This is a definition of regions as networks in the Thematic Encyclopedia of Regional Science. This thematic Encyclopedia explores the multifaceted world of regional science, presenting a systematic and coherent overview of its central topics. It highlights the interdisciplinary nature of the field, examining the wide range of concepts, theories, methods and models that shape spatial-oriented approaches to the social sciences. Contributions from expert scholars delve into key aspects of regional science, from urban poverty and natural resource management to smart cities and AI. Highly accessible entries cover the definition, history, theoretical background, and applications of each topic, as well as avenues for future research.

Location theory has traditionally been based on equilibrium concepts. Dynamics have been introduced mainly to ascertain whether there are paths leading to the equilibrium states. The modeling of dynamics has been very simple yet involving both locational changes and price changes. Notions of market areas and competition between firms have been at the core of location analysis. Although the classical location theory was developed in a regional context, the models have found a number of recent applications in urban analysis where interdependencies and dynamics are central elements. The theoretical contributions of Hotelling, Hoover, and Palander form cornerstones for the discussion in the current chapter. In this chapter, we will mainly dwell in the Hotelling tradition and use the theories of Hoover and Palander as introductory and complementary inputs. The chapter presents a series of behavioral models in the spirit of the classical Hotelling location game involving the spatial location of suppliers (sellers) and consumers (customers) in an urban context. The models have been established within a cellular automata framework. The location models studied assume fixed prices. The location of sellers is determined by the relative accessibility to customers and the competition between sellers for customers. Using the techniques of cellular automata, a set of simulations will be performed to discuss equilibrium states of customer-seller systems. The discussion will serve to illustrate some elements of location theory under different levels of complexity.

A major contemporary policy issue in Sweden as in other countries is the emerging conflict between the mobility of commodities and people and environmental sustainability. A major parliamentary government investigation has been performed in Sweden about sustainable transport. It has involved a number of research projects, among others the current one. The causal relationships between societal changes and transport and communications policy, defined in accordance with the best available scientific and experience-based knowledge, result in conditions of society relevant for the assessment of environmental quality. Labour mobility will have a direct impact on transport and communications, and on urban development. The modern life-style seems to be one of combining a relatively stable residence with mobility to reach supplies of both jobs, service outlets, and recreational and cultural amenities. There is a dominant role of private cars in supporting the individual mobility in Sweden as in almost all high-mobility countries.

This chapter focuses on two speculative issues: the broad implications for regional and urban areas of the development of the European Community in the context of an internationalizing economy and an informational revolution. An interlocking set of influences is likely to shape national and regional economies as a consequence of the completion of the single European market. Backward areas and old industrial regions, and notably the urban areas, have particular dangers and risks in prospect from the single European market. This may be even more so than for European regions that are outside the European Community competitive environment. A vital role will be played by the rapid integration of the European economy after 1992. The astonishing, and probably least predictable, element for the 1990s will be the totally unexpected transformation of the planned economies of Eastern Europe and the speed and character of their incorporation into the European and global economy.

