Lavapiés

Urban Security, Political Activism and Immigration in the Heart of Madrid

Abstract

This paper is devoted to the neighborhood of Lavapiés in Madrid and aims to present the relationship between security measures taken by the city and the image of Lavapiés as an insecure neighbourhood formed through criminalisation of the immigrants. The analysis of the Comprehensive Plan to Improve Security in the Neighborhood of Lavapiés in Madrid approved in 2012 (Plan Integral de Mejora de la Seguridad y la Convivencia del Barrio de Lavapiés de Madrid) has shown that the current discourse on urban security is influenced by the social and political context characterised by conflicts between public institutions and social movements on the subject of immigration control in Spain. The term “security” in the urban context cannot be therefore considered as neutral but rather as a reflection of an existing political conflict between the parties whose interests are being continuously redefined.