Feeling Insecure in Large Housing Estates: Tackling Unsicherheit in the Risk Society

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyse Zygmunt Bauman's three-part concept of Sicherheit (safety, certainty and security) in the specific context of large housing estates in Amsterdam (the Netherlands) and Milan (Italy). The efficacy of the different actions and policies, which seek to tackle unsafety, uncertainty and insecurity will be qualified on the basis of their correspondence and potential to face the various dimensions of Sicherheit. In both Amsterdam and Milan, there is a weak connection between the three dimensions of Sicherheit . Amsterdam has implemented so many initiatives within one framework that one cannot see the wood for the trees, while Milan lacks a framework for a comprehensive approach. Contrary to Bauman's ideas, we observe that even though Unsicherheit is partly a result of globalisation processes, this does not imply that local solutions are superfluous or useless.