Degree

BS (Social Sciences & Liberal Arts)

Faculty / School

School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS)

Department

Department of Social Sciences & Liberal Arts

Date of Award

Spring 2024

Date of Submission

2024-09-14

Advisor

Dr. Adam Abdullah, Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences and Liberal Arts, School of Economics and Social Sciences

Committee

Dr. Ayesha Zia, Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences

Project Type

SSLA Culminating Experience

Access Type

Restricted Access

Keywords

Place Attachment, Sense of Security, Street Crime, Migration

Abstract

The city of lights is known for its bustling nightlife and the undying spirit of its people. It is of no surprise, however, that the city has simultaneously been grappling with street crime for years. While the residents of Karachi have come to be known as resilient, recent migration trends from the city have highlighted the possible changes in perceptions, which raises questions about the immorality of the very spirit and resilience of the people. These changes in perceptions are integral to study as they influence perceptions of migration among the residents, which further predict the future socioeconomic fabric of the city. This study therefore aims to humanize the occurrence of street crime, by exploring the lived experiences of the residents in light of the impact of exposure to street crime on the well-being and perceptions of the city's residents. This is done by identifying a sense of security as a basic human need and exploring the impact of exposure to street crime on the sense of security and place attachment, which then impacts the perceptions of migration among the residents of Karachi.

A mixed-method approach was adopted to study the interplay of a sense of security, place attachment, and perceptions of migration among 93 residents of Karachi from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds via a self-report questionnaire. Results suggested a moderate place attachment, despite an alarmingly low sense of security among the residents of Karachi. While the lack of a sense of security served as a push factor for migration from Karachi, the presence of place attachment served as a pull factor. Subsequently, no direct correlation was found between the sense of security and place attachment, suggesting that place attachment among the residents is emerging from factors other than a sense of security. However, further large-scale research is necessary to draw broader conclusions about the future of the city, and for the development of interventions to prevent the erosion of place attachment, and subsequent perceptions of migration.

Pages

70

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