RSPP Call for Paper

Special Issue on Spatial Resilience and the Border Regions of Europe

One of the least exploited research directions in regional science is the investigation of spatial patterns in relation to resilience, as well as of the role that geographical positioning, respectively the interaction between space and socio-economic activities, play in fostering and enhancing resilience, especially in border regions.

Some key research questions arise as being particularly important for development policies: Are there spatial differences in the resilience outcomes, and have various regions different responses to economic shocks along with their ability to adapt to new economic circumstances, depending on the geographical positioning of a region? Are regions with external borders less resilient to economic, environmental, social or political shocks than regions without any national borders, or with borders that are internal to the EU? Is the impact of a shock on border regions different from the impact on domestic regions? Or does the impact differ on peripheral regions vs. central ones? Can cross-border cooperation reduce border effects and transform borders from a disadvantage into an opportunity? What role do physical, administrative, economic, cultural, institutional, or political barriers have on the resilience of border regions?

This special issue on Spatial Resilience and the Border Regions of Europe aims at responding to some of key challenges for border regions, collecting a set of studies on:

• The principles and effects of spatial resilience (be it cities, regions, rural areas, spatial labor markets, migration, transport systems, public facilities etc.);
• How to better connect and inter-connect the territorial dimension with the economic, social or the ecological issues of resilience in the borderline regions (both external and internal);
• The systemic vulnerability, territorial planning, growth patterns, urban development, quality of life and demographic aspects of cities in the border regions;
• The core-periphery structural differentiation or evolutionary paradigms connected with the resilience capacity;
• Border effects on resilience and the role of cross-border cooperation;
• New approaches on spatial dynamics, from the perspective of the equilibrating forces inherent in regional and urban systems.

Case studies on Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Armenia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, Estonia, Leetonia, Latvia, Greece, Turkey, Russia and Finland, but also on the internal “borders” of EU will be more that welcomed.

Papers should be submitted to the regular review process of the journal (https://rsaiconnect.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/17577802) until July 15, 2020.

The coordinators of the Special Issue:

Gabriela Carmen PASCARIU (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Karima KOURTIT (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Ramona TIGANASU (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)