(In)Security and violence have become pressing issues in big and small cities across the globe; safety issues are put at the top of the political agenda and are recognized by urban planners and the market alike, as military expenditures are skyrocketing even in times of peace. Culminating in a new military urbanism, cities are not merely the backdrop for this development, but they increasingly function as laboratories for contemporary (urban) security governance. Security measures are usually based on a notion of security as a good or condition that is achievable through adequate means; most often, surveillance, police presence, access control, the privatization of security services and, put simply, the restriction of democratic freedoms in exchange for a promise of security.

While in the prevalent urban security discourse, there is usually a demand for “more security”, there is in fact little knowledge about the mundane, long-term effects of security measures and how groups of people are affected differently by security practices. Particularly feminist researchers from the fields of urban studies and security studies have problematized narrow and simplifying definitions of security because they fail to account for the complexity and ambiguity of how security “works” in everyday urban spaces. Complicating urban security knowledge, critical and feminist research centers on how (in)security is experienced and constructed in the everyday lives of urban dwellers who are affected or targeted by security measures. What happens, for instance, when security efforts do not curb violence, but instead lead to a simultaneity of violence and security measures that neighborhoods and their residents are confronted with? What kind of security is implemented in what kind of spaces? How are spaces of violence, (in)security and peace dynamically intertwined and exist next to each other?

In addition to addressing these questions, possible themes for this session include:

• Empirical studies of different European contexts, e.g., French banlieues, Swedish suburbs or the recent far-right riots in the UK

• Community-based security initiatives and bottom-up security

• Innovative methodological approaches to studying long-term effects of urban violence and (in)security

• Theoretical frameworks for studying urban violence and (in)security particularly in European cities

• Interdisciplinary contributions