RSA Blog
rsablog.bsky.social
RSA Blog
@rsablog.bsky.social
Publishing entity with @regstud.bsky.social highlighting cutting-edge research in #regionalstudies for an international audience.🌐
Edited by @lavanyag.bsky.social and on X: @lavanya_G_
Pinned
New RSA blog by Prescott C. Ensign:
The Future of Canada’s Historical Prairie Region — how the region’s collective past provides insight into economic diversification, infrastructure, and climate change.

Read it here 🔗 www.regionalstudies.org/rsa-blog/202...
Future of Canada’s Historical Prairie Region: Legacy of a Collective Past on Contemporary Challenges - RSA Main
Canada’s expansive Prairie region comprises the century-old provinces of Manitoba (est. 1870) and Saskatchewan and Alberta (est. 1905). However, this super-region, one-third the size of Canada (1.96 m...
www.regionalstudies.org
💬 What should RSABlog explore next? Share your ideas!
📣 Our poll is live on LinkedIn 👉 www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...
Eager to hear from you:
@regstud.bsky.social @rsa-regions.bsky.social @financeandspace.bsky.social @rsaeurope.bsky.social @rsa-adp.bsky.social @rsa-tpg.bsky.social
January 26, 2026 at 1:00 PM
New RSA blog by Prescott C. Ensign:
The Future of Canada’s Historical Prairie Region — how the region’s collective past provides insight into economic diversification, infrastructure, and climate change.

Read it here 🔗 www.regionalstudies.org/rsa-blog/202...
Future of Canada’s Historical Prairie Region: Legacy of a Collective Past on Contemporary Challenges - RSA Main
Canada’s expansive Prairie region comprises the century-old provinces of Manitoba (est. 1870) and Saskatchewan and Alberta (est. 1905). However, this super-region, one-third the size of Canada (1.96 m...
www.regionalstudies.org
January 26, 2026 at 12:40 PM
Reposted by RSA Blog
Call for session proposals: Permanent European Conference for the Study of the Rural Landscape (PECSRL): Reconciling Challenges in Landscapes, 7-13 September 2026, Ghent & Spa, Belgium. (This is my favourite conference). www.geography.ugent.be/pecsrl2026
PECSRL2026 | Landscape & People | Department of Geography | Ghent University
www.geography.ugent.be
January 23, 2026 at 3:07 PM
Over the past year, we’ve journeyed through vernacular and historical regions across continents. As we wrap up this month’s blogs, we’re looking ahead — and we’d love your early input on where the RSA Blog should go in 2026. 🔍✨
January 23, 2026 at 5:11 AM
Reposted by RSA Blog
“A place-sensitive approach focuses on building local capabilities, strengthening institutions & supporting forms of innovation that align with regional strengths rather than trying to recreate Silicon Valley-style clusters.” New @rsablog.bsky.social www.regionalstudies.org/rsa-blog/202...
Beyond Agglomeration. Towards A Rethinking of Industrial Strategy? - RSA Main
In recent years, industrial strategy has returned to the centre of political and economic debate. Governments across advanced economies are once again asking how they can shape growth, support innovat...
www.regionalstudies.org
January 20, 2026 at 11:24 PM
Reposted by RSA Blog
Very interesting angle on industrial policy and the North-South divide.
January 20, 2026 at 11:26 PM
Reposted by RSA Blog
🚀 New RSA blog by
@dgbailey.bsky.social
Beyond Agglomeration: Towards a Rethinking of Industrial Strategy?
It’s time to move beyond agglomeration as an organising principle in industrial strategy & take place seriously.
www.regionalstudies.org/rsa-blog/202...
Beyond Agglomeration. Towards A Rethinking of Industrial Strategy? - RSA Main
In recent years, industrial strategy has returned to the centre of political and economic debate. Governments across advanced economies are once again asking how they can shape growth, support innovat...
www.regionalstudies.org
January 20, 2026 at 4:08 PM
🚀 First blog in our Historical Regions series is live.

Why does a celebrated democracy like Ghana still govern from the center?

Isaac Asante-Wusu unpacks how colonial legacies, party politics entrenched centralization—despite decades of democracy.

