The international conference "Paradigm Shifts in Local and Urban Governance", convened by the International Geographical Union’s (IGU) Commission on Geography of Governance and organised in collaboration with the Institute for Regional Studies of the HUN-REN Centre for Economic and Regional Studies (HUN-REN CERS IRS), took place in Budapest, Hungary, from 4-6 September 2023, at the Centre for Human Sciences.
In the first week of September 2023, the IGU Congress was held in Budapest at the Centre for Human Sciences, with in-person attendance. The conference, entitled “Paradigm Shifts in Local and Urban Governance”, was particularly topical in our ever-changing world. The main organisers of the event were Carlos Nunes Silva (University of Lisbon), Chair of the Geography of Governance Committee, and Ilona Pálné Kovács (HUN-REN CERS Institute for Regional Studies).
The primary aim of the conference was to explore and discuss changes and innovations in local and urban governance in an increasingly complex and uncertain political context, as well as in the field of crisis management. The conference provided a platform for comparative research within micro-regions, between countries and globally. As with all IGU congresses, the interactive nature of the conference was also present, with invited panellists and enthusiastic participants discussing the presentations.
Three main topics were discussed: institutional changes in local governance, resident/employable local governance and governance aspects of spatial development and territorial (urban) planning. The interest in these topics is reflected in the fact that the Budapest event had the highest number of sessions (23) of any congress to date and attracted 93 speakers from 18 countries. 56 papers were discussed at the conference, and IGU also provides publication space for their authors.
There were many different academic schools, disciplines, geographical and political contexts, theoretical analyses and presentations that approached the results of empirical research. It is worth mentioning that, in addition to researchers from Hungary and Eastern European countries, there were several participants from Africa, South America and Asia. The title of the conference aptly refers to the phenomenon of paradigm shift, which is also evident in the geography of governance. Many speakers addressed the specific problems of cities and metropolitan areas, especially capital cities, as well as the successes and failures of populist urban governance and planning participation. New directions have emerged in the understanding of resilience and in development strategies for rural spaces. Identity, nationalism, centralisation, new forms of organisation of public services, cooperation and conflict, shifting centres of gravity in multi-level governance are issues that seem to be challenging the world.
The organisers were pleased to see many young people, post-doctoral and doctoral students, among the participants, indicating that the geography of governance as an academic research topic has a talented new generation.
The conference programme and abstracts of the presentations are available here.
Opening ceremony, Prof. Dr. Ilona Pálné Kovács, Research Professor at the HUN-REN CERS IRS welcomes the participants on behalf of the local organisers, 4 September 2023, Budapest
Closing of the Conference, speech by Prof. Dr. Carlos Nunes Silva, President of the IGU Commission, 5 September 2023, Budapest