Urbanism, public safety and living. Specific reference to the city of Barcelona

Abstract

The relation between urban concentration and public safety is acknowledged at international level, such as the contribution of planning and urban design to the mitigation and/or resolution of some conflicts within the urban space. In Spain some recent residential models, tending toward physical-social segregation, sprawl and fragmentation, have enlarged insecurity perception among citizens and increased the recourse to forms of privatization of safety supply. Spanish state legislation and autonomous regional legislation have recently tried to integrate crime prevention within planning and building practices through the promulgation of specific laws and rules. The paper reviews the main instruments used and discusses about possible future sceneries of the European city.