Publications

In order to explain how crimes are carried out, and why at a particular place and time and against a specific target, crime studies increasingly harness theory from behavioural ecology, in particular Optimal Foraging Theory (OFT). However, an overview of their main findings does not exist. Given the growing focus on OFT as a behavioural framework for structuring crime research, in this article we review the extant OFT-inspired empirical crime ...

This paper argues that in Italy the notion of urban security is being used to shift sovereignty from national to local authorities. This has been made possible thanks to the political and legislative processes taking place in the country in the past decade, which have opened up a space of autonomy where local authorities could play a proactive role in the provision of security to citizens. This is exemplified by the flows of public funding that ...

Large metropolises, particularly in Latin America, have gone through deep transformations due to fear of violence. New urban forms - such as gated communities, deterrent architecture and security cameras - have answered the increasing demand for security. With no real prior consideration, towns such as Campinas-SP, in Brazil, have opted for a policy of video surveillance and the construction of buildings which incite segregation and stifle ...

Large metropolises, particularly in Latin America, have gone through deep transformations due to fear of violence. New urban forms - such as gated communities, deterrent architecture and security cameras - have answered the increasing demand for security. With no real prior consideration, towns such as Campinas-SP, in Brazil, have opted for a policy of video surveillance and the construction of buildings which incite segregation and stifle ...

Objectives. Building on crime pattern theory, we test the influence of the presence of a crime generator on property crime patterns in an urban environment. Methods. The relocation of a soccer stadium in Ghent, Belgium created the conditions for a natural experiment. Using a 38-month window of police recorded property crime data for all non-game days, we compare crime patterns before and after the relocation in the areas surrounding the old and ...

Faced with the problematic of insufficient popular involvement in the design of city spaces, the objective of the research is to systematize theoretical debates and practical applications of methodological alternatives applied to participatory urban design. From introductory theoretical-conceptual foundations, the methodological-procedural proceedings were based on bibliometric analysis and systematic review of scientific articles, being ...

Urban redevelopment is no longer a matter of governments alone. Development projects are increasingly operated through a partnership of government and private organizations. Given this context we wonder whether urban governance of security in Belgium goes hand in hand with the development of ‘bubbles of security’? In this case-study we make use of the project of the rail station ‘Ghent Sint-Pieters’. Our analysis takes into account the ...

Identity checks are controversial in Belgium. Allegations that police have engaged in
racial profiling practices have led to protests in some major cities and conflict
between the police and young people with minority backgrounds. Academic research
into citizens’ experiences with ID checks by the police is both dated and scarce in
Belgium. Existing studies show that citizens, especially those of North African origin
and ...