Aims

The International Geographical Union Commission on Geography of Governance (IGU-CGoG) aims to advance knowledge of the geography of territorial governance, at the urban, local, metropolitan and regional levels, namely the conditions, scale and characteristics of new modes of territorial governance, and its social, cultural, political, economic and environmental consequences. It also aims to identify new perspectives and to explore new research methodologies and different geographical approaches in the field of urban, local, metropolitan and regional governance.

The aim of the 2021 IGU-CGoG Annual Conference is to explore the nature and transformations of territorial governance in current times of uncertainty and complexity. As Zygmunt Bauman (born in Poznań, Polish sociologist and philosopher, one of the founders of the concept of postmodernism) wrote, we live in a time of ‘fluid reality’. It is manifested by the rapidly changing development paradigms and the individual's sense of uncertainty in the face of complexity, fragmentation and episodic nature of everyday experience. Local government and governance, urban policies and patterns of spatial change are of prime significance for the quality of life in human settlements. Public management at the local, metropolitan and regional level is close to the people and their needs, and at the same time is strongly dependent on national policies and, in the case of Europe, also on the policy of the European Union. Various concepts and visions of the state clash in the world today, based either on neo-liberalism or on neo-populism or even post-democracy. They result from economic crises, political and ideological transformations, climate change, technological progress and recently also from pandemic threats. These concepts also affect the organization and functioning of local government, centralization and decentralization tendencies, and new forms of civic involvement and participation.

We invite the submission of abstracts on the various aspects of local government reforms and governance changes and their spatial, social, economic and environmental effects, particularly those concerned with the new trends and challenges of the 21st century. The scope of our sessions is international, including comparative research.

We welcome abstracts of those engaged in the activities of the IGU Commission on Geography of Governance, as well as from anyone with a relevant contribution in this field.