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Spatial Variations and Planning Implications of Urban Crimes in the Bamenda Metropolis of Cameroon

Received: 6 September 2017    Accepted: 26 September 2017    Published: 8 November 2017
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Abstract

Rapid urban growth is characteristic of many cities in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the midst of such growth, insecurity and crimes represent a major emerging issue in these urban centres where the fear of crime and violence persists. The case of Bamenda, a primate city in Cameroon comes to mind. Uncontrolled urban growth has created breeding grounds for the upsurge of urban crimes which show spatial variations in their nature and distribution. In the context of Bamenda, previous studies have investigated city planning with respect to land use and the environment, land use and wetlands, housing patterns and green space development. These studies fall short of providing scientific information on the nature and spatial variations in urban crime and their implications for urban planning. In this study, we purposively sample 150 respondents drawn from targeted neighbourhoods. Using the correlation analysis at 0.5 level of significance, we established a significant relationship (0.784) between urban crime and city planning and development deficiencies on the one hand, and a significant relationship (0.84) between urban crime and neighbourhood socio-economic characteristics on the other hand. The intensity and distribution of urban crimes show a close link with mishaps in city planning and development. This calls for coordinated efforts to support the revision, upgrading and respect of urban planning regulations to ensure adequate access to neighbourhoods in a bid to stem the prevalence of crime. Such a strategy is necessary to support the global objective (at least from a micro perspective) of making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable in line with Sustainable Development Goal 11.

Published in Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning (Volume 2, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.larp.20170204.11
Page(s) 89-98
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Urban Crimes, City Planning, Implications, Sub-Saharan Africa, Bamenda

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Jude Ndzifon Kimengsi, Isofa Ndam. (2017). Spatial Variations and Planning Implications of Urban Crimes in the Bamenda Metropolis of Cameroon. Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, 2(4), 89-98. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.larp.20170204.11

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    ACS Style

    Jude Ndzifon Kimengsi; Isofa Ndam. Spatial Variations and Planning Implications of Urban Crimes in the Bamenda Metropolis of Cameroon. Landsc. Archit. Reg. Plan. 2017, 2(4), 89-98. doi: 10.11648/j.larp.20170204.11

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    AMA Style

    Jude Ndzifon Kimengsi, Isofa Ndam. Spatial Variations and Planning Implications of Urban Crimes in the Bamenda Metropolis of Cameroon. Landsc Archit Reg Plan. 2017;2(4):89-98. doi: 10.11648/j.larp.20170204.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.larp.20170204.11,
      author = {Jude Ndzifon Kimengsi and Isofa Ndam},
      title = {Spatial Variations and Planning Implications of Urban Crimes in the Bamenda Metropolis of Cameroon},
      journal = {Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning},
      volume = {2},
      number = {4},
      pages = {89-98},
      doi = {10.11648/j.larp.20170204.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.larp.20170204.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.larp.20170204.11},
      abstract = {Rapid urban growth is characteristic of many cities in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the midst of such growth, insecurity and crimes represent a major emerging issue in these urban centres where the fear of crime and violence persists. The case of Bamenda, a primate city in Cameroon comes to mind. Uncontrolled urban growth has created breeding grounds for the upsurge of urban crimes which show spatial variations in their nature and distribution. In the context of Bamenda, previous studies have investigated city planning with respect to land use and the environment, land use and wetlands, housing patterns and green space development. These studies fall short of providing scientific information on the nature and spatial variations in urban crime and their implications for urban planning. In this study, we purposively sample 150 respondents drawn from targeted neighbourhoods. Using the correlation analysis at 0.5 level of significance, we established a significant relationship (0.784) between urban crime and city planning and development deficiencies on the one hand, and a significant relationship (0.84) between urban crime and neighbourhood socio-economic characteristics on the other hand. The intensity and distribution of urban crimes show a close link with mishaps in city planning and development. This calls for coordinated efforts to support the revision, upgrading and respect of urban planning regulations to ensure adequate access to neighbourhoods in a bid to stem the prevalence of crime. Such a strategy is necessary to support the global objective (at least from a micro perspective) of making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable in line with Sustainable Development Goal 11.},
     year = {2017}
    }
    

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    T1  - Spatial Variations and Planning Implications of Urban Crimes in the Bamenda Metropolis of Cameroon
    AU  - Jude Ndzifon Kimengsi
    AU  - Isofa Ndam
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    JF  - Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2637-4374
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.larp.20170204.11
    AB  - Rapid urban growth is characteristic of many cities in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the midst of such growth, insecurity and crimes represent a major emerging issue in these urban centres where the fear of crime and violence persists. The case of Bamenda, a primate city in Cameroon comes to mind. Uncontrolled urban growth has created breeding grounds for the upsurge of urban crimes which show spatial variations in their nature and distribution. In the context of Bamenda, previous studies have investigated city planning with respect to land use and the environment, land use and wetlands, housing patterns and green space development. These studies fall short of providing scientific information on the nature and spatial variations in urban crime and their implications for urban planning. In this study, we purposively sample 150 respondents drawn from targeted neighbourhoods. Using the correlation analysis at 0.5 level of significance, we established a significant relationship (0.784) between urban crime and city planning and development deficiencies on the one hand, and a significant relationship (0.84) between urban crime and neighbourhood socio-economic characteristics on the other hand. The intensity and distribution of urban crimes show a close link with mishaps in city planning and development. This calls for coordinated efforts to support the revision, upgrading and respect of urban planning regulations to ensure adequate access to neighbourhoods in a bid to stem the prevalence of crime. Such a strategy is necessary to support the global objective (at least from a micro perspective) of making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable in line with Sustainable Development Goal 11.
    VL  - 2
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Catholic University of Cameroon (CATUC), Bamenda, Cameroon

  • Department of Geography, University of Bamenda, Bamenda, Cameroon

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