This conference provides an intellectual and policy-relevant platform for scholars around the world to address the new and emerging challenges facing cities and regions. The global economic slowdown poses major concerns to many territories – through shortfalls in employment, household incomes, corporate profitability and tax revenues. The steel industry has been one of the hardest hit, forcing massive plant closures and redundancies from China to the UK. Austerity in public finances threatens the infrastructure required to lay the foundation for future growth and development. Economic uncertainties and uneven development also contribute to growing social unrest and new waves of international migration. Heightened regulation of the banks and other financial institutions is bound to have an impact on the funding of house-building and other real estate development, with uncertain consequences. Meanwhile the accelerating pace of technological change in many industries and occupations means different skills and capabilities are required of the workforce, causing painful adjustments for many communities. And looming concerns about climate change and accelerating environmental degradation complicate the task of urban and regional revitalisation.

The 2016 Winter Conference of the Regional Studies Association presents a timely opportunity to discuss these issues, to clarify the research imperatives, and to consider the challenges facing policymakers and practitioners. The conference organisers are keen to attract papers and sessions that address a broad research and policy agenda, including contributions from any discipline which can offer relevant insights into the urban-regional-global nexus.

The broad themes:

Economic Malaise and the Social Consequences
Unemployment, migration, hardship and social tensions
Austerity and the financing of urban and regional investment
Public-Private financial investments and ventures, new patterns of ownership and control, transport
Whose City and Region: liveability and inclusion
Sustainable human settlements, cohesion and inequality, demographic shifts, environmental responsibility and justice
City and Region Building: Governance and Institutions
Multilevel governance, devolved governance, federalism, trust and accountability
Smart(er) Cities and Regions: The role of technology
Security, participatory urbanism, smart cities, and big data infrastructures