According to the recent National Survey on Urban Public Safety by INEGI for the fourth quarter of 2024, significant data is revealed. Culiacán, Sinaloa, stands out as the city where the highest percentage of residents have stopped walking at night around their homes due to fear of crime, reaching 79.3%. This city has recently made headlines due to the tragic murder of two children and their father, as well as calls for the resignation of Governor Rubén Rocha during a march.
In contrast, the municipalities with the best perception of safety, according to INEGI, are Cuauhtémoc, Benito Juárez, Milpa Alta, Iztapalapa, and Miguel Hidalgo, in that order. The act of walking in the streets not only promotes a sense of belonging, but citizen presence is fundamental to ensure safe and dynamic spaces. Following in the list are the cities of Fresnillo, Ciudad Obregón, Toluca, and Tuxtla Gutiérrez.
In Mexico City, on average, three out of five people feel safe walking at night near their homes. This is attributed to the promotion of the right to the city through public policies aimed at recovering public space led by Government Chief Clara Brugada. This positive perception can be strengthened with strategies such as a broad division into police quadrants for more effective responses in emergencies, and strengthening video surveillance infrastructure operated from the C5.
In literary contexts, the novel "The Savage Detectives" by Roberto Bolaño shows its characters walking not with the intention of reaching a specific destination, but to discover something new in others, the environment, or themselves. Whether from Roma to San Lorenzo Tezonco, from Polanco to San Pedro Actopan, or in Narvarte and Del Valle, walking both during the day and at night enriches urban life by providing an experience of freedom and social interaction.
Walking through the streets becomes more than a physical act; it becomes an act of freedom and social connection, being a way to inhabit and appropriate public space while also contributing to the creation of safe environments. The recovery of this activity, especially at night, reflects a significant improvement of 24 percentage points compared to December 2018.
