TransFearCity: insecurity, migrations and racism

Abstract

Cities are enclaves where the excluded inhabitants from "geographies of deprivation" enhance together, whether they be national (internal flows) or international (external flows); motivated by economic, geopolitical or even environmental factors. Today, the plurality of discourse on the "other" has been polarized, remarking a resurgence of xenophobic and ultra-protectionist movements. This situation is observable in the repositioning of several political parties and their constituencies, which manifest a new sensitivity to immigration policies, sometimes contaminated by fear and ignorance of the "other." Simultaneously, there is a sometimes inadequate or inefficient management regarding the capacity of receiving new migrants, creating situations of exclusion and segregation that favor the appearance of ghettos or marginal neighborhoods in the urban periphery. Emphasizing the heterogeneity of migrants, their plurality and difference, we find on the one hand what we might call "migrant elites" associated with highly skilled workers, or as alternatives the workforce with no qualifications. These diverse groups also experience different realities that must be considered. Regardless of the migratory group, they may participate in urban life, both as part of their integration and through their direct-participatory action.In another hand, violence and insecurity are present in the daily lives of citizens, in different forms and intensities. These situations occur at different scales, from a micro-scale corresponding to interpersonal aggressions, such as school bullying; to a macro-scale, centered on abuses of power by large groups, corporations or institutions.