🔗 www.regionalstudies.org/rsa-blog/202...
When Democracy Centralizes: Why Ghana Still Governs from the Center - RSA Main
Ghana is often celebrated as one of Africa’s most stable democracies—peaceful transitions of power, competitive elections, and a vibrant civic sphere (Gyimah-Boadi 2009; Paller 2019). Yet beneath this...
www.regionalstudies.org
January 10, 2026 at 12:36 PM
🌟 New RSA blog:
The Human Flourishing Geographic Index (HFGI) offers a new way to study regions—tracking happiness, belonging, purpose, and well-being at fine spatial and temporal scales across the U.S.
By Stefano Iacus & Devika Jain

🔗 www.regionalstudies.org/rsa-blog/202...
Human Flourishing Geographic Index (HFGI): A County-level Dataset for Measuring Regional Flourishing in the United States - RSA Main
Policymakers often rely on familiar indicators such as GDP, employment rates, and education levels to assess regional well-being. Yet these metrics tell only part of the story. Human flourishing, enco...
www.regionalstudies.org
January 5, 2026 at 10:45 PM
🌟 New RSA blog! by Palesa Mpofu
Economic Diversification & Structural Transformation in South Africa’s North West Province.

Explore why diversification matters for resilience, jobs, and inclusive growth:
🔗 www.regionalstudies.org/rsa-blog/202...
Economic Diversification and Structural Transformation: The Case of South Africa’s North West Province - RSA Main
Economic diversification involves shifting away from a dominant sector to cultivate multiple industries that generate diverse income streams. Relying heavily on a single resource sector increases an e...
www.regionalstudies.org
December 23, 2025 at 1:12 AM
🌟 New RSA Blog:
My PhD Journey: Why Spatial Inequality?
Zhiwu Wei reflects on how his rural upbringing and interdisciplinary research path shaped his PhD: & how GeoAI and comparative regional work are redefining spatial inequality research.

🔗 www.regionalstudies.org/rsa-blog/202...
My PhD Journey: Why Spatial Inequality? - RSA Main
One moment in 2025 has felt like a rare stroke of cosmic luck. In May, I was honoured to serve as the Early Career Plenary Speaker at the opening session of the Regional Studies Association (RSA) Annu...
www.regionalstudies.org
December 20, 2025 at 2:25 PM
🌟 New RSA blog — Extended Summer Series!
What if “region” isn’t a map, but mobility, caste networks, water, memory, and vernacular space?

Harsh Singhal explores how communities in Rajasthan reimagine regional identity from the ground up.

🔗 www.regionalstudies.org/rsa-blog/202...
From Dhani to Region: Reimagining Spatial Identity through Mobile and Marginal Communities in Rajasthan - RSA Main
The notion of ‘region,’ as interpreted by planners and policymakers, is frequently administrative and formal, delineated by jurisdictional boundaries and quantified through statistical metrics such as...
www.regionalstudies.org
December 15, 2025 at 11:48 AM
🌟 New RSA blog!
Life events—not just infrastructure—drive the biggest shifts in commuting, with big implications for low-carbon transport.
By @conorodriscoll99.bsky.social
Read: www.regionalstudies.org/rsa-blog/202...

#Transport #Climate #Planning #RSA #HistoricalRegions
Planning for Real Lives: Accessibility, Life Events, and the Path to Low-Carbon Commuting - RSA Main
Our reliance on cars is one reason why domestic transport is the UK’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, 2024). Using alternatives, like walking a...
www.regionalstudies.org
December 10, 2025 at 12:19 PM
🌟 New RSA blog!
What Life Really Looks Like: Women Labourers in Sangamner
By Pranav Sharma.

Insights from 500+ women show the gap between official data and lived labour in Maharashtra.

🔗 www.regionalstudies.org/rsa-blog/202...
What Life Really Looks Like: Women Labourers in Sangamner - RSA Main
Around one-quarter of the world’s labour force works in agriculture. In many low- to middle-income countries, labour in agriculture is one of the highest contributors. As WOTR notes in its article, wo...
www.regionalstudies.org
December 5, 2025 at 9:32 AM
🎉 Announcing the 2025 RSA Best Blog Award!
Congrats to Ayush Srivastava & Asma Sayyad (TISS, India) for:
Tide and Territory: Vernacular Regionality in Maharashtra’s Koli Fishing Communities.

