23:T413,

This detailed geographical analysis of the emergence of new census towns in 2011 reveals that, broadly, the spatial pattern of the new census towns follows the pattern of the existing urban centres. As a result, the force of urban concentration has been further accentuated. Quite expectedly the field of urban concentration around Kolkata urban agglomeration has been extended outward, which indicates the perpetuating centripetal force of the declining metropolis. Apart from this age-old location of urban concentration, several new pockets of urban concentration have emerged, of which the majority are centred by the small and medium cities with great regional and national importance. Contrary to the force of urban concentration, emergence of new census towns also resulted in, albeit to a limited extent, urban dispersal. The study concludes that, to make this emerging organization of space significant, it is necessary to have an effective urban governance and planning in the newly emerged (as well as existing) census towns.

24:T50e,

Many contemporary violence prevention programs direct concentrated law enforcement, social service, or educational attention toward individuals engaged in violence, and yet, this population is often avoiding this precise attention. Drawing on 18 months of ethnographic data, this case study asks: How do street outreach workers form social ties with active gang members? This study identifies three key mechanisms of social tie formation that break organizational rules, but account for how new social relations are formed with street savvy gang youth: (1) Network Targeting: identifying, entering, and extending services to the package of preexisting social ties beyond the eligible gang member; (2) Gift Giving: navigating those social ties when transferring out of pocket gifts to the target to elicit trust and demonstrate genuine investment; and (3) Transportation Brokerage: expanding clients’ social networks by literally driving them to prosocial influences and activities. Discussion of the value and limitations of each mechanism offers insights to urban sociologists interested in the origins of social ties in disadvantaged communities, as well as policymakers designing social interventions for hard to reach populations.

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Spatial Perspectives of the New Census Towns,2011

Recruitment through Rule Breaking: Establishing Social Ties with Gang Members