Urban routines,spatial occupancy,and their effects on outdoor crime in Barcelona

Abstract

Based on mobile phone data from the city of Barcelona, Spain, generalized linear models are used to analyse the relationship between urban mobilities and the spatial and temporal patterning of robbery and theft. The hypothesis was made that mobility fluxes may undermine social control mechanisms by altering the socio-demographic composition of urban populations, therefore increasing the risk of crime victimization. The analysis brought together indicators of land use and a measure of the ambient population disaggregated by different profiles of public space users (by sex, age, and place of residence). The results indicate that robbery and theft tend to cluster around locations that attract a higher proportion of non-residents (i.e. national and international visitors). Non-local visitors, who visit the city occasionally or once in a lifetime, lack a comprehensive knowledge of the environment which would help them to navigate safely through the urban space. Therefore, their presence not only unsettles the social routines of public spaces in Barcelona but also reflects negatively in terms of crime occurrence. This finding raises questions about how to accommodate growing mobilities in our cities without detriment to incumbent residents and their safety, which seems to be critical in post-COVID-19 urban planning.