Where Does Firearm-Related Violence Occur in Cities?

Abstract

This article reviews five decades of literature in English investigating the nature of locations where most firearm-related violence occurs in public places, with a focus on neighbourhood-level and land-use characteristics. A search for peer-reviewed articles in Scopus, Web of Science and PubMed from 1970 to 2022 resulted in 112 articles. A bibliometric followed by a thematic analysis of the articles shed light on two questions: Which types of neighbourhood characteristics attract firearm-related violence? and What are the typical land uses associated with firearm-related violence? The article concludes by reporting examples from research of safety interventions implemented to tackle firearm violence.