MAIN OBJECTIVES
The International Geographical Union's Commission on Local and Regional Development provides an international forum for the study of issues related to such matters as local and regional development, reorganization of space, local development in the urban and rural space, and the role of institutions and agencies in developing and reshaping the settled space. The interests of the Commission are exhibited in developing and developed regions and nations.
The perception and attitudes towards local development may be different in different countries. In some places the local development theme is closely related to rural and non-metropolitan development, in other parts of the world it is related to the establishment and development of new towns, to spatial form of entrepreneurship, or to the evolution of new cores of sophisticated high-tech activities. The Commission’s aim is to amalgamate such debates under one umbrella.
The Commission on Local and Regional Development of the IGU is a dedicated group of scholars aiming to advance international knowledge of a variety of issues concerning local and regional development. The Commission's program involves organising meetings each year and expanding its intellectual network through academic conferences, publications, newsletters and its website. The Commission proposes to continue to be active through both its established international steering committee and by expanding its list of corresponding members.
The Commission’s mission is to advance international research, scholarship and knowledge in a variety of domains concerning local and regional development through:
- the development and dissemination of theoretical, conceptual and methodological frameworks concerning local and regional development;
- the discussion of wide range of empirical and policy issues;
- to widen of the scope of the debate on the topics of “local and regional development” in different national and institutional contexts.
The Commission adjusts its focus of interest in connection with the required objectives and the discipline's relevance to society and economy. Still, the main work should often touch on issues in relation to such matters as local and regional development, reorganization of space, and the role of both institutions and agencies in developing and reshaping the local space.
