Assessment and Combatting of Crime and Violence in Urban Public Spaces in Southeast Algeria

Abstract

The primary objective of this article is to examine the relationship between violence and the sense of insecurity in urban public spaces, using the Algerian city of Biskra as a case study. Two contrasting types of public spaces are analysed: Martyrs' Square in the historic downtown and Independence Square in a newer suburban district. The article proposes and further develops the concept of Personal Risk Assessment (PRA), defined as the socially embedded and dynamic process through which individuals interpret environmental cues, social interactions and available support networks in order to evaluate potential threats and mobilise coping strategies. Unlike the narrower notion of perceived risk, PRA emphasises the assemblage of built environments, gendered interactions, collective imaginaries and socio-cultural narratives of danger. Methodologically, the study is grounded in 51 semi-structured interviews and is complemented by field observations, photographic documentation and local statistical data. The findings demonstrate that insecurity is shaped not only by actual incidents of violence but also by social stigma, anticipation, rumour and ambiguity. They further highlight how everyday strategies of avoidance, reliance on commercial infrastructures and gendered experiences reflect broader dynamics of socio-spatial inequality. By situating Biskra within its postcolonial, socio-economic, climatic and geopolitical context, the article contributes both conceptually and empirically to critical debates on urban insecurity in the Global South.