Five years ago, in the midst of a global pandemic, the world watched as the police brutally murdered another Black man, who called out for his mother. Another life, at the hands of public safety. The cost of serving and protecting – whom? In community development, we aim to create the conditions for all people to thrive in our neighborhoods. Safety arises as a top priority and focus area in many neighborhood visions, in public meetings, on our Main Streets, and in our public spaces. But what actually makes people feel safe? And how does narrative play a role? Research shows an increased belief that crime is increasing, despite declining rates of crime across the country. If you’ve been following along with us, you won’t be surprised to see whose safety is typically prioritized – and at the cost of which communities. So what does it mean to foster safety for all?

When the concept of safety is weaponized, it turns against the very individuals who bear the greatest risk and vulnerabilities from unsafe conditions. Under the guise of safety, police forces, which disproportionately harm Black and brown individuals, become increasingly militarized. Black communities are over-policed yet face under-responsiveness. Calls for safety involve clearing the shelters of those who experience homelessness, ignoring the increased risk of violence unhoused persons face. Immigrants are othered as violent criminals, rather than uplifting full humanities.

When we problematize residents, not systems, we ignore the decades of disinvestment that have created the conditions that fail to meet the basic needs of communities. When we ignore root causes, we get surface level, band-aid solutions. We ignore the prison boom in rural, predominantly Black and brown communities, where prisons have become a core economic development strategy. We criminalize Black mobility in our streetscapes, even through traffic safety mechanisms.

And yet. We can reclaim safety. Communities are fighting for policies and practices such as the reduction of police presence in instances of traffic violations or fare aversion on public transit. Communities are supporting a care response through meeting basic human needs of shelter, food, affordable healthcare, and arts and culture. Communities are creating safety through rapid response networks, through organizing solidarity and base building in sanctuary cities.

In this issue, we highlight just some of the people and organizations who, when they talk about safety, think about a softer side to safety. The right to safety, particularly for those among us who are the most marginalized or who experience the least safe conditions. The freedom to imagine a better future. To exist as we are, with our families, in our bodies. As Delvin Davis prompts us in this Issue, to get different answers regarding community safety, we might need to ask different questions. So join us in interrogating the concept of safety, and how community development can achieve communities that are truly safer for all of us.