Urban Violence Prevention Amid Global Uncertainty: How Cities Are Navigating Global Trends While Investing in Local Safety

Read the report on the Peace in Our Cities website.

New technologies, rising authoritarianism, climate change, and the unraveling multilateral system threaten safety and security at all levels. Cities will feel these global shifts most immediately. This compendium supports city leaders in responding to these trends while implementing evidence-based approaches to violence prevention across a spectrum of safety-related factors, such as political violence, organized crime, access to justice, and fair housing and land policies.

Urban Violence Prevention Amid Global Uncertainty: How Cities Are Navigating Global Trends While Investing in Local Safety argues that the future of urban safety will be shaped not only by local violence trends, but by powerful global forces: rising authoritarianism, AI and technological advancement and disruption, climate change, and the weakening of international cooperation. Intended for city leaders, policymakers, practitioners, and civil society partners, the compendium positions cities not as passive recipients of these pressures but as frontline actors capable of preventing violence, strengthening trust, and building resilience at home and globally. Drawing on examples from cities across Latin America, Africa, Europe, and North America, it offers a practical roadmap for considering how governance, planning, justice systems, technology policy, and climate adaptation must integrate with violence prevention during these times.

At its core, the compendium makes the case that safety is not achieved through repression alone, but through institutions that are trusted, inclusive, and capable of responding to complex challenges. Each chapter provides analysis of the issue, its connection to contemporary global trends, and a series of recommendations to help cities move beyond reactive responses and create the conditions for lasting peace, safety, and democratic resilience.

Read the report on the Peace in Our Cities website.