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*Call for Papers: *Association of American Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting
2014, Tampa, FL, April 8-12

*Session: Criminology and Geography: Order and Conflict in Public Space *

Convened by Lucas Melgaço, Mattias de Backer (Department of Criminology,
Vrije Universiteit Brussels - VUB)

& Georgiana Varna (Scottish Cities Knowledge Centre)

In the late-modern practices of urban development and reordering, a
plethora of processes, such as gentrification, privatization, surveillance
and exclusion have been taking place, leading to the exclusion of certain
categories of people. The predominant phenomenon of the privatisation of
public space (Sorkin, 1992; Davis, 1998; Zukin, 2000; Atkinson, 2003),
coupled with a higher rate of control and surveillance measures (Lofland,
1998; Davis, 1998, Lyon, 2001), especially after 9/11, has not only led to
increased social exclusion, but also to the further erosion of public space
itself.

At the same time, temporary appropriation of public space by certain groups
is viewed mostly in terms of nuisance and conflict. In the contemporary
city it has become unclear what is meant when we say space is “public”. Do
the various users have the same right to the city? Which (in)formal rules
guide conduct in “shared” spaces? How are the crowds disciplined into
“proper” conduct? Moreover, who decides what is meant by “public order”?

One of the potential battlegrounds between the fields of geography and
criminology lies exactly here. Although order and conflict in public spaces
are common subjects in these fields, the dialogue between them is still
incipient. This session aims to promote such debate by collecting papers
from both areas, as well other relevant perspectives. We welcome
submissions on any aspect of the relationship between criminology and
geography (and other associated fields) and particularly encourage papers
on:

   - Order and Conflict in Public Space;
   - Policing and Surveillance in Public Spaces;
   - Resistance Strategies;
   - Cultural Criminology;
   - The Use of Public Spaces by Youth;
   - Privatization of Public Spaces;
   - Gentrification & Environmental Criminology;
   - New practices and emerging forms of public space:
   - Public Demonstrations;
   - The Black Bloc phenomenon;
   - Methodological and Theoretical Overlaps between Criminology and
   Geography;



Applicants should submit a 250-word abstract, including a preliminary
title, to Lucas Melgaço ([log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>),
Mattias de Backer ([log in to unmask]) and Georgiana Varna (
[log in to unmask]) no later than October 21, 2013. Successful
submissions will be announced on October 22, 2013. Presenters of accepted
papers will also need to register for the Annual Meeting (see
http://www.aag.org/cs/annualmeeting/register), submit their abstract
online, and provide their PIN by October 22, 2013.

Please contact the organizers if you have any questions. For more
information about the 2013 AAG Annual Meeting, please visit
www.aag.org/annualmeeting.

-- 
Lucas Melgaço