RSA Blog

This piece unpacks how historical spatial policies and industrial legacies have shaped uneven development in Gauteng’s periphery, drawing on apartheid-era spatial-industrial arrangements and ongoing institutional path dependencies. @jasonfbell.bsky.social.

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We’re seeking May blogs on spatial politics, policy innovation, AI & regional futures.
Share your ideas!
We are eager to hear from you!
#RegionalStudies #SpatialPolitics #AI

Uneven Geographies of Industrialisation: Race, Space, and Path Dependence on Gauteng’s Periphery - RSA Main South Africa’s post-apartheid development landscape remains profoundly shaped by its inherited spatial and institutional architecture. Derived from my PhD study, Bell (2025) argues that underdevelopme...

New RSA Historical Regions blog by Jason F. Bell:

Uneven Geographies of Industrialisation: Race, Space, and Path Dependence on Gauteng’s Periphery

🔗 www.regionalstudies.org/rsa-blog/202...

Is the UK’s industrial strategy really place based? New @rsablog.bsky.social blog on our recent @regionalstudies.bsky.social paper. Blog here: regions.regionalstudies.org/ezine/articl... paper here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... @regstud.bsky.social @rsaibis.bsky.social @prt1969.bsky.social

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The 2020 Troms–Finnmark merger was introduced despite 87% opposition — and reversed in 2024. The blog traces how history, identity, and legitimacy shaped the outcome.
If this interests you, we’re seeking new blogs for May on spatial politics, policy shifts, AI, and regional futures.

A Short-Lived Union: Lessons from the Troms-Finnmark Merger - RSA Main In 2020, a merger of the counties of Troms and Finnmark in northern Norway was implemented as part of a nationwide regional reform. Unlike some mergers that took place at the time, this merger was not...

New RSA Historical Regions blog by Kristin Smette Gulbrandsen:

A Short-Lived Union: Lessons from the Troms–Finnmark Merger

🔗 www.regionalstudies.org/rsa-blog/202...

Is the UK’s industrial strategy really place based? New @rsablog.bsky.social blog on our recent @regionalstudies.bsky.social paper. Blog here: regions.regionalstudies.org/ezine/articl... paper here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... @regstud.bsky.social @rsaibis.bsky.social

My afterword "The Material Politics of Labour in Africa" to the SI "Under construction – towards critical perspectives on infrastructuring and infrastructured labour in Africa" edited is now freely available. @rsa-tpg.bsky.social @rsablog.bsky.social #geosky

www.tandfonline.com/eprint/DFDSB...

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💬 What should RSABlog explore next? Share your ideas!
📣 Our poll is live on LinkedIn 👉 www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...
Eager to hear from you:
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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...

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...

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

Warm invitation for your insightful participation! 😊
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📢 A LinkedIn poll will be launching soon, but we’re opening a head-start listening session here.
What themes, perspectives, or kinds of contributions do you think the RSA Blog should prioritise in the year ahead?
We’re eager to hear from you and look forward to shaping the upcoming cycle together 🚀

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. 🔍✨

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...

“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...

Very interesting angle on industrial policy and the North-South divide.

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...

New @rsablog.bsky.social ‘Beyond Agglomeration.’ Time to go beyond agglomeration as an organising principle in industrial strategy & take place seriously. @regionalstudies.bsky.social @rsaibis.bsky.social @regstud.bsky.social www.regionalstudies.org/rsa-blog/202...

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Different regions have different development pathways & industrial strategies need to be tailored to local conditions.
Found this insightful?
💬 We welcome your thoughts.
And we are looking for new topics or calls that RSA should explore next?

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...

🚀 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...

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...

Link Updated: www.regionalstudies.org/rsa-blog/202...

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💬 What should regions mean today?
📢 New voices welcome—tell us what calls RSA should launch next.
We are looking for blogs in late March and April!
Please feel free to reach out @RSAblog@regionalstudies.org
#HistoricalRegions #Governance #Decentralization #RegionalStudies

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...

🚀 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...

Try us! What scholarly field might lack could get bridged through a blog post on our platform.

Small pieces often lay groundwork for a larger conversation down the line.
Whether its covering US hierarchical areal unit systems or asymmetric units, we are ready to learn :)

When you mention asymmetric areal units, are you referring to a specific methodology or framework? We'd appreciate learning more about your approach. We'd also be pleased to feature this as a blog post if you'd like to share it.