Living with fear

For the last decade, surveillance and intelligence of perceived threats have been politically topical issues and have influenced debates on human security and risk. However, access to security is unevenly distributed. In a neighbourhood with reputedly high crime rates, people constantly relate to the perceived threat of violence when they carry out their everyday life activities. In short, our perception of danger influences how we live our lives. This book investigates how people react to urban danger and how the perception of danger informs action. Empirically the book is based on ethnographic fieldwork from Inner City Johannesburg in a period of major urban renewal a decade into South Africa s democratic transformation that brought about rapid social and political change. As such, the book is also a reflection on urban upheaval. The analysis provides insights on collective coping strategies in relation to violence and on the social expressions of fear and will be relevant for students and professionals in Anthropology, African Studies, Development Studies, Urban Studies and Sociology.