Date:01/10/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/10/01/stories/2007100157880200.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Working towards a safer city

Staff Reporter

CHENNAI: The UN-Habitat Information Dissemination Office in the city will hold various programmes on October 13 on the theme ‘A Safe City is a Just City’.

The release of a compendium of articles on the theme and a paper presentation programme are on the agenda.

Leaders of the UN Habitat have formulated a new strategy to fulfil the theme, which would include developing a capacity for local crime prevention strategies that are gender and age-sensitive, building safer urban spaces and developing safety-sensitive urban development initiatives in all sectors.

According to a press note, the United Nations has called on city leaders across the world to ‘plan better for crime reduction, security of tenure and climate change mitigation.’

Attention to the young

It called for more attention to children and young people, ‘especially those at risk of becoming marginalised and turning to crime as an escape from the harsh realities of poverty and deprivation.’