Participatory urban appraisal and its application for research on violence

This paper describes the use of participatory research on violence and discusses a range of participatory urban appraisal (PUA) tools that can be used for this purpose. This includes tools that can document the perceptions of poorer groups regarding the kinds of violence (economic, social or political), the extent, causes (and the links with poverty and exclusion) and consequences of violence, as well as the strategies for coping with or reducing it. In addition, it outlines a conceptual framework on violence, poverty/exclusion, inequality and social capital, drawing on examples from Guatemala and Colombia.