Production relocation and subcontractors’ resilience in manufacturing regions: does upgrading help to survive structural shocks? The aim of this project is to assess how small subcontractors operating in low-tech manufacturing industries update their strategies in response to the decision of client firms to relocate production abroad. The main assumption is that, when small producers become […]
Knowledge complexity of renewable energy technologies (RETs) in European regions: a network-based approach. Climate change constitutes one of the most urgent problems nowadays, in which transition toward sustainability is considered necessary. Energy production is one of the most significant determinants of this transition. Within the literature of sustainability transitions, renewable energy technologies (RETs) constitute innovations […]
Addressing regional inequalities in innovation opportunities for BAME and disabled groups The Blog article is available here – Addressing regional inequalities in innovation opportunities for BAME and disabled groups Helen Lawton Smith has been awarded a Regional Studies Association Fellowship Grant (FeRSA) on ‘Addressing regional inequalities in innovation opportunities for BAME and disabled groups’. The […]
Name of event: Annual congress of Association of European School of Planning (AESOP) The RSA Travel Grant financially supported me to present my work on Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor as an emerging megaregion at the Association of European School of Planning Annual Congress in Lisbon, Portugal for 11-14 July in 2017. It would not have […]
The aim of this research project is to investigate the operation and assess the added value of the EU cohesion policy’s special support instruments. By investigating the implementation of JESSICA and JASPER schemes and their impacts and spill-over effects in two of the Central and Eastern European EU member states, the study will fill a […]
Title: The Disjuncture of National and Local Policy Strategies in Chinese Cities: Exploring the Interface of Affordable Housing Strategies and Human Capital Market This research argues that the confounding nature of Sino-capitalism (Peck & Zhang, 2013) is exacerbated by disjuncture between China’s centralised aims and controls and its emerging array of decentralised local governance choices. […]
Name of event: KOSMOS Conference – Navigating the Sustainability Transformation in the 21st Century, Humboldt University Berlin The RSA Travel Grant allowed me to attend the KOSMOS Sustainability Conference in Berlin, where I presented a paper and also participated in a cutting-edge public conference format displaying some of my PhD work on low-carbon energy transitions. […]
Name of event: 4th edition of the International Conference on Public Policy (ICPP4) The 4th edition of the International Conference of Public (ICPP4) was organized by the International Public Policy Association (IPPA), a leading international organization in the field of policy science. It aims to promote the international diffusion of knowledge on public policy, disseminating […]
The RSA Travel Grant award enabled my participation at the 2019 Meeting of the “Encontro Nacional da Associação Nacional de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa em Planejamento Urbano e Regional” (ENANPUR) that took place in the city of Natal. The meeting of the ENANPUR is firmly established as one of the major Latin American conferences for those […]
Understanding Brexit and Trump in Post-Industrial, Peripheral Areas: Implications for Regional Development Read the latest article here – The Complex Adaptive Region-Assemblage and Local Economies: New Perspectives for Tackling Regional Inequalities The rise in anti-establishment populism across Western nations is understood to be symbolic of the gulf that has opened up between wealthy, apparently metropolitan, […]
Slow Innovation in Europe`s Peripheral Regions Innovation processes are often conceptualized with an urban bias and are therefore theorized solely considering the perspective of the urban environment. As a result, innovation theories do not sufficiently consider the context of the periphery and how this context may foster or hinder the development of innovative products, technologies […]
Follow the Money: The Financing and Financialization of Sustainable Urban Projects in China The recent two decades have witnessed a surge of urban sustainable projects in the global South. Under the guidance of relational geography and “Southern” urbanism, following the movement of planning ideas and policies has been the primary method scholars use to study […]
Knowledge network dynamics in the presence of shocks: A network-based approach to regional resilience My project aims at understanding how regional knowledge networks can stimulate regional economic resilience. This ambition is motivated by theories considering knowledge networks crucial for regions to gain, after a crisis, impetus towards renewal. Yet, empirical evidence on the dynamics of […]
Effects of Indigenous Land Rights on Land Use Decisions Project summary: Responding to calls within Indigenous communities to more closely examine land claims processes, this project aims to understand whether land tenure in Indigenous communities leads to attitudes and policies favoring development or conservation. I will employ a mixed-methods approach combining globally-scaled satellite night-light imagery […]
Can startups solve urban problems? Bridging the geography of innovation, procurement and smart city research Engaging startups in urban sustainability issues (e.g. mobility management, climate adaptation, social integration) is becoming a popular policy ambition in many cities and regions worldwide. The topic has gained a relevant place in regional innovation policy debates and, more recently, […]
Rethinking regional development agendas: Human rights and economic growth into perspective Read the article here – Regional development facing global sustainability challenges Business-related human rights (BHR) infringements are site-specific violations of universal human rights caused by companies as they pursue their economic goals. They include cases of child labor exploitation and modern slavery in global […]
4th Urban Meta Mapping International Conference: City Transitions: Society and the Spatial and Temporal Dimensions of Change, Saarland University, Saarbrucken, Germany “The research was conducted by myself and my junior colleague and former student, Sofia Dawoud. The generous travel grant from the RSA supported my travel to present the research at the 4th Urban Meta […]
The combined New Zealand Geographical Society/Institute of Australian Geographers Conference in Auckland was an excellent conference with scholars and Research Higher Degree students attending representing many parts of the globe. I was thrilled (with the financial support of the Regional Studies Association) to have the opportunity to present my paper in a session on ‘Alternate […]
I thank the Regional Studies Association for sponsoring my travel to the American Association of Geographers (AAG) annual meeting in New Orleans from April 10 to 14, 2018, to present part of my dissertation and network with colleagues. I have presented in the session “Business Geography Student Paper Competition 2”. This is a session organized […]
I am grateful to the Regional Studies Association and its members for supporting my participation in the African Centre for Cities (ACC) International Urban Conference. The conference was held at the University of Cape Town on the 1st to 3rd of February 2018 and celebrated the tenth anniversary of the ACC. My presentation was part […]
I attended the 14th International Congress of Asian Planning Schools Association, held at Tsinghua University, Beijing, China during 12-14 October 2017. And I take this opportunity to thank RSA for awarding me the Travel Grant to participate in the aforesaid international conference. The conference was extremely well organised by the Asian Planning Schools Association and […]
I am very grateful to the Regional Studies Association and its members for supporting my participation in the 2017 Institute of Australian Geographers (IAG) annual conference in Brisbane. I was part of a fantastic Economic Geography Study Group session entitled “Critical Reappraisals of Energy”, where I presented on my PhD research on small hydropower and […]
Reimagining metropolitan fragmentation: The Local Autonomy Project The fragmentation of metropolitan regions into dozens and sometimes hundreds of general-purpose local governments has for decades been at the heart of a debate about optimal metropolitan governance. Scholars have long recognized that fragmentation is a complex concept capable of measurement through multiple dimensions. Early measures focused on […]
Generative Urbanization in Emerging Africa? The Case of Konza Techno City Read the article here – Greenfield cities in Africa: A recipe for generative urbanization? Africa is experiencing an urban transition that raises significant questions as to whether its economies are being transformed structurally. In Kenya, the prospects seem particularly high as the country has […]