We are delighted to share highlights from this year’s Annual Conference, held in Gothenburg, which brought together regional studies scholars, policymakers, and practitioners from across the globe for several days of discussion and debate.
We welcomed 704 registrations from 49 different countries, reflecting the truly international reach of the regional studies community. Attendees were almost evenly split between 344 female delegates and 360 male delegates. The academic programme was equally impressive in scale, with 632 abstracts accepted across 170 sessions, offering delegates an exceptional breadth of research to engage with throughout the conference.
Photos from RSA26 are now available online on either Flickr or Facebook:
Four plenary sessions addressed pressing questions facing the field of regional studies. The recordings can now be viewed at the links below:
- Regions as Arenas in a Changing World: Rethinking Spatial Theories
- The ADP Annual Lecture: An Integrated Place-based Approach to Societal Challenges
- The Long Shadows of History – Can Regions Escape their Past?
- The RS Annual Lecture: Broadening Regional Horizons: Regional Studies, Policy and Development in an Age of Uncertainty
There was also the opportunity to attend four spotlight sessions, showcasing developments within the community:
- The FinGeo Annual Lecture
- The EU Cities Agenda Policy Panel Session
- The RSRS Journal Lecture: Seeing the Unseen in Regional Studies: A Framework for Identifying Emerging Research Frontiers
- A launch for the Regions and Cities Book Regions in Evolution: A History of Regional Planning
Read a recent blog post by Helen Lawton Smith, Centre for Innovation Management Research (CIMR), UK: Excellent learning experiences at the Regional Studies Association (RSA) Annual conference in Gothenburg, June 15-18 2026
Read a recent blog post by Ashira Beutler-Greene, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, USA: Researching Aerospace Stakeholder Engagement at the 2026 Regional Studies Association Annual Conference
The Regional Studies Association would like to thank everyone who attended, presented, and contributed to making RSA26 such a memorable event. We look forward to welcoming you to future RSA events.