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SO473      Half Unit
Crime, Control and the City

This information is for the 2023/24 session.

Teacher responsible

Dr Janet Foster

Availability

This course is available on the MSc in City Design and Social Science, MSc in Criminal Justice Policy, MSc in Regional And Urban Planning Studies and MSc in Sociology. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

This course has a limited number of places (it is controlled access). Places are allocated based on a written statement, with priority given to students on the MSc in City Design and Social Science, MSc in Criminal Justice Policy, MSc in Regional And Urban Planning Studies and MSc in Sociology. This may mean that not all students who apply will be able to get a place on this course.

Course content

This half unit course examines crime and disorder in city landscapes, the relationship between crime, space and place, and the complex mix of informal and formal social controls that influence different types and levels of crime. Drawing on a range of comparative literature from different cities, and using a mixture of classic and contemporary texts, we examine the importance of informal social control in maintaining social order in cities, the role of policing, and what happens when formal and informal social controls fail. We also explore the principles of crime prevention – both physical and social, critically examining the relationship between crime and design.

Teaching

This course is delivered through workshops totalling 30 hours in the WT.

Reading Weeks: Students on this course will have a reading week in WT Week 6, in line with departmental policy.

Indicative reading

Body-Gendrot (2012) Globalization, Fear and Insecurity (Palgrave Macmillan);  Bottoms, A (2012) ‘Developing socio-spatial criminology’ in Maguire M et al (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Criminology (5th edn.); Cochrane, A and Talbot, D (eds.) (2008) Security: Welfare, Crime and Society (Open University Press); Evans, K (2011) Crime Prevention: a critical introduction (Sage); Felson, M and Eckert, M (2016) Crime and Everyday Life (Sage); Graham, P. & Clarke, J. (2001) 'Dangerous Places: Crime and the City' in Muncie, J. & McLaughlin, E. (eds.) The Problem of Crime 2nd ed. (Sage); Le Gates R & Stout F (2015) The City Reader (Routledge); Monti et al (2014) Urban People and Urban Places; Mooney, G and Neal, S (eds.) (2009) Community: Welfare, Crime and Society (Open University Press); Pile, S. et al. (eds.) (1999) Unruly Cities (Routledge); Pitts, J (2008) Reluctant Gangsters: the changing face of youth crime (Willan); Wacquant, L (2008) Urban Outcasts: A Comparative Sociology of Advanced Marginality (Polity Press); Zukin, S (2010) Naked City: The Death and Life of Authentic Urban Places (Oxford University Press)

Assessment

Essay (100%, 4000 words) in the ST.

An electronic copy of the assessed essay, to be uploaded to Moodle, no later than 4.00pm on the second Thursday of Spring Term. 

Attendance at all classes and submission of all set coursework is required.

Key facts

Department: Sociology

Total students 2022/23: 19

Average class size 2022/23: 19

Controlled access 2022/23: Yes

Value: Half Unit

Course selection videos

Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.