Call for Papers: Diverse Regions: Building Resilient Communities & Territories

Less than a week remains to submit abstracts for the Regional Studies Association’s European Conference 2014, slated for June 16-18 in Izmir, Turkey.

Themes

– Borders and Cross Border Cooperation
– Clusters and Smart Specialisation
– Community Economic Development
– Culture,Creativity and ICT
– Developing Rural and Peripheral Regions
– Entrepreneurship, Enterprise and Business Climate
– Geographies of Global Finance
– Industrial Branching and Technological Cohesion
– Innovation and Knowledge Economies
– Labour Markets and Migration
– Regional Development Policy
– Regional Well-being and Happiness
– Role of Institutions in Regional Development
– Role of Social Networks in Regional Development
– Spatial Justice
– Spatial Planning and Infrastructure
– Sustainability – Climate Change, Environment and Energy
– Territorial Governance and Regional Leadership
– Tourism and Experience Economies
– Urbanisation and Cities
– Women entrepreneurs
– The economic adjustment of regions

Contributions are invited which fit with the themes, listed at right, to collectively explore and discuss these key issues from a multitude of perspectives and with different theoretical stand points and with empirical observations from different parts of the world. Selection of abstracts will be based on originality and interest, subject balance and geographical spread. Abstracts should not exceed 800 words, text only.

The submission deadline is Sunday, April 6.

There is still time to register for the conference, which takes place at the Dokuz Eylül University Faculty of Business in Izmir. Further details on the conference can be found here. The early-bird registration rate is still available, so organizers urge the many who have stated intent to register to do so now. The conference offers a full plenary programme each day, interesting special sessions and fantastic social events for unmissable networking opportunities. We have also negotiated special rates at local hotels for a limited time only – further information on hotels can be found on the conference website.

For further information on the conference please contact Elizabeth Mitchell (elizabeth.mitchell@regionalstudies.org)

The Regional Studies Association works with its international membership to facilitate the theoretical development, empirical analysis and policy debate of issues at this sub-national scale, incorporating both the urban and rural and different conceptions of space such as city-regions and interstitial spaces. As examples, the RSA is interested in issues of economic development and growth, conceptions of territory and its governance and in thorny problems of equity and injustice.

Members come from economics, geography, political science, planning and sociology backgrounds. Most work in academia but many are working in policy and practice, and membership is global.