Good Practice Guide, SecurCity Network, November 2006
Through a network of 12 selected cities working together as partners and tasked with 5 key areas, the SecurCity program established a framework of good practice that has enabled many of the member cities to challenge existing methods of approach, re-configure working practice and supported by professional evaluation, achieve a wide range of successful outcomes. The Good Practice Guide provides a selection of the most interesting good practices within the five key themes of SecurCity (Citizens participation – Fear of Crime, Disorder and Environment – Youth Crime and Education – Drugs and Insecurity – Commercial Investment in a public setting)

Employment Generation and Economic Development in Stabilization and Reconstruction Operations March 2007. Johanna Mendelson-Forman and Merriam Mashatt. Stabilization and Reconstruction Series, United States Institute of Peace.
It seems logical that improving the lives of those who have suffered from conflict would include a program to generate economic well-being in the immediate period after hostilities subside. Yet livelihood creation, the root of potential economic success and security, has often become a secondary objective in the transformation from war to peace.

Mutual Dependence, Mutual Vulnerability: The Reflexive Relation Between Society and the Environment. Fraser, E. Mabee, W. and Slaymaker, O. 2003. Global Environmental Change, 13, 137-44.
The authors acknowledge the promise of existing analytical tools such as the Genuine Progress Indicator, Total Material Requirement Index, Living Planet Index, Environmental Sustainability Index, and research being conducted by the Land Use Cover Change Project and International Earth Science Information Network.

Human Security for an Urban Century: Local Challenges, Global Perspectives.
The most recent and comprehensive product of humansecurity-cities.org, this publication draws on the work of 40 external contributors who apply an urban lens to fields including children and armed conflict, security system reform, small arms and light weapons, stabilization and reconstruction, peacebuilding and democracy promotion.

Population, Urbanization, Environment, and Security: A Summary of the Issues. Brennan, Ellen; Washington, D.C.: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; 1999. (Comparative Urban Studies Occasional Series; 22).
To understand the critical linkages between urbanization, public health and habitat, the environment, population growth, and international security, this article highlights the trends in urban growth, particularly in the developing world, and their potential to affect the international community. Issues addressed include migration to the urban centers, the immediate environmental and health impacts of urban pollution on developing countries cities, and the link between crime and security.

Strategies for creating employment for urban youth, with specific reference to Africa. Richard Curtain, Professional Assoc, National Institute for Governance, Univ of Canberra, Australia. 2004.
This paper argues that creating employment opportunities for urban youth requires a greater focus on the demand side of the labour market. This involves, among other things, addressing the concerns of employers about the high level of risk they take on in employing young people with little or non experience in the workplace.

Territorial Exclusion and Violence: The Case of São Paulo, Brazil. Rolnik, Raquel, Washington, D.C.: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (Comparative Urban Studies Occasional Papers Series, 26), 1999.
This paper explores the nexus between risky urbanization and the urban violence that seems to be the most recent and visible face of this model, using the concrete example of different cities in the state of Sao Paulo. It is important to understand how patterns of economic development and population trends have contributed to the generation of risky urbanization and how planning and urban management policies interact with it.

Too Poor for Peace? Global Poverty, Conflict, and Security in the 21st Century. Lael Brainard and Derek Chollet, eds. Brookings Institution Press 2007.
In a world where boundaries and borders are blurred and seemingly distant threats can metastasize quickly, the battle against global poverty has become a fight of necessity – not simply because morality demands it, but because global security does as well. Just as poverty begets insecurity, the reverse is also true. Too Poor for Peace? explores this damaging pattern of mutual reinforcement in its many different facets, bringing the latest lessons and intellectual framework to bear in the search for vehicles to improve both economic conditions and physical security.

Urban Crime Prevention and Youth at Risk: Compendium of Promising Strategies and Programmes from around the World. 2005 International Centre for the Prevention of Crime
This Compendium illustrates how comprehensive crime prevention strategies in urban areas, and for youth at risk, can by put in to place by cities and countries from different regions around the world. The Compendium also provides examples of technical assistance and exchange of expertise which have helped to build the capacity of countries or cities in developing crime prevention programs. The key principles guiding these various interventions include the importance of all levels of government playing a leadership role; of developing integrated, cross-cutting social and economic policies and programs including employment, education, health, housing and urban planning, justice and social programs; of building co-operative partnerships between government, communities, civil society, NGOs, and the private sector; and, of respecting human rights and rule of law.

Urbanization, Population, Environment, and Security. Edited by Christina Rosan, Blair A. Ruble, Joseph S. Tulchin.
This publication is the final report of a two year working group research initiative examining the linkages among urbanization, population growth, environmental degradation, and international security.

Urbanization and Security. Gilbert, Alan; Washington, D.C.: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (Comparative Urban Studies Occasional Papers Series, 31), 1999.
Gilbert divides the existing literature on urbanization into eight popular theories or, in this words, "urban myths of our times." He reviews debates whether urbanization has positive or negative effects on the lives of city dwellers. Gilbert comes to the conclusion that a city's success or failure to create a secure environment depends on specific policies employed by the city government rather than urbanization itself. Secure urban development, therefore, is predominantly the outcome of policies – tools of government action – and urbanization is only a secondary explanation.

Youth Explosion in Developing World Cities: Approaches to Reducing Poverty in an Urban Age. Edited By: Blair A. Ruble, Joseph S. Tulchin, Diana H. Varat with Lisa M. Hanley
Cities have transformed into magnets for those seeking a promise of a better life. Yet, rapid urbanization in the 20th century left the majority on the fringes of urban society with limited access to basic services, employment, and housing. Youth are perhaps those most affected by this urban transformation. In these conference proceeding, contributors review the importance of highlighting youth on the policy agenda, reducing the alienation that many youth feel, empowering youth through inclusive employment strategies, and taking heed of the particular needs of urban street children.

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