Affective dimensions of urban crime areas : towards the psycho-geography of urban problem areas
Traditional studies of crime areas within cities by geographers focus on the spatial variations in the incidence of crime, as well as the social deprivation and social disorganization of these areas. Although these social content and behavioural features are often highly correlated with crime areas....
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | deu |
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Copernicus Publications
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| Series: | Geographica Helvetica |
| Online Access: | http://www.geogr-helv.net/59/218/2004/gh-59-218-2004.pdf |
| Summary: | Traditional studies of crime areas within cities by geographers focus on the spatial variations in the incidence
of crime, as well as the social deprivation and social
disorganization of these areas. Although these social
content and behavioural features are often highly correlated
with crime areas. it is argued that analytical
studies of crime areas need to be extended to deal
with the feelings and attitudes of people in these
areas.Ten separate dimensions of the affective domain
are hypothesized, each of which describes different
feelings and attitudes that characterize crime areas.
These can be called «terrains of distinctive affective
characters», namely: social inadequacy; despair or limited goals; exclusion and discrimination; acceptance of
decay and destruction; anxiety and fear: spontaneity of
actions and emotions: indifference to others; low selfcontrol
and restraint; approval of subversive or deviant
values; and peer group allegiance in gangs. Confirmation
of these dimensions must wait for empirical
testing but they point the way to the systematic development of a psycho-geography of crime areas in which
the dimensions can be linked to different theories of
criminal behaviour. |
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| ISSN: | 0016-7312 2194-8798 |