Enhancing Urban Safety and Security - Global Report on Human Settlements 2007

The United Nations agency responsible for human settlements, UN-Habitat, has launched in September the first in-depth examination of a broad range of urban security issues, focusing on three key aspects of urban safety and security: crime and violence; security of tenure and protection against forced eviction; and natural and human-made disasters. The most alarming parts of the report relate to increasing urban violence and crime, urban redevelopment-related evictions of disadvantaged groups and, above all, the increased vulnerability of cities due to climate change. The report stresses that the number of natural disasters affecting urban populations has risen four-fold since 1975 and is likely to keep rising. A must have for urban planners.

Order the report here.
Foreword and introduction here.