Call for Papers  - Postponed deadlines

Romanian Journal of Regional Science (rjrs.ase.ro) invites contributions for the special issue entitled ”Uncovering territorial inequalities and spatial justice in the EU”, under the auspices of the Horizon 2020 project IMAJINE – Integrative Mechanisms for Addressing Spatial Justice  and Territorial Inequalities in Europe, with Ana Vinuela, University of Oviedo, Spain and Maria Plotnikova, Aberystwyth University, UK as Guest Editors.

The special issue is planned to be launched by mid-December, 2020. Submission deadline: October 11 at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The problem of territorial inequality is especially important for the EU. The European project has been a long-running process of the coming together of the European states into a single territorial unit. Territorial inequalities have long persisted in the EU. Following a period of convergence in the 1990s and early 2000s, the 2008 financial crisis had widened regional economic disparities in Europe. Territorial inequalities have been targets of policy intervention via regional policy and more recently, Cohesion policy with the objective to  promote more balanced and more sustainable territorial development.

Policy intervention is deemed necessary because territorial inequalities in economic performance may over-time lead to divergence in levels and trajectories of development among regions, preventing lagging regions from reaching their potential and necessitating fiscal transfers from richer ones. Territorial inequalities engender migration flows from poorer to richer regions contributing to cumulative causation behind the persistence of inequalities. Territorial inequalities in unemployment and health bring about clusters of multi-dimensional deprivation, increasing reliance on welfare disbursements and public provision of services.  Moreover perception of territorial inequalities in ‘lagging’ or ‘left-behind’ regions may foster what has been termed as the “geography of discontent” expressed in grass-roots movements, support for extreme political parties and anti-establishment voting behaviour (e.g. Brexit vote outcome in the UK). 

The perspective of spatial justice offers a new angle for analysing and ultimately tackling territorial inequality.  Inequalities may be understood as differences in opportunities available for individuals expressed through access to (e.g. education, jobs, healthcare, services, and, ultimately social mobility) that differ across space and where spacial differences in access interact with its socio-economic determinants such as class, gender, age, ethnicity and others.

Understanding territorial inequalities therefore requires greater attention to regional and local socio-economic contexts. Doing so brings to light the interrelationship between economic inequality and other location-specific factors such as differential capacity of regions and localities to sustain economic activity, absorb economic shocks and respond to policy intervention, including Cohesion policies.

We invite papers addressing the issues of territorial inequalities and conceptualization of spatial justice from any disciplinary area.

It is a pleasure to inform you that the issue nº. 55 (2020) of our journal (Portuguese Review of Regional Studies) is now available online. You can accede to it using the link:

http://www.apdr.pt/siteRPER/EN/revistaEN.html

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.)

Special Issues

The GSSI is about to launch "The Social Sciences webinar series" starting on May 5, 2020, with the intent of spurring the debate about key topics in Regional Science and Economic Geography and keep us intellectually active, while staying safe and physically distanced as this difficult lockdown time requires. The sessions will feature key scholars in the field coming from some of the best universities all over the world.
The webinars are free and public. For registration and information on how to participate and intervene please write to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Link: https://www.gssi.it/communication/news-events/item/9402-research-doesn-t-stop-new-webinar-series-at-gssi?fbclid=IwAR2QkaK4FMz-0m9TssI_mxKDQw3awp0ugykFdFTARV-G78Wqqto4O3gmQm0

#gssiaq #sciencedelivery #scienceathome #socialsciences

Call for Papers – North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International, San Diego, California, November 11-14, 2020

Smart Cities and Connected Regions

Join us in San Diego, California for the 67th North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI) sponsored by the North American Regional Science Council (NARSC) and co-hosted by the Western Regional Science Association.  The deadline for submission of abstracts is July 5. The theme for this year’s meetings is “Smart Cities and Connected Regions”. While we encourage submissions that fit this theme, all topics that are of interest to regional scientists are welcome”.  The conference will be held at the beautiful Westin Hotel in San Diego’s Historic Gas Lamp Quarter, November 11–14, 2020.  You can learn more about the conference, submit an abstract, and register for the conference and workshops at the NARSC Website at http://www.narsc.org/.

