Abstract
Nowadays, levels of crime and violence appear to be much higher in large cities in developing countries. This is the result of several factors, such as: the speed of urbanization, the inability of cities to provide sufficient infrastructure and the widening disparities in income and access to housing and services. These levels of inequality can have negative consequences from a social, economic and political point of view, with a destabilizing impact on societies and higher risks for the most disadvantaged people, especially those living in informal settlements. The paper presents the results of a study carried out by the Authors at the Department of Architecture and Design of the Polytechnic of Turin. Urban security is investigated in the context of Kibera slum (Nairobi) through the integration of two different tools, namely Participatory Mapping and Space Syntax. The research analyses the relation between criminal activities and the spatial and configurational features of the street network, with the aim to highlight some key environmental factors to take into consideration while constructing the new road Missing link #12. Specifically, the research identifies and studies seven parameters from the literature review: integration, illumination, vitality and diversity, visibility, active facades, territoriality and maintenance and image. The findings show that urban planning and design strongly impact crime occurrence. The crime hot-spots’ distribution in Kibera depends on the simultaneous interrelation of multiple components in the space.
Highlights
Over the past two decades, there has been a marked increase in awareness of the need for innovative strategies and tools for crime prevention
Two very different tools have been used in this research: the first is a forecasting one—the Space Syntax configurational analysis—and provides accurate information on the public space of the case study; the second is of an empirical nature—the participatory mapping of MapKibera Trust—and allows the democratization of the design processes through the direct involvement of the citizens
The following describes in detail the data elaborated by the authors with Space Syntax analysis: firstly, the Axial Maps of Kibera’s public spaces before and after the Missing Link #12; and secondly, the Visibility Step Depth related to the current configuration of the slum
Summary
Over the past two decades, there has been a marked increase in awareness of the need for innovative strategies and tools for crime prevention. UN-Habitat, within its programme "Safer Cities 2.0", aims to foster the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the New Urban Agenda through smart technologies It is widely recognized that without ensuring citizens’ safety and security, the SDGs will not be achieved, and countries will not be able to gain economic and social prosperity [4]. It is necessary to generate an urban environment capable of limiting the perception of insecurity and to encourage social interaction between people To achieve this result, it is necessary to operate on different fronts: first of all, the design of physical space must minimize the elements that generate fear and allow its use by all citizens; secondly, the legislative and institutional framework must be able to regulate antisocial behavior and establish a relationship of mutual trust with the citizens; the inhabitants must be involved through bottom up approaches [6]
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