relationship between crime and property values. The results of our study, which are awaiting publication, show a counterintuitive relationship between high crime rates and high property values in Talpiot Market Area. We explain this by reference to the financialization of real estate and the rise of asset logics of discounting, that figure the anticipated success of gentrification into property prices. We also discuss several ways in which financialization of housing may differ from resident-owner led gentrification, as it relates to the politics of crime, criminalization, and displacement.
The second stage of our research consisted of interviews and focus groups with residents representing the diversity of groups in the neighborhood: low and middle-income residents, singles and families, Jews and Arabs, religious Orthodox and secular, Russian speaking and immigrants, of different ages; we focused especially on women and LGBTQ people, who are particularly vulnerable to violence and harassment. Our goal was to understand the variety of experiences and needs concerning security and safety. One of our most prominent findings was that while residents across sectors feel unsafe and demand better protection and services, the experiences of insecurity and strategies used to cope with it vary dramatically. For example, while middle class residents—especially parents—mainly complain about discomfort resulting from encounters with drug dealers, junkies and sex workers, lower-class residents—most of them Arabs—fear the growing infiltration of gangs and arms. The latter fear for young men who may become victims and perpetrators or suffer police brutality on account of their national identity. We are currently working on writing up some of the findings of this ethnographic stage. Among other things, we wish to stress that minority experiences, especially in colonial or divided urban locations, demand rethinking some established principles of safe cities, pioneered by Jane Jacobs.
Finally, a crucial component of our study was grounded in historical archival research. Having identified contemporary patterns of crime and conflict in the neighborhood, we were eager to understand how these came about. Indeed, we were not satisfied with generic accounts of urban cycles of disinvestment and decay. First, because we know that these cycles do not follow directly from physical deterioration but result from social and political developments. Second, because failing to understand the process of urban decline in its rich complexity, we miss the opportunity of developing a locally specific “clinical” understanding of the situation and must resort to generic solutions, often with limited effects. Drawing on a growing body of research on urban marketplaces, illicit economies, and rural-urban transformation, we delved into the archives to produce a rich social history of the Talpiot Marketplace. Publications resulting from this study are also underway.
This research was designed and led by Dr. Eilat Maoz, and benefitted from significant contributions by Keren Sagi and Haya Bisan. It was funded by the Israel National Insurance Special Projects Fund.
