ABSTRACT
In recent years several European cities have come to realize that they have certain neighbourhoods where a significant number of individuals have been radicalized and involved in activities related to terrorism. Such urban spaces can increase the probability of occurrence of terrorist incidents and increase the flow of people mobilized to fight in countries in conflict. However, the superficiality of the information about these spaces also suggests that valuations and forecasts made in this regard may be imprecise or exaggerated. Thus, it is obvious that early identification of such micro-environments should be a priority in programmes aimed at preventing violent extremism. This chapter has two objectives. First, to propose an organized set of analytical criteria and indicators that help to assess the risk related to the transformation of specific urban spaces (cities or neighbourhoods) into areas of radicalization and recruitment for terrorist purposes. Second, to describe the results and conclusions of a comparative study undertaken in the cases of two Spanish cities, Ceuta and Melilla, which exploit and test the criteria previously discussed. The two localities studied were selected for two reasons: first, their exceptional and distinctive attributes compared to the rest of Spanish cities (Spanish enclaves located in North Africa and bordering Morocco); second, the significant information and evidence that has appeared since the year 2013 indentifying them as two of the main focuses of radicalization and jihadist capture in Spain.
