ABSTRACT

This book explores the processes by which, in the 20 years after 9/11, the practices of urban security and counter-terrorism have impacted the everyday experiences of the Western city. Highlighting  the localised urban responses to new security challenges, it  reflects critically upon the historical trajectory of techniques of territorialisation and physical protection, urban surveillance and the increasing need for cities to enhance resilience and prepare for anticipated future attacks and unpacks the practices and impacts of the intensification of recent urban security practices in the name of countering terrorism. 

Drawing on over 25 years of research and practical experience, the author utilises a range of international case studies, framed by conceptual ideas drawn from critical security, political and geographical theory. 

The book will be of interest to students and scholars of politics, war studies, urban studies, geography, sociology, criminology, and the growing market of security and resilience professionals, as well as non-academic audiences seeking to understand responses to terrorist risk.

part 1|55 pages

The search for urban security

chapter 1|16 pages

Introduction

Security and the Urban Imagination

chapter 2|17 pages

The city as target

chapter 3|20 pages

Detonation boulevards

part 2|60 pages

Conventional tactics and techniques of urban security

part 3|70 pages

The longer term implications of 9/11

chapter 7|24 pages

Normal protective streetscapes

chapter 9|23 pages

Everyday terror prevention

part 4|86 pages

The future of urban security

chapter 10|28 pages

Towards impenetrable and smart security

chapter 12|29 pages

Conclusions

Normalising urban security