Families, geography, and terrorism in the post-9/11 city: An exploration of place alienation in New York

A feminist lens is used to reorient the scale of analysis in urban geography and terrorism studies to the micro-geographies of everyday, urban lives. Interviews, multiple case studies, and explanation building about the cases are used to explore three theoretical propositions regarding how urban families experience place alienation from terrorism. The explanations derived from the cases corroborate the theoretical propositions: (1) perceptions of place alienation are heightened by the existence of strong caring bonds (e.g. parental concerns for children or other care-dependent relatives) in urban environments, but (2) are mediated by institutional / cultural influences as well as stage in the family-course and (3) proximity to the heart of the urban center (which is likely to be the target of terrorism).