Pergamon Hrolth & Placr. Vol. 3. No. I. pp. 15-23. 1997 mc~ 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved 1353~8292/97 $17.00 + 0.00 S 1353~8292(96)00032-9 Managing risk in the city: the role of welfare professionals in managing risks arising from vulnerable individuals in cities Andy Alaszewski, Mike Walsh, Jill Manthorpe and Larry Harrison Institute cf He&h Studies (SPPS), i3zit~ersit.y zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGF of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, UK Modern cities depend on individualism and the process of contracting. Contracts between individuals contribute to stability and order in cities. However, this is challenged by risks and uncertainties especially those relating to vulnerable individuals who are unable or unwilling to enter into contractual relations. This paper focuses on the role of caring professions and the impact of new strategies for managing risks related to vulnerable adults and children, especially the shift from managing risk in institutions to managing risk in the community. This paper is based on research funded through the ESRC Risk and Human Behaviour Programme. ‘0 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved Keywords: individualism, contracts, cities, risk, uncertainty, social care. institutions. community care, professions. welfare, family, children, learning disabilities, deprivation Introduction Risk and welfare The development of the city as the dominant social structure within Western society is a comparatively recent phenomena. Cities did exist in the pre-modern period but only a minority of the population lived in them and they were also fragile. Cities could and did shrink and even large cities were not self-sustaining and did not survive economic and political changes. The modern city is characterized not only by its size and dominance within society, but also by its self-sustaining character. Before developing our analysis we will start with a preliminary discussion of the concept of risk. Wharton, in his review of definitions of risk, suggests the following definition: A risk is an unintended or unexpected outcome of a decision or course of action (Wharton, 1992, P. 2). In the first part of this paper we shall, following an initial discussion of risk, consider the distinctive pattern of relations which underlie the modern city and how it can be differentiated from relations in the pre-modern city. We consider the ways in which risk threatened these relations, and how this was managed within the UK. In the second part we shall discuss the ways in which perceptions of risk have changed in late modern society, how the strategies to manage uncertainties have changed and the impact of these strategies on the structure of late modern cities. The working definition which we prefer balances both the positive and negative aspects of risk as seen from an individual actor’s perspective. Risk can be seen as: the possibility that a given course of action will not achieve its desired outcome but instead some undesired and undesirable situation will develop (Alaszewski and Manthorpe, 1991, p. 277). Thus, risk involves two main components, a consideration of probabilities related to different outcomes plus a valuation of the consequences of various types of outcomes. There are a number of concepts associated with risk and these have been described by a Royal Society study group 15