This book analyzes and compares the police's inner city presence in France, the US, and Britain. Its authors' research points to the idea that the creation of a more inclusive environment is a sound approach for cities looking to better maintain peace, reduce discrimination, and manage the dynamic between police and citizens in inner cities.

Fear has always been present in cities. However, recent events and political and social trends have intensified these insecurities and refocused very diverse anxieties on civic space. The changing role of the state through globalization, and the growth of inequalities and power conflicts over public space call for a renewed analysis of global-local conflicts, and for a theorization of the relationship between issues of space and social marginalization.
The events of 9/11 have served to galvanise the precautionary principle, increasing repression and the number of gated communities worldwide. This book analyses the diverse responses of New York, Paris, London and Mumbai to terrorism, Johannesburg and Sao Paolo to cartels of gangs and British and French cities to persistent civic unrest. These responses can be perceived as a sign of hope; despite various constraints, cities' immense capacity for adaptation and resilience can allow very diverse people to live together with their differences.

This collection studies the behavior of immigrants in increasingly globalized European cities. Studying European neighborhoods from the point of view of immigrants challenged by economic restructuring, the book simultaneously explores two topics: the integration and exclusion of immigrants and the evolution of European cities confronted by globalization.

Fear is ingrained in the history of cities but our short-sightedness prevents us from grasping its evolution over time. Increasingly, risk and fear are experienced, portrayed and discussed as globalized phenomena, particularly since 9/11. This research puts urban insecurity in perspective, with a comparison of world cities in the North and South.