How crime takes over cities

How does organised crime take over a city – and can mayors act before it does?

Chris Blattman, economist and political scientist at the University of Chicago, joins Oliver Hanney and Kurtis Lockhart on the Ideas in Development cities series to explain how street gangs evolve into powerful criminal confederations, why cities like Medellín can have low homicide rates and still be almost completely captured, and what the "terrible trade-off" between violence, criminal power and political corruption means for policymakers.

We then discuss the perils faced by fast-growing African cities, where the conditions for organised crime to take root are quietly assembling.

Read the show notes on our Substack: https://ideasindevelopment.substack.com/

Check out the Africa Urban Lab: https://www.aul.city/