San Diego’s historic Gas Lamp Quarter

There will also be a field trip to San Diego’s Barrio Logan neighborhood, which has been described as the “epicenter of the city’s Mexican-American culture”. The field trip will include a guided tour of Barrio Logan, as well as a visit to some of the neighborhoods excellent craft breweries.

We are in the process of organizing several pre-conference workshops, as well as keynote speakers. This year’s keynote speakers will include Sergio Rey of the University of California, Riverside, Kara Kockelman of the University of Texas in Austin, and Bhārat Dahiya of Thammasat University (Thailand)

Sergio Rey	Kara Kockelman	Bharat Dahiya

This year we are planning several special sessions and events focused on graduate students and young scholars. There is a special section of the conference website devoted to these sessions and events. This will be updated as new sessions/events are confirmed, so please check the website frequently.

We are also planning to have numerous organized sessions devoted to specific topics. Do you have an interest in organizing a special session or a series of special sessions? If you do, please contact NARSC Executive Director, Neil Reid (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), as soon as possible.

For overseas attendees, we are offering expedited abstract acceptance to anyone coming from a country that requires a visa to enter the United States. Once you have submitted your abstract, and you need an acceptance letter, please contact NARSC Executive Director, Neil Reid at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

We understand that the current Covid-19 pandemic has created a lot of uncertainty about conferences, and that a number have been cancelled. At this point in time, our plan is to proceed with the conference. We will, of course, continue to monitor the situation and adjust our plans if conditions necessitate. If you do register for the conference and are unable to attend because of restrictions related to Covid-19, we will refund your registration fee.

Abstract Submission and Registration

Click on the link to the conference section for general information on the conference.  To register for the conference or submit an abstract/session online you must first login to the User Area. If you attended a NARSC conference over the past couple of years or are a member of a North American regional science organization, when you reach the login page of the User Area, you will be asked to enter your provided username and password.  Otherwise, when you reach the login page of the User Area, you will be asked to click on a link and enter your e-mail address so we can check if you are already in our database. If you are in our database, your username and password will be e-mailed to you so you can login. If you are not in our database, you will need to register for a free NARSC user account and then you will be able to register for the conference and submit an abstract.

Once logged, you can change your password, update your profile, submit an abstract/session, register for the conference, and check the status of your registration.  You will be able come to your account in the User Area subsequently using your valid username and password.  In case you forget your password, just contact technical support at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with your e-mail address and your password will be e-mailed to you so you can login.

Please note that there is a surcharge for individuals who are not members of RSAI. When you are ready to register for the conference please check your RSAI membership status. You can do that by consulting the RSAI Members List. If you have any questions regarding your RSAI membership status or would like to join RSAI please contact Elisabete Martins (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) at the RSAI Central Office.

Individual papers and organized sessions must be submitted online in the abstract submission section of the website between now and JULY 5, 2020. The conference registration section is open and allows secure electronic financial transactions. Information about the workshops will be posted in late June. If you are potentially interested in attending any workshops it is suggested that you wait until information about them is available before registering for the conference. Be sure to consult the conference website for additional information and details.

Conference organizers welcome individual papers and organized sessions relating to a wide variety of topics that are included within the diverse realm of regional science.  As usual, there will be several organized sessions. If you are interested in participating in one of these organized sessions, please contact the session organizers. Details about these can be found here. Please note that the list of special session is updated on a regular basis, so please check back.

NARSC an international scholarly organization that focuses on regional analysis, ranging from urban and spatial theory to applied problems in regional development, sustainability, environmental management, and rural land use.  We are an interdisciplinary association, with members representing fields as diverse as economics, agricultural economics, public policy, urban planning, civil engineering, geography, finance, and demography.  The annual North American RSAI conference is the premier regional science meeting in North America and attracts scholars and practitioners from around the world.

A block of rooms has been reserved at the The Westin San Diego Gas Lamp Quarter at a specially negotiated rate of $229 (plus applicable taxes and fees) for a double-occupancy room. Please book the conference hotel through the NARSC website.  By doing so, NARSC will get credit for your booking.  Bookings can be made here.

If you have questions, here is contact information:

• Local arrangements: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Program Chair: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Overall Arrangements: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We look forward to seeing you in San Diego.

http://www.narsc.org/newsite/conference/special-session-call-for-papers/.

