Effects of relationship among poverty, urban security and crime on quality of urban life: Case study of İzmir

The city is a heterogeneous legal settlement where have non-agricultural production, specialization, a division of labor and organization with a certain population density and individual relations instead of traditional relations. The modern sense of city was emerged at the end of the industrialization process. Together with the change in way of production, lifestyles and the structure of cities have changed. The concept of poverty, which continues to exist before this change, has become visible through the process of change with globalization. Urban poverty is a multifaceted phenomenon that emerged with the industrial revolution in the world and emerged in the process of urbanization. Another important concept that appears with this phenomenon is urban security. Poverty is one of the most important factors that affect crime. The ensuring of public and urban security in the fight against crime is provided by the law-enforcement forces intervention to crime as well as the policy of preventing the occurrence of crime. This study includes a detailed analysis of the policies of the public institutions and organizations dealing with poverty and crime and it aims to investigate whether the applied policies of poverty and crime fighting in İzmir are adequate or not. In this context, a face to face structured interview was conducted with Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, Ministry of Justice - General Directorate of Prisons and Detention Houses İzmir Probation Directorate, Social Security Institution İzmir Provincial Directorate and İzmir Labour and Employment Agency Provincial Directorate and also the level of effectiveness, positive outcomes and shortcomings of policies against poverty and crime have been investigated with emphasis on urban life quality. This study will guide to determine the impact of the relationship between poverty and crime on urban security and urban welfare and the evaluation of the policies implemented by public institutions and organizations for fighting poverty and crime in the light of the quality of urban life indicators.