Fear and Everyday Urban Lives

Sparks, Richard; Girling, Evi; Loader, Ian

doi:10.1080/00420980123167

Cited by 85 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The empirical data presented demonstrates how place and local experience influence individuals' concerns about crime (Sparks et al, 2001). This relates to material and discursive experiences: engagement with place myths (Shields, 1991); and embodied interaction with social landscapes inscribed with the signifiers of crime and disorder.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More recently, (Girling et al 2000;Sparks et al, 2001) have shown place to be a fundamental and constant feature of crime experiences -in both local and also global terms. Indeed, the most recent work on fear of crime offers new possibilities of meaning and representation.…”

Section: Place Crime and Fearmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is important to make the link between crime and context since as Sparks et al, (2001) observe, 'when people talk about crime they are often also talking about places.' (Sparks et al, 2001: 887, their emphasis) and within criminology, place is acknowledged as central to studies of offending, victimisation and fear of crime (Evans et al 1992;Bottoms and Wiles, 1997).…”

Section: Place Crime and Fearmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(Sparks et al, 2001: 887, their emphasis) and within criminology, place is acknowledged as central to studies of offending, victimisation and fear of crime (Evans et al 1992;Bottoms and Wiles, 1997). In an extensive review of the fear of crime literature, Hale (1996) underlines the relevance of local experiences of disorder and incivility in explaining fear of crime, observing that 'where people live will be at least as important as who they are in determining the extent of anxiety' (p.119).…”

Section: Place Crime and Fearmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, the most recent work on fear of crime offers new possibilities of meaning and representation. For instance, the notion of fear of crime as metaphor argues that fear of crime acts as a means of expressing latent anxieties related to the insecurities of late modernity and the 'risk society' (Jefferson and Hollway, 1997;Girling et al, 2000;Sparks et al, 2001). Thus, experiences of physical and social disorder are not merely shaped by a material reality, but also by wider concerns and discursive constructions which demonstrate a preoccupation with risk, anxiety and ontological security in the current age (Giddens, 1991;Beck, 1992;Walklate, 2007).…”

Section: Place Crime and Fearmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Women students’ perceptions of crime and safety: negotiating fear and risk in an English post-industrial landscape

Wattis

Green

Radford

2011

Gender, Place & Culture

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CitationWattis, L., Green, E. E. and Radford, J. (2011) This paper explores safety concerns and fear of crime amongst women students attending university in a large town in the north-east of England. It acknowledges that gender as a social category is problematic; however, the paper is grounded in recognition of its significance in shaping experiences of fear, safety and space. The main aim is to explore how gender intersects with student identity/ies in a specific local context.The paper draws upon qualitative data from doctoral research which explored the crime and fear experiences of women students studying in a town bearing all of the hallmarks of industrial decline. It evidences powerful representations of place with respondents drawing heavily on the town's working-class culture and deindustrialisation in their reading of the locale. In addition, respondents linked the town unequivocally to crime and disorder, and identified the criminal threat as originating from local people. In this way, fears were frequently locally focused, linking to a fear of place and the risks associated with the student identity. This highlights that women's fears and spatial negotiation cannot be read exclusively in terms of gender -in this context they are frequently shaped by 'studenthood' and the dynamics of class and locality. At the same time however, the paper reveals how the local intersects with gender to shape experiences of space, fear and safety, as well as the transformative effects of ethnicity at its intersection with gender, locality and the student identity.Keywords: Identity; students; safety; fear; local context. IntroductionThis article explores women's fears as students in a post-industrial, urban locality where crime and disorder were highly visible features of the social landscape. It is underpinned by a recognition of the salience of gender 1 in shaping women's experiences of space, fear and safety. These themes have been covered extensively in feminist literature and research which focuses on how gender structures, sexual violence, harassment, ideology and discourses of victimisation perpetuate fears and render public space differential and problematic for women (Gordon et al.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Place Crime and Fearmentioning

confidence: 99%