Photo credits for Gas Lamp Quarter photographs – left to right - By Visitor7 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31271319; By Winwinintl - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8532220; By Leandro Neumann Ciuffo - Gaslamp district - 2, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28377633.

Virtual ERSA2020 Event under examination

Due to the global health issue related to the coronavirus outbreak, the Local Organising Committee together with the ERSA Board and Executive bodies (EOC and ERSAC), have the regret to announce that this year’s 60th Annual ERSA Congress of Bolzano, 25-28 August, is postponed to 2021 in the same location. 

To make sure that our Regional Science Community does not miss out on the extraordinary input of this year’s Congress, including 926 submissions from around the world, we are considering all the options to organise an Online Event at the same period, late August.

The format and content of an ERSA2020 Online Event are currently under examination. Accepted authors of this year’s Congress have also been approached regarding the opportunity of presenting their research.

Further details will be communicated in the coming weeks.

André Torre                              Thomas Streifeneder and Andrea Omizzolo,  
ERSA President                         Co-Chairs of the Local Organising Committee

Special Series on Covid 19

RSPP Working Paper nº 2020.002

Socio-Demographic Disparities in COVID-19 Case Rates and Testing: An exploratory spatial analysis of ZIP code data in Chicago, IL [PDF]

By Kevin Credit

Margaret Bock, a Ph.D. candidate in Economics at West Virginia University has been selected as the winner of the Twentieth Annual Benjamin H. Stevens Graduate Fellowship in Regional Science. The Fellowship will provide a 2020–2021 Academic Year stipend of $30,000 to support Ms. Bock’s dissertation research entitled, “The Road Less Traveled: Economic Analysis of Roads and Highways.”

The research investigates the connection between roads and highways on several aspects of urban and rural locales including commuting, mortality, and mayoral elections. The results of this dissertation will be of wide-ranging interest to regional scientists and policymakers given current interest in the state of infrastructure in the United States, poising Ms. Bock to make several scholarly and practical contributions. Ms. Bock’s doctoral research is supervised by Joshua Hall, Professor and Chair of Economics at West Virginia University.

In addition to selecting the Fellowship recipient, the Selection Committee identified two applicants as meriting special recognition in the 20^th Annual Competition:  Melissa Haller, Ph.D. student in the Department of Geography at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), supervised by David Rigby; and Sydney Schreiner, Ph.D. student in Agricultural, Environmental, and Developmental Economics at The Ohio State University, supervised by Mark Partridge.

The 20^th competition winner and finalists will be recognized at the awards banquet luncheon of the upcoming November 11–14, 67^th North American Meetings of the RSAI in San Diego, California.

The Fellowship is awarded in memory of Dr. Benjamin H. Stevens, an intellectual leader whose selfless devotion to graduate students as teacher, advisor, mentor, and friend continues to have a profound impact on the field of regional science. Fundraising efforts to increase the Fellowship’s endowment are ongoing. Donations should be sent to: The Stevens Fellowship Fund, First Financial Bank, Attn. Trust Department, 1205 S. Neil Street, Champaign, IL 61820 USA. Checks should be drawn to The Stevens Fellowship Fund. Donations may also be made by credit card through the NARSC website at www.narsc.org/newsite/donations2.php.

The 2020 Stevens Fellowship Selection Committee is composed of: Elizabeth Mack, Geography, Michigan State University (Chair); Daoqin Tong, Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, Arizona State University; Nicholas Nagle, Geography, University of Tennessee; and Steven Deller, Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison. The Stevens Fellowship Committee administrates the Stevens Fellowship Fund on behalf of the North American Regional Science Council; its members are: Tony Smith, Chair; David Plane, Secretary; Michael Lahr, Treasurer; Janet Kohlhase; and Neil Reid, Executive Director of NARSC.

The Committee thanks the 24 students who entered the competition in 2020, as well as their dissertation supervisors. Faculty at all North American Ph.D. programs related to the interdisciplinary field of Regional Science are encouraged to have their best students apply for the Twenty-First Annual Stevens Graduate Regional Science Fellowship. The winning student’s dissertation research will be supported during the 2021–2022 year with a one-year stipend of $30,000. The application deadline is February 15, 2021. Full submission guidelines will be posted at http://www.narsc.org/newsite/awards-prizes/applications/

April 2020