Alexandra Abello Colak is a Visiting Fellow in the Department of Geography and Environment, LSE. Her work focuses on understanding dynamics of violence, crime, and human insecurity in urban settings. She specialises in the development of participatory and action-oriented methodologies and tools to engage with communities and groups affected by chronic violence, with the aim of strengthening security responses and informing violence reduction strategies. Her work is grounded in a commitment to fostering positive peace in cities.

Alexandra has led and coordinated ethnographic, multi-sited, and collaborative research in urban communities across 11 cities in Colombia, Mexico, Jamaica, and South Africa. Her work has been supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC – Canada), the Gerda Henkel Stiftung, the European Commission (Marie Curie Fellowship), the Leverhulme Trust, the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC – UK), and the Swedish International Centre for Local Democracy (ICLD).

Since 2024, Alexandra has served as Executive Director of Security4Peace. She has acted as expert adviser to the Global Network on Safer Cities (UN-Habitat) and lead consultant on human security for an international project funded by the UN Trust Fund for Human Security (UNTFHS).

She has published numerous academic articles and co-edited books in both English and Spanish and developed UN training tools and courses for mayors, municipal officials, and practitioners working on urban safety and violence prevention.

Recent Publications:

• Abello Colak, A., Vallejo Chavarría, A. P., Velázquez Vargas, M. S., Martínez Toyes, W. (2025) Glocal Index of Human Security in Ciudad Juárez, México: A Comprehensive and Rights-based Measurement of Security. Security4Peace. Available here.
• Abello Colak, A., Lombard, M., & Guarneros-Meza, V. (2023). Framing urban threats: A socio-spatial analysis of urban securitisation in Latin America and the Caribbean. Urban Studies First published: 11/04/23. Available here. 
• Pearce, J. and Abello Colak, A. (2021) Humanising Security through Action-oriented Research in Latin America Development and Change First published: 12/10/21. Available here.
• Abello Colak, A. and Kloppe-Santamaria, G. (Eds) (2019) Human Security and Chronic Violence in Mexico: New Perspectives and Proposals from Below ITAM & MA Porrúa.