How can cities protect their citizens from attacks?

More than eighty people dead, many more injured, including children. After events in Nice, can cities protect their citizens from such easily orchestrated attacks?

France is in mourning after chaos and terror hit what is usually an idyllic setting on the Cote d'Azure. The coastal city of Nice has always attracted those who enjoy the beauty, the culture and the climate of one of France's most loved attractions. But that all changed on Bastille Day, France's national holiday.

At least 84 people are dead, ten of them children, and hundreds more injured. 

Thirty-one year old Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, originally from Tunisia, had lived in Nice for years. On Bastille Day he hired a refrigerated truck and parked it near the festivities. He told police he was delivering ice cream to the crowd and then used it to mow down as many people as possible. 

This is the third attack on France in eighteen months. Details about the driver, his lifestyle and his personal problems are becoming clearer: Neighbours describe Bouhlel as an angry loner, with mental health issues. France's Prime Minister says authorities "now know that the killer radicalized very quickly." ISIS has claimed responsibility, but that claim is still being investigated by authorities. 

With civilian security top of mind for western governments, many wonder how this could have happened: a low tech method of killing carried out so effectively with the driver travelling through the crowd a couple of kilometres before he was gunned down by police.   

How much of that stress is felt here? Do the ripples of these tragedies reach Canada, especially when it comes to some of the bigger anti-terrorism issues so many western governments—including ours—are dealing with? 

Our question today: "After Nice, can cities protect their citizens from such easily orchestrated attacks?"