Denna studie handlar om framtiden för Borås. Den gör det för att dess tema gäller högskolans roll som en central komponent i en kunskapsproducerande ekonomi med global räckvidd. I studien analyseras hur kunskap sprids från utbildnings- och forskningsverksamheten vid Högskolan i Borås till det omgivande samhället samt betydelsen av olika kunskapsspridningsmekaismer. Syftet är att öka förståelsen av högskolans roll för kompetensförsörjning, forskning och samverkan i en regional kontext. Studiens bakgrund är ett tilltagande behov att förstå och förklara hur kunskap sprids och spiller över från universitet och högskolor samt den långsiktiga betydelsen av högre lärosäten för kompetensförsörjning och regional utveckling. För planerare och beslutsfattare kan studien ligga till grund för diskussioner och planeringsarbete om hur främja högskolans roll som motor i en kunskapsdriven ekonomi.En slutsats av den förhållandevis omfattande genomgång som studien görs av utbildning, forskning och samverkan vid Högskolan i Borås är att högskolan uppvisar förhållanden som liknar de som gäller vid andra regionala högskolor i landet. Studenterna sätter sin prägel på stads- och kulturliv. Högskolan framstår som väl etablerad på sin ort. Detta lägger en grund för ekonomisk tillväxt och utveckling. Man behöver dock förbättra det strategiska arbetet med att få fler att stanna kvar, inte minst bland dem med utbildning och kunskap utanför välfärdsrelaterade yrken. Bland dem med utbildning och kunskap typisk inom innovationsrelaterat arbete samt teknisk forskning och utveckling är det relativt få som stannar kvar. För att få studenterna att stanna kvar efter avslutad måste förutsättningarna stärkas för karriärer inom yrken med krav på (fördjupad) högskolekompetens.För att detta ska vara möjligt krävs ett långsiktigt och gränsöverskridande arbete som involverar högskolan, företag, entreprenörer och offentliga arbetsgivare samt planerare och beslutsfattare på lokal, regional och nationell nivå. Ett lyckosamt ett exempel på ett sådant arbete är satsningen Smart Textiles. Man behöver dock ett bredare och mer omfattande engagemang. En central fråga i ett sådant arbete är hur långt man kommit i att främja ett närings- och arbetsliv som skapar en kompetensmultiplikator till nytta för den ekonomiska utvecklingen på längre sikt. En annan fråga är hur kunskapsnyttor från forskningsverksamheten vid Högskolan i Borås kan få ännu större spridning och förankring i regionen.För att komma vidare på det spåret behövs en kritisk granskning från universitetsledningen av hur man ska förhålla sig till frågan om konkurrens eller samverkan mellan universiteten i Västra Götaland. Vid strategivalet kring Högskolan i Jönköping eller som lärosätet nu heter Jönköping University har frågan om lokal förankring eller internationell positionering varit av central betydelse. Det ambitiösa valet att satsa på det internationella spåret och göra hela Jönköping University internationellt har inte skett utan motsättningar och svårigheter.

Final disposal of nuclear waste is a global engineering challenge. The Swedish nuclear industry has consequently spent more than thirty years investigating the best sites and technologies for the final storage of nuclear waste. Universities have been involved as experts in this large-scale R&D activity. This has resulted in a well-documented body of knowledge for supporting relevant decision-making. Simultaneously, as a result, global research infrastructure networks have been developed and consequently more than 140 PhD theses have been produced. Eleven of these PhD holders are now full professors. Based on earlier work on research infrastructures from Lund, Hamburg, and Kiruna, see for instance Snickars, Falck (2015), we have addressed the question of the role of a technical research infrastructure in the development of the fields of engineering and natural science while simultaneously generating regional development. It has provided an opportunity to empirically study the use of research infrastructure in a specialized technology field. At the same time, this study investigates one municipality’s efforts to specialize in research without a university in the vicinity. Do networks of cooperation differ between research groups and research infrastructures? How can a region build its smart specialization on research infrastructure? How can research equipment once belonging to a company be transformed to a public research infrastructure asset? Our results indicate that research infrastructures such as the ones in Oskarshamn are powerful creators of international research networks. It is possible, although somewhat difficult in view of scattered systems for data provision, to assess their academic and societal impacts. Engineering research has its own networks of university-industry and industry-university interaction where project-based value is cogenerated dynamically. In this study, we have come some way towards empirically analyzing the networks of research cooperation between industry and university using methods of infrastructure and social network analysis.

This title was first published in 2002: Uniting scholars from across the full range of social sciences, this distinctive volume provides a unique overview of northern European planning. It examines all the key issues as well as the evolution, traditions, current innovations and future developments in the field of planning. Focusing on how planning impacts upon social issues such as employment, social exclusion and quality of life, the volume also looks at innovations in planning policy and practice, in particular the challenge of sustainability. The contributors analyze the built environment's relationship with culture and take a critical look at the creative re-thinking currently taking place in Nordic planning.

This study is concerned with the role of research centres in realising universities‟ impact strategy. From the university management‟s perspective, this raises questions about how a university more systematically can organize and manage effective environments to stimulate both academic excellence and societal impact. The analysis draws on experiences from a centre in the area of material sciences with an explicit ambition to generate impact through engaging in research and education activities together with industry. The study aims to build knowledge on what type of impact goals these centres are targeting and what impact mechanisms that are considered important in order to achieve these goals. The results show that the centre has established mechanisms for close-knitted collaborative research, which also create an in-depth understanding among collaborators about areas of application of new materials and the diverse range of research work in the centre. This facilitates translation activities to form more fundamental research questions from industry‟s practical needs. Four areas of impact are identified: 1) tools and methods saving time, money and materials 2) skilled people 3) solutions of theoretical problems; and 4) development of absorptive capacity and science-signalling trough co-publications between industry partners and centre researchers. Conclusions about scope of impact, in the Swedish case, are presented in relation to recent university policy in UK, also discussing key themes of centres as impact creators.