Regional Science Association International facts for kids
The Regional Science Association International (RSAI) is a group of smart people and organizations who study regional science. Regional science is all about understanding how different areas, like cities or states, grow and change. It looks at things like jobs, people moving around, and how places develop.
How the RSAI Started
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, an economist named Walter Isard had an idea. He wanted to bring together experts from different fields who were interested in how regions (parts of a country) develop. These experts came from many areas, like:
- Economics (how money and resources are used)
- Geography (the study of Earth's features and how people live on it)
- City planning (designing and managing cities)
- Political science (the study of government and politics)
- Rural sociology (the study of life in the countryside)
They called their new way of thinking regional science. They saw it as a team effort, needing new ideas, tools, and information. Since no existing group brought them all together, they decided to create their own. This new group was called the Regional Science Association, and they had their first meeting in December 1954.
By 1961, the RSA had 960 members. They also formed their first local group, called a "section," in the western United States. This section organized meetings for regional scientists in that area. The next section started in Japan in 1963. After that, more groups formed across Europe, India, Argentina, and Brazil. In 1969, the Western U.S. and Japan sections began working together. They held a big international meeting every two years called the Pacific Rim conference.
Over time, the different sections learned how to work together better. By 1990, the organization looked much like it does today. The Regional Science Association International (RSAI) now acts as the main organization for three other large groups:
- The Pacific Regional Science Conference Organization
- The North American Regional Science Council
- The European Regional Science Association
Each of these big groups then helps manage many smaller, local organizations. You can see how they are set up in the next section.
How the RSAI is Organized
The Regional Science Association International is the main organization for all the regional science groups connected to it. Here's how it works:
- The Pacific Regional Science Conference Organization is a main group for these associations:
- Australia New Zealand Regional Science Association
- Canadian Regional Science Association
- Chinese Regional Science Association—Taiwan
- Indonesian Regional Science Association
- Japan Section of the Regional Science Association International, English
- Korean Regional Science Association
- Mexican Association of Science for Regional Development
- The Western Regional Science Association
- The North American Regional Science Council is a main group for these associations:
- Canadian Regional Science Association
- The Mid-Continent Regional Science Association
- The Northeast Regional Science Association
- The Southern Regional Science Association
- The Western Regional Science Association
- The European Regional Science Association is a main group for these associations:
- British and Irish Section of the RSAI - RSAi BIS
- Italian Regional Science Association
- German Speaking Section of the RSAI
- Nordic Section of the RSAI
- Portuguese Section of the Regional Science Association
- Spanish Regional Science Association
- Regional Science Association Netherlands
Sources
- Boyce, David. (2004). "A short history of the field of regional science." Papers in Regional Science. 83(1): 31-57. [1]
- David Plane's links to Regional Science related websites
See also
In Spanish: Asociación Internacional de la Ciencia Regional para niños
