Regional Studies, Regional Science

This is a call for contributions to a special Article Collection of articles to be published within Regional Studies, Regional Science. This is a new initiative for Regional Studies, Regional Science, and one which reflects the pressing need for better informed debate on the topic.

As we enter the mid-21st century, urban and regional experts are in high demand as they face a number of grand challenges. From climate change to housing, equality, and intergenerational fairness, the ‘to-do list’ is formidable. Yet the ground upon which they are expected to work is constantly shifting. This includes new regulatory contexts and policy platforms, changing pressures (for example, the accelerating effects of climate change), and other unforeseen circumstances causing global uncertainty (for example, COVID-19 and the shift to work-from-home).

The need to keep up to speed with changing contexts, and to revitalise existing thinking is a challenge for students, educators, new graduates and established practitioners alike. For educators, we can ask how we design and deliver courses which immerse students in current policy landscapes, whilst also giving them the skills to easily adapt when they change. For seasoned professionals, we can also ask how we design, deliver and partake of CPD to grasp issues that original education may not have covered.

This Article Collection of Regional Studies, Regional Science is intended to develop our understandings of how we teach urban and regional studies in a spirit of lifelong learning. We would like to invite papers which can reflect on course design, CPD and professional engagement, and in doing so can discuss how the next generation of urban and regional experts can be better equipped to tackle the grand challenges we know about, and those which have not yet revealed themselves.

Possible topics may include but are not limited to:

• Course design dealing with grand challenges.
• The pedagogy of climate change
• Design and implementation of CPD
• In-work training for urban and regional experts
• Pedagogy on dealing with unforeseen circumstances (e.g. consultation, disconnected communities).
• Research-led teaching on real-world planning issues.
• Teaching in a changing policy environment
• Professional views on adapting to changing government policy.
• Policy Transfer

To enquire whether a topic is in scope, please contact the Guest Advisor, Dr Alex Nurse.

Regional Studies, Regional Science accepts original research articles, review articles, regional policy briefings, short papers, early-career articles, and regional graphics. When submitting your article, please select the Article Collection 'Developing the Next Generations' from the drop-down menu in the submission system.

Instructions for AuthorsSubmit an Article