Community Safety

Safety is a basic need for everyone, even as it is specific and variable in different regions and communities. With growing recognition of the human and financial toll of mass criminalization and incarceration, local governments and communities across the US are seeking new ways to develop and promote meaningful forms of safety and accountability. These efforts give attention to root and structural causes of violence and harm, the damaging generational and racialized impacts of criminalization, and how investments prioritizing just economic transitions, health care, education, housing, and more, can increase safety for all. In this way, community safety has deep roots – and possibilities – in our current research themes in land, health, and housing justice.