The 2026 RSA Annual Conference, held in Gothenburg, provided a stimulating opportunity to reflect on transformations in the spatial economy and its implications for infrastructure, housing and territorial development. Bringing together researchers and policymakers from diverse geographical and disciplinary backgrounds, the conference demonstrated both the continuing relevance of regional perspectives and the need to reconsider how established theories and policy instruments respond to changing economic, social, environmental and geopolitical conditions.
The opening plenary, “Regions as Arenas in a Changing World: Rethinking Spatial Theories”, featured Simona Iammarino, Dominique Foray, Cecilia Malmström and Kirstin Smette Gulbrandsen, and was moderated by Sarah Franz. A central question was whether current transformations require entirely new spatial theories. Although no consensus was reached — which made the session particularly stimulating — an important takeaway was that the most urgent task may not be to replace established theories, but to develop more inclusive perspectives on the spatial economy.
The speakers emphasised the need to recognise the different experiences, knowledge systems and development trajectories of the Global North and Global South. Rather than treating theories produced in particular geographical contexts as universally applicable, regional studies should become more attentive to how economic transformations are experienced across diverse territories. Rethinking the spatial economy therefore requires not only conceptual innovation, but also a broader geographical and epistemological vision.
The plenary also addressed the political implications of local mobilisation and citizen engagement. An audience question suggested that strong local identification and civic mobilisation might encourage discrimination against outsiders or contribute to the rise of right-wing ideas. Gulbrandsen challenged this interpretation, explaining that her research suggested almost the opposite: local mobilisation could generate connections, knowledge exchange and more inclusive understandings of society. This intervention questioned conventional assumptions about localism, demonstrating that territorially grounded collective action does not necessarily produce defensive or exclusionary politics.
A more policy-oriented perspective emerged in the special session “SS49. Unpacking Territorial Instruments: Place-based Development in Theory and Practice I”, moderated by Stefan Kah and featuring Virginia Arena, Odilia van der Valk and Marcin Dąbrowski. Of particular relevance to housing was Odilia van der Valk’s presentation on the Dutch NOVEX programme. Although NOVEX was not designed specifically as a housing instrument, the severity of the Dutch housing shortage has made housing delivery an important part of its implementation.
NOVEX seeks to coordinate national, provincial and municipal action in areas where housing, mobility, infrastructure, environmental pressures, energy transition and economic development intersect. It has no dedicated funding stream but instead aligns territorial priorities with existing sectoral budgets and housing agreements. The presentation demonstrated that housing shortages cannot be addressed as isolated sectoral problems: housing development is inseparable from transport and energy infrastructure, land-use planning, environmental constraints and multi-level governance.
The relationship between infrastructure and the spatial economy was approached differently in another special session “SS12. Strengthening Local and Regional Foundational Economies: From Research to Policy and Practice I”, featuring Rebecca Prescott, Michi Ochiai and Grete Gansauer. Drawing on cases from North East England and rural Wyoming, the session presented social infrastructure — including cultural spaces, community services, care arrangements and collective networks — as an essential component of local and regional economies.
Prescott questioned the use of narrow economic indicators, such as gross value added and job creation, to assess arts and cultural activity, demonstrating how creative organisations contribute to community wellbeing and locally embedded social relationships. Ochiai showed how transferring libraries, swimming pools and community centres to voluntary organisations could produce a “local trap”, as communities with fewer resources may be unable to sustain essential facilities. Gansauer’s cases of grassroots food-security and childcare initiatives illustrated how solidarity-based networks respond when public and private providers fail, while raising concerns about expecting communities to compensate indefinitely for structural deficiencies.
Housing returned as the predominant theme in the “Policy Panel Session on the EU Cities Agenda”, featuring Rüdiger Ahrend, Lewis Dijkstra, Pia Laurila and Tony Venables. Laurila presented the new agenda, which places urban competitiveness, inclusiveness and climate resilience at its centre. It recognises that cities are productive and diverse, but also face persistent poverty, high housing costs, air pollution and pressure to make buildings and transport more energy efficient. It calls for closer dialogue with cities, stronger coordination across policy sectors and simpler EU funding and regulation.
The panel discussed how cities could contribute more effectively to EU objectives, how policymakers could support rather than constrain urban action, and which priorities should guide urban policy over the next decade. Housing dominated the audience discussion. However, the panel highlighted that the EU cannot directly regulate many aspects of housing because the principle of subsidiarity assigns these responsibilities primarily to national, regional and local authorities.
Affordability emerged as a particularly important concern. Improving energy performance can increase construction and renovation costs, creating tensions between climate objectives and access to affordable housing. Gentrification and the “right to stay” also drew attention to the risk that investment and neighbourhood improvement may displace established residents. The discussion further questioned whether housing is sometimes built in the wrong places, disconnected from employment, services and infrastructure. This supported a broader argument for strengthening medium-sized cities and decentralising development rather than concentrating further growth in already pressured metropolitan areas.
Finally, “Regional Infrastructure, Mobility and Impacts”, moderated by Robert Bowen with speakers Susanne Wallman Lundåsen, Fabiano Compagnucci and Viktoria Kleinschmidt, connected infrastructure to accessibility, mobility and spatial justice. Lundåsen’s Swedish research showed that perceptions of danger may shape mobility more strongly than objectively measured risk, limiting access to employment, education, healthcare and leisure. Compagnucci addressed the difficulties faced by small municipalities in monitoring sustainability objectives. Kleinschmidt’s analysis of railway reactivations in Germany suggested that improved rail infrastructure can strengthen specific inter-municipal commuting links without necessarily transforming overall regional mobility patterns.
Taken together, the sessions demonstrated that contemporary spatial economies depend on interconnected physical, institutional and social infrastructures. Housing requires coordination with mobility, energy, environmental policy and public services, while liveable territories also depend on cultural institutions, care arrangements, community spaces and collective capacities. The conference therefore encouraged an integrated understanding of regional development.
About the author
Miriam de Oliveira Gonçalves is a PhD candidate in Urbanism and a researcher at CIAUD – Research Centre for Architecture, Urbanism and Design, at the Lisbon School of Architecture, Universidade de Lisboa (FA-ULisboa). A chartered Architect and Urbanist with a master’s degree in Urban Planning from the University of São Paulo (USP), she has professional experience in São Paulo, London, and Lisbon, working across architecture, urban design, and master planning. Supported by a doctoral scholarship from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), her research examines the implementation of the European Union’s Community-Led Local Development (CLLD) policy in Portugal, focusing on multi-level governance, community empowerment, and local capacity development. She also contributed to the FCT-funded SOFTPLAN research project on soft policy instruments in spatial planning and territorial development. Her work has been published and presented internationally across regional studies, spatial planning, public policy, and community development. Her broader interests centre on bridging research and practice to advance more inclusive, place-based, and socially just approaches to urban and territorial development.