'Landscapes of insecurity': economic structure, poverty and crime intensity in a growing city

This article illustrates an exploratory approach investigating the spatial distribution of crime in a growing city, Rome (Italy), compared with the local context (economic and demographic variables, living conditions and poverty, environmental quality) and perception of crime intensity derived from a field survey. The spatial distribution of crime indicators by type and severity was correlated to population density, settlement characteristics, average income of resident population and unemployment rate. Crime intensity was determined from selected crime indicators at the urban district scale using a composite index derived from Principal Component Analysis. Our results indicate that citizens’ feeling of insecurity increases with crime intensity on a local scale. The integrated analysis of official statistical data, ad-hoc field survey and narrative information is a contributing tool to socioeconomic policies aimed at improving conditions for urban well-being.