Welcome to this blog!

This blog presents the current work of the urban studies section within the broader DRUSEC project. This section’s focus is anchored in geography, urban sociology and critical cartography.

Drug and alcohol use are often framed as security issues in urban settings – with (marginalized) consumers held at the center of fearful discourse and repressive, regulative or disciplinary practices. The identification of problem places, trouble hotspots and the localization of consumption practices has become a need-to-know issue for institutions and local governments.

With this research, we aim at reversing the perspective on substance users. Substance users are inhabitants of the city and its neighborhoods. They are also subject to fear and objective risks: on top of medical issues, their everyday safety is highly at risk. Their voices, experiences and ideas should be taken into account while discussing urban drug issues, implementing countermeasures and planning the city. They should not just be the objects of urban drug policies but also subjects in a public and political debate.

We are working with methods and concepts from critical cartography and counter-mapping practices involving drug users in French and German cities.

On this blog you can find content in any of our three working languages: