GCRO Researcher Jason F. Bell Presents at RSA Annual Conference 2026 in Sweden

GCRO Researcher Jason F. Bell recently presented at the Regional Studies Association (RSA) Annual Conference 2026, held from 15–18 June at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. The conference brought together regional studies scholars, planners, and policymakers from around the world to explore emerging challenges and approaches in the field.

Jason's paper, "Peripheralisation and Left-Behind Urban-Industrial Spaces in Gauteng: The Variegated Cases of Ga-Rankuwa and Winterveld," examined how deindustrialisation and spatial marginalisation have shaped these two urban-industrial areas in South Africa's Gauteng province. His presentation offered a comparative lens on how "left behind" places develop distinct trajectories despite shared structural conditions and histories.

Across the conference's different plenary sessions, lectures, and panels, a robust consensus emerged around the need for greater place-sensitivity and multidimensionality in regional studies, recognising that regional development challenges cannot be addressed through one-size-fits-all policy frameworks, but require approaches attentive to local histories, institutions, and lived experiences.

The conference offered valuable opportunities for Jason to engage with international peers and situate South African case studies and research into broader global conversations on uneven regional development and urban-industrial decline