From August 25 to 28, the 65th Congress of the European Regional Science Association (ERSA) took place at “St. Kliment Ohridski University” in Sofia. With this years theme being “Challenges and Regional Responses in a Transition Era,” the conference sessions explored how regions are addressing new economic, social, environmental, technological, and geopolitical realities in times of transitions. Alexandra Pintilie (SRF), one of approximately 800 conference participants, presented key SRF projects as well as preliminary insights into her dissertation.

In the Session “All Eyes on Border Regions: Enhancing Cross-Border Cooperation through Data-Driven Policy Support” organised and chaired by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), European Commission, and University of Helsinki, Alexandra Pintilie gave a talk on “Cross-border housing markets”. During her presentation she highlighted selected aspects of the ESPON projects HOUSE4ALL and CROSSGOV.

Furthermore, in the session “Multilevel Governance and Decentralisation, Governing Transformations and Regional Responses”, Alexandra presented an outline of her research framework and preliminary insights from the Swedish and Austrian case studies being conducted within her dissertation on “Anchor Firms in Regional Industrial Transitions”. 

More information about the ERSA Congress 2026 can be found on the ERSA, opens an external URL in a new window website.