Violencia urbana: análisis crítico y limitaciones del concepto
Fecha
2019-01
Tipo
artículo original
Autores
Saborío Rodríguez, Sebastián
Título de la revista
ISSN de la revista
Título del volumen
Editor
Resumen
Hasta el momento no existe una definición de violencia urbana que sea considerada
como válida por la comunidad académica. Sin embargo, esto no impide que en
las ciencias sociales el concepto se empleé con regularidad. En la mayoría de los
casos, las publicaciones científicas lo utilizan de manera acrítica como sinónimo de
crimen y homicidios. En otros, se proponen definiciones que se limitan a describir las
características de la violencia en contextos urbanos específicos y que no pueden ser
generalizadas a otras realidades sociales. A través de los resultados de un análisis
bibliográfico, el autor explica la importancia de verificar la validez del concepto y expone
cuáles son sus principales limitaciones y debilidades. Cuando se refieren a la violencia
urbana, las ciencias sociales suelen tomar en consideración principalmente aquellas
formas de violencia altamente visibles y que consiguen hacer que una ciudad sea
identificada como violenta, disminuyendo la percepción de seguridad de las personas.
El principal problema del concepto radica en el hecho de que éste se emplea sobre todo
para describir la violencia que ocurre en espacios donde usualmente viven poblaciones
socialmente excluidas, las cuales no tienen el poder de incidir en su definición y uso.
En consecuencia, el uso acrítico puede consolidar representaciones que estigmatizan
y criminalizan a tales poblaciones y los lugares en donde viven; y, a su vez, refuerzan
potencialmente los discursos y políticas de seguridad de matriz punitiva y excluyente.
So far it does not exist a definition of urban violence accepted by the academic community. However, this does not preclude the fact that the concept is abundantly used in social sciences. In most cases, scientific publications use it uncritically as a synonym of crime and homicides. In other cases, some authors propose definitions that do not go beyond a simple description of the characteristics of violence in specific urban settings. However, such descriptions cannot be generalized to other social realities. First, the author’s article explains the importance of verifying the concept’s efficacy through the results of bibliographical analysis; then, it elucidates which are its main limitations and weaknesses. When referring to urban violence, social sciences used to consider mainly those forms of violence that are highly visible and that make possible that a city passed to be identify as violent, reducing people’s perception of safety. The concept’s main problem lies on the fact that it is usually employed to describe the violence of the socially excluded communities that do not have the power to define it. Therefore, its uncritical use can consolidate stigmatized and criminalized depictions of such populations and the territories they reside that can potentially reinforced restrictive and punitive discourses in politics and security.
So far it does not exist a definition of urban violence accepted by the academic community. However, this does not preclude the fact that the concept is abundantly used in social sciences. In most cases, scientific publications use it uncritically as a synonym of crime and homicides. In other cases, some authors propose definitions that do not go beyond a simple description of the characteristics of violence in specific urban settings. However, such descriptions cannot be generalized to other social realities. First, the author’s article explains the importance of verifying the concept’s efficacy through the results of bibliographical analysis; then, it elucidates which are its main limitations and weaknesses. When referring to urban violence, social sciences used to consider mainly those forms of violence that are highly visible and that make possible that a city passed to be identify as violent, reducing people’s perception of safety. The concept’s main problem lies on the fact that it is usually employed to describe the violence of the socially excluded communities that do not have the power to define it. Therefore, its uncritical use can consolidate stigmatized and criminalized depictions of such populations and the territories they reside that can potentially reinforced restrictive and punitive discourses in politics and security.
Descripción
Palabras clave
Visibilidad, Limitaciones, Violencia urbana, Visibility, Limitations, Urban violence, 307.76 Comunidades urbanas