Fractured Cities Social Exclusion, Urban Violence and Contested Spaces in Latin America

As cities sprawl across Latin America, absorbing more and more of its people, crime and violence have become inescapable. From the paramilitary invasion of Medellin Colombia, the booming wealth of crack dealers in Managua, and police corruption in Mexico City, to the glimmers of hope in Lima, this book provides a dynamic analysis of urban insecurity. Working with new empirical evidence, interviews with local people and historical contextualization, the authors shed light on the fault-lines which have appeared in Latin American society. They argue that the situation can only be improved by cooperation between communities and police to build new networks of trust.

Kees Koonings is Associate Professor of Development Studies in the Faculty of Social Sciences, Utrecht University. Dirk Kruijt is Professor of Development Studies in the Faculty of Social Sciences, Utrecht University.

Introduction: The Duality of Latin American Cityscapes--Kees Koonings and Dirk Kruijt * Fractured Cities, Second-Class Citizenship, and Urban Violence--Kees Koonings and Dirk Kruijt * Rio de Janeiro--Elizabeth Leeds * Mexico City--Wil Pansters and Hector Castillo Berthier * Medell¡n--Ralph Rozema * Managua--Dennis Rodgers * Caracas--Roberto Brice¤o-Le¢n * Lima Metropolitana--Carlos Iv n Degregori and Dirk Kruijt * Living in Fear: How the Urban Poor Perceive Violence, Fear and Insecurity--Cathy McIlwaine and Caroline O.N. Moser * Epilogue: Latin America's Urban Duality Revisited--Dirk Kruijt and Kees Koonings