NARSC Update

Conference organizers welcome individual papers and organized sessions relating to a wide variety of topics that are included within the diverse realm of regional science. As usual, there will be several organized sessions. If you are interested in participating in one of these organized sessions, please contact the session organizers. Details about these can be found here. Please note that the list of special sessions is updated on a regular basis, so please check regularly

If you are interested in organizing a special session, please contact Program Chair Neil Reid at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The NARSC Graduate Student Paper Competitions are held annually in conjunction with the North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI). These contests encourage the participation of young scholars by providing a forum for paper presentation and discussion by senior scholars in the field of regional science. Beginning in 2010, two separate competitions have been held for graduate student papers:

1. Graduate-Student-Author Paper Competition: Eligibility for the award is limited to current Masters and PhD students, and/or recent graduates who completed their degree after August 1, 2025. Co-authored papers are acceptable; however, all authors listed on a paper must meet the eligibility criteria above.
2. Graduate-Student-Led Paper Competition: Eligibility for the award requires that the paper’s “primary author” be a current Masters or PhD student, or a recent graduate who completed their degree after August 1, 2025. Papers with senior co-authors are acceptable; however, most of the substantive work and contribution of the paper must be directly attributable to an author who meets the eligibility criteria above.

The 2026 contest will be held in conjunction with the annual North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International, to be held November 11 – 14, 2026 in Philadelphia, PA.

See the NARSC Graduate Student Paper Competition website for more information on eligibility, submission requirements, deadlines, and conference attendance expectations. 

We are seeking volunteers (or nominations) for the NARSC Graduate Student Paper Competition Committee. 

The selected individual will: 

1. Support the NARSC Graduate Student Paper Competition Chairs with competition logistics and communications
2. Participate in the reading committee for one of the two competitions

While it is our hope that the selected individual plans to attend the 2026 NARSC Meeting (November 11 - 14, 2026 in Philadelphia, PA) and will continue their service beyond the 2026 conference cycle, they do not have to commit to either at this time.

If you are interested, please submit your name, affiliation, and an indication of whether you are interested to serve for this year only or to potentially continue your collaboration in future years to: 

Claudia Montanía Portillo, University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Christa Court, University of Florida, Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The conference will be held at the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown (201 North 17th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103). A special conference room rate of $239 (plus taxes) has been negotiated with the hotel. Please consider staying at the host hotel. Staying at the Sheraton helps NARSC continue to hold these meetings. NARSC is penalized when attendees do not stay at the hotel. Also, book the conference hotel through the NARSC website to make sure NARSC gets credit for your booking. The link to book your hotel room is below.

Book your group rate for North American Regional Science Council (NARSC) Annual Meeting Nov 2026

NARSC has a limited number (25) of student rooms available at a rate of $179 (single or double). If you are interested, please contact Elham Erfanian with your request, name, and contact information at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Rooms will be allocated on a first-come, first served basis.

As the USA celebrates its 250 birthday, join us in the birth place of American independence for the 73rd North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI) sponsored by the North American Regional Science Council (NARSC). To submit an abstract or a complete session, please use our online submission system. The submission deadline is July 10, 2026. Decisions concerning the acceptance of papers and sessions will be announced in mid August. All presenters, including members of panel discussions, discussants, and session chairs, must register for the conference and pay the registration fee in order to attend and present.

The conference will be held at the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown (201 North 17th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103). A special conference room rate of $239 (plus taxes) has been negotiated with the hotel. Please consider staying at the host hotel. Staying at the Sheraton helps NARSC continue to hold these meetings. NARSC is penalized when attendees do not stay at the hotel. Also, book the conference hotel through the NARSC website to make sure NARSC gets credit for your booking. The link to book your hotel room is below (Student Rooms will be available in May):

Book your group rate for North American Regional Science Council (NARSC) Annual Meeting Nov 20

For overseas attendees, we are offering expedited abstract acceptance to anyone coming from a country that requires a visa to enter the United States. Once you have submitted your abstract, and if you need an acceptance letter, please contact NARSC Executive Director, John Sporing at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract Submission and Registration

Click on the link to the conference section for general information on the conference.  To register for the conference or submit an abstract/session online you must first log in to the new NARSC user portal. If you attended a NARSC conference over the past couple of years or are a member of a North American regional science organization, when you reach the login page of the User Area, your account should be available under your email address, but as it is a new system you will may to reset your password. If you are not in our database, you will need to register for a free NARSC user account and then you will be able to register for the conference and submit an abstract.

Once logged, you can change your password, update your profile, submit an abstract/session, register for the conference, and check the status of your registration. You will be able to login to your account in the User Area subsequently using your valid username and password. In case you forget your password, use the password reset tool on the login page.  If you have trouble receiving the password reset email, contact technical support at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and the support team will get that to you.

Please note that there is a surcharge for individuals who are not members of RSAI. When you are ready to register for the conference, please check your RSAI membership status. You can do that by consulting the RSAI Members List. If you have any questions regarding your RSAI membership status or would like to join RSAI please contact Ana Viñuela (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) at the RSAI Central Office.

Individual papers and organized sessions must be submitted online in the abstract submission section of the website between now and JULY 17, 2026. The conference registration section will be open soon and allows secure electronic financial transactions. Information about the workshops will be posted in late July. If you are potentially interested in attending any workshops it is suggested that you wait until information about them is available before registering for the conference. Be sure to consult the conference website for additional information and details.

Conference organizers welcome individual papers and organized sessions relating to a wide variety of topics that are included within the diverse realm of regional science.  As usual, there will be several organized sessions. If you are interested in participating in one of these organized sessions, please contact the session organizers. Details about these can be found here. Please note that the list of special sessions is updated on a regular basis, so please check regularly.

NARSC is an international scholarly organization that focuses on regional analysis, ranging from urban and spatial theory to applied problems in regional development, sustainability, environmental management, and rural land use.  We are an interdisciplinary association, with members representing fields as diverse as economics, agricultural economics, public policy, urban planning, civil engineering, geography, finance, and demography.  The annual North American RSAI conference is the premier regional science meeting in North America and attracts scholars and practitioners from around the world.