Basketball Courts, Street Corners and Empty Lots: The Spatial Dimensions of Youth Fear and Vulnerability to Violence

The formation of neighborhood youth gangs is both a cause and response to violence among youth and young adults. We examine a geography of fear and vulnerability to gangs in a mixed-method study set in Worcester, Massachusetts, in the United States. This research is an exploration of how young men identify and experience unsafe urban spaces as well as how they navigate threats to their safety. The young men in the study have intricate knowledge about their neighborhoods that local policy makers and program planners need to consider if they want to address youth vulnerability to violence and gang involvement. We suggest that an intentional “spatial sensitivity” is needed both to disrupt the dynamics that cause young men to turn to gangs and to develop neighborhood-based models that are infused with a deep understanding of the role the built environment plays in youths' vulnerability to gang involvement and violence.