Navigating Regional Transformation
The Regional Studies Association’s Annual Conference 2025 #RSA25 is being held in partnership with the School of Economics and Management at the University of Porto, Portugal. This four-day conference brings together academics and policymakers to exchange news, views and research findings from the fields of regional studies and science, regional and economic development, policy and planning. There will be representation from around 55 different global territories as we gather both established experts and early career researchers in the beautiful city of Porto.
In recent years, the landscape of regional development has undergone significant shifts. While technological advancements keep disrupting work, innovation, and consumption paradigms, regions grapple with an enduring global ‘polycrisis’, intertwining geopolitical instability, threats to democracy, and climate-related tension. Multiple actors became increasingly involved with regional development affairs, but this did not prevent many regions to fall into regional economic development traps. Simultaneously, policy agendas strive to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), inclusive growth and well-being, and multiple transitions are accelerating, but progress remains highly uneven across geographical contexts. Regional actors are not just passive observers but can actively shape their destinies and be transformation agents within this dynamic playing field. But what knowledge can regional studies contribute? How can regional studies help envision, conceptualize, understand, and – importantly – catalyze action toward new regional futures?
Navigating Regional Transformation provides a timely opportunity to engage in dialogue and renewed debate on these fundamental issues. It invites exploration of the challenges faced by diverse regions worldwide and underscores the manifold ways in which regional studies can help addressing these pressing issues and collectively navigate the complexities of our changing regional world.
Conference themes
Innovation and Technological Change | University Missions and Civic Action |
Land, Housing, Informality | Geopolitics and North-South Relations |
Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurial Ecosystems | Sustainability Transitions and the Environment |
Agglomeration, Networks and Clusters | Digitalization, AI, and its Implications |
Value Chains and Foreign Investment | Politics, Governance, Leadership and Institutional Change |
Spatial Economy, Transport, and Infrastructure | Populism, Nationalism, Regionalism and Democracy |
Industrial Transformation and Policy | Race, Gender and Social Inequalities |
Regional Disparities and EU Cohesion Policy | Peripheral, Remote and Cross-Border Regions |
Sustainable Tourism | Inclusive Growth, Housing and Well-Being |
Regions, Culture, and Creativity | Finance, Space, and Regional Development |
Demography, Labour Markets and Migrations | Planning Urban, Rural and Regional Futures |
The event is inclusive and offers networking opportunities for all in our field. The organisers welcome proposals for special sessions, themed workshops and innovative forms of networking and collaboration.
Submission Deadlines:
Special Sessions: 28th November 2024
Abstracts: 19th December 2024
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