Read: www.regionalstudies.org/rsa-blog/202...

🎥 Award: youtu.be/XRwmi2AzUU0?...
December 2, 2025 at 8:29 AM
New RSA blog by @Riley Wenjia Ding:
Quyu (区域) and the many lives of “region.”
How a single term shifts across language, policy and scale—from districts to cross-border imaginaries.

Read: www.regionalstudies.org/rsa-blog/202...

#RegionalStudies #Regions #China #Quyu
Quyu (区域) and the Many Lives of “Region”: Language, Policy and Scale Perspective - RSA Main
Regional studies often treat the region as a sub‑national unit, and it spans from neighbourhoods to cross‑border macro‑regions. In Asia, this elasticity is intensified by language. Words that look equ...
www.regionalstudies.org
November 25, 2025 at 10:28 AM
New RSA blog: What the EU can learn from Australia — 5 lessons on competitiveness, community, innovation & identity.
By Anastasiia Konstantynova.
What’s one lesson Europe should borrow?👇
Link: www.regionalstudies.org/rsa-blog/202...
November 20, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Reposted by RSA Blog
Therefore join me in this webinar & feel free to ask questions about academic writing & publishing avenues. Event is free & open to all.
Here's link: lounge.regionalstudies.org/Meetings/Mee...

@regionalstudies.bsky.social
@rsa-regions.bsky.social @regstud.bsky.social
Event Information - Regional Studies Association
lounge.regionalstudies.org
November 17, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Reposted by RSA Blog
Hi everyone, so this is happening & I would be really glad to have you all join me in this conversation.
Academic writing is tough & publishing tougher. However there are avenues that are a middle grounds of academic publishing where all ideas are open for discussion & writing is flexible.
November 17, 2025 at 9:08 PM
New RSA Blog 🚨
Productivity, Geography & Firm Survival — Lessons from Spain’s COVID-19 crisis

Findings from @Sabine D'Costa & Adelheid Holl:
• Productive firms survive more
• Geography shapes competitiveness
• Crisis policies shift survival patterns

🔗 www.regionalstudies.org/rsa-blog/202...
Productivity, Geography, and Firm Survival: Lessons from Spain’s COVID-19 Crisis - RSA Main
Why do some firms weather crises while others disappear? And what role do productivity and geography play in determining who survives? These questions are at the heart of understanding how economies r...
www.regionalstudies.org
November 10, 2025 at 2:37 PM
New RSA blog 🌿
Rural Mayors as Climate Actors, Potentials & Constraints

What does a local climate agency look like when expectations are high and resources are limited?

Read: www.regionalstudies.org/rsa-blog/202...
Rural Mayors as Climate Actors: Potentials and Constraints of Local Agency - RSA Main
Rural areas are vulnerable to climate change but also contribute to it through their close ties to the natural environment through agriculture, forestry, tourism and resource extraction. Unsurprisingl...
www.regionalstudies.org
November 5, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Crises, Communities & Business Resilience in Nigeria

How do family-run firms survive overlapping crises?
New RSA Blog by Tolu Olarewaju, Saul Estrin & Tomasz Mickiewicz explores kinship, cooperation & resilience.

🔗 www.regionalstudies.org/rsa-blog/202...
Crises, Communities and Business Resilience in Nigeria - RSA Main
Nigeria’s business environment has been defined by overlapping crises—economic shocks, political instability, and community-level disruptions. For example, in 2015, Nigeria entered a prolonged downtur...
www.regionalstudies.org
October 25, 2025 at 3:34 PM
🌏 New RSA Blog: South East Asia as a Global Economic Corridor by Sreedevi RS
ASEAN’s MPAC 2025 links trade, mobility & innovation — but can growth stay inclusive?

🔗 www.regionalstudies.org/rsa-blog/202...
October 21, 2025 at 10:17 AM
Reposted by RSA Blog
Our latest @safety-nets.bsky.social project blog is out. We reflect on spatial inequalities and disability benefit reforms. And the pickle UK gov changes might create for subnational and devolved authorities.
October 10, 2025 at 3:05 PM