Regional Insights: A selection of articles providing a fresh take on regional studies

Learning from Place-based Flood Prevention Policies: A Realist Approach

By Erica Melloni (erica.melloni@polimi.it), Dipartimento di Ingegneria Gestionale, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy (ORCiD) This article summarises the Article: “Learning from Place-based Flood Prevention Policies: A Realist Approach”, published in Regional Studies (Melloni, 2024)*. Flooding: one of the most pressing climate threats Flooding is one of the most pressing climate threats, affecting billions of people […]

Book Review: Reflecting on Social Infrastructure in Left Behind Places, a book by John Tomaney, Maeve Blackman, Lucy Natarajan, Dimitrios Panayotopoulos-Tsiros, Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite and Myfanwy Taylor

By Grete Gansauer (email), Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Pittsburgh, USA (ORCiD) This book review essay is adapted from comments delivered at the Regional Studies Association conference in Florence, Italy, June 2024. Social Infrastructure in Left Behind Places is an instant classic which is already generating a level of buzz which points toward it making a […]

Assessing Project Appraisal of EU Cohesion Policy

By Eduardo Medeiros (email), Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal, ESTBarreiro, Rua Américo da Silva Marinho, 2839-001 Lavradio, Portugal and Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), DINÂMIA’CET – IUL, Lisboa, Portugal – Avenida das Forças Armadas, Edifício Sedas Nunes, Sala 2W4-d, 1649 – 026 Lisboa, Portugal. Introduction In several countries, the EU Cohesion Policy (ECP) serves as the […]

Capitalising Africa’s Growth Potential: Rethinking Export-Oriented Industrial Policy in the 21st Century

By Olivia Selcuk (email), and Paul N. Ngang (LinkedIn; email), Thomas More University of Applied Sciences, Postgraduate in African Business Studies, Mechelen, Belgium.      Overview The industrialization journey of Africa in the 21st century presents a blend of unprecedented opportunities and complex challenges. By 2050, the continent’s working-age population is expected to increase by 740 million, marking the fastest […]

Africa’s Energy Potential under the African Continental Free Trade Area: Case Study of East Africa

By Titus Apiyo (LinkedIn; email) and Paul N. Ngang (LinkedIn; email), Thomas More University of Applied Sciences, Postgraduate in African Business Studies, Mechelen, Belgium.     Overview The African continent possesses abundant renewable and non-renewable energy sources and critical minerals. The Africa Energy Outlook report 2023 by Deloitte indicates that the continent holds 125 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, constituting 7.2% […]

Mapping Business Angel Finance in the UK

By Marc Cowling (email), Oxford Brookes Business School, Oxford Brookes, Oxford, UK and Ross Brown (email), University of St Andrews Business School, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK Pervasive regional inequalities permeate all layers of the UK’s socio-economic landscape, the determinants of which are in part shaped by the relative performance of the respective business […]

The rise of minilateralism in the Indo-Pacific (a personal reflection)

By Ainesh Dey (email) An overview The present geopolitical landscape has witnessed a significant shift, marked by the emergence of various groupings, commonly known as “Minilaterals”. Small groups of nations come together to address issues or pursue common goals. A prime example is the recent commitment of the United Arab Emirates, India, and France to […]

The Ecological and Urban Future in Vienna: Understanding the Priorities of EU Policies (a personal reflection)

By Efthymios Spyridon Georgiou (email) Creating sustainable and green urban environments has emerged as a significant contemporary challenge. Over the last few decades, Vienna has taken strides toward incorporating green architecture and urbanism into its city planning. This includes the redesign of significant avenues and pedestrian walkways and the implementation of efficient transportation systems. Additionally, […]