@mackenzie-j.bsky.social
Real world: Institute for Regional Futures, University of Newcastle, Australia. Social, economic and spatial research driving regional renewal and transition. Here: pop culture reflections and armchair political commentary.
Rising hostility/alienation toward government and public service (although a long-standing trope) calls for a more human(e) public administration, that prioritises empathy, humility, care & complexity, charting a positive future for governance beyond turbulence. Thoughtful stuff #Governance #Regions
Foundations for a more human(e) government: Reflections at a transitional moment
In an era of growing hostility towards government in many parts of the world, how might we chart a more positive future direction? This article sets out foundations for a new approach to public admi.....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
September 14, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Rising hostility/alienation toward government and public service (although a long-standing trope) calls for a more human(e) public administration, that prioritises empathy, humility, care & complexity, charting a positive future for governance beyond turbulence. Thoughtful stuff #Governance #Regions
COVID-19 reshaped the patterns of urban life (hybrid work, accelerated digitisation): pedestrian data shows weekdays quieter but weekends busier than pre-pandemic. Cities adapting as resilient, leisure-focused hubs. #Regions #UrbanPlanning #Futures www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
City use patterns post COVID-19 – reflections of resilience or adaptation
The rapid acceleration of digitisation during COVID-19, coupled with the persistence of remote work practices, has reshaped how people interact in urban environments. These shifts, driven by techno...
www.tandfonline.com
September 14, 2025 at 11:27 PM
COVID-19 reshaped the patterns of urban life (hybrid work, accelerated digitisation): pedestrian data shows weekdays quieter but weekends busier than pre-pandemic. Cities adapting as resilient, leisure-focused hubs. #Regions #UrbanPlanning #Futures www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Strong evidence here that natural disasters disrupt regional innovation systems, divert resources, and impede technological progress, with clear implications of a feedback loop for climate adaptation #regions #futures #RegionalFutures #climate
How Do Natural Disasters Affect Regional Innovation?
This study examines the effect of natural disasters on regional innovation in the United States between 1994 and 2018. Using a comprehensive dataset of patents and natural disasters at the county lev...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
September 10, 2025 at 12:47 AM
Strong evidence here that natural disasters disrupt regional innovation systems, divert resources, and impede technological progress, with clear implications of a feedback loop for climate adaptation #regions #futures #RegionalFutures #climate
The Long-term Socioeconomic Impacts of Renewable Energy Deployment: Lessons From Case Studies in European Rural Regions: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
The Long‐term Socioeconomic Impacts of Renewable Energy Deployment: Lessons From Case Studies in European Rural Regions
The new environmental and geopolitical situation has led to the need for a change in the current energy model. The infrastructures associated with renewable energies may represent an opportunity for ....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
September 8, 2025 at 11:39 PM
The Long-term Socioeconomic Impacts of Renewable Energy Deployment: Lessons From Case Studies in European Rural Regions: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
EU’s Just Transition Platform frames three main “problems” as: coal-based industries, coal communities and disillusioned youth. Platform deploys techniques like the Just Transition Fund, reskilling, peer learning, and youth engagement to foster locally driven, self-regulating change. #Regions
The Will to Decarbonize: Problematizing European Just Transition Governance
In December 2019, the European Commission launched the European Green Deal (EGD) and hereby ramped up the climate ambitions of the European Union. Responding to a mounting sense of climate urgency, t...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
September 4, 2025 at 9:04 PM
EU’s Just Transition Platform frames three main “problems” as: coal-based industries, coal communities and disillusioned youth. Platform deploys techniques like the Just Transition Fund, reskilling, peer learning, and youth engagement to foster locally driven, self-regulating change. #Regions
Our urban food systems are unsustainable and precarious. Circular food systems are required, and this review of #localgovernment policies finds waste predominates, social aims (food security/sovereignty) are emerging, but clear definitions & stronger governance tools still missing. #Regions
Policymaking for circular urban food systems: a systematic literature review of policy instruments and governance arrangements
Urban food systems impact environmental, economic, and social aspects of city life. However, the current organization of the food system is recognized…
www.sciencedirect.com
September 4, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Our urban food systems are unsustainable and precarious. Circular food systems are required, and this review of #localgovernment policies finds waste predominates, social aims (food security/sovereignty) are emerging, but clear definitions & stronger governance tools still missing. #Regions
Reposted
NEW: Incredible scenes in Sydney, Australia today as tens of thousands march for Gaza, demanding an end to the genocide.
#MarchForHumanity
(🎥 Ema Franklin)
#MarchForHumanity
(🎥 Ema Franklin)
August 3, 2025 at 10:50 AM
NEW: Incredible scenes in Sydney, Australia today as tens of thousands march for Gaza, demanding an end to the genocide.
#MarchForHumanity
(🎥 Ema Franklin)
#MarchForHumanity
(🎥 Ema Franklin)
Reposted
A bit perplexed at the headlines about today’s #marchforhumanity saying “perilous” and “police feared the worst”. Surely the story is that, in spite of police fears, the march was peaceful, demonstrators full of goodwill and happily cooperated with police instructions to manage the huge turnout.
August 3, 2025 at 8:10 AM
A bit perplexed at the headlines about today’s #marchforhumanity saying “perilous” and “police feared the worst”. Surely the story is that, in spite of police fears, the march was peaceful, demonstrators full of goodwill and happily cooperated with police instructions to manage the huge turnout.
Reposted
It is massive. Thanks to Peter Deppeler on Twitter for the footage. #GazaGenocide #MarchForHumanity
August 3, 2025 at 4:43 AM
It is massive. Thanks to Peter Deppeler on Twitter for the footage. #GazaGenocide #MarchForHumanity
The shift to working from home is reshaping where we live and how often we commute: people in big cities benefit most from reduced commuting, fueling suburban growth (“donut effect”) and widening the productivity gap with smaller cities (“shadow effect”). #regions #RegionalFutures
Shadows and Donuts: The Work‐From‐Home Revolution and The Performance of Cities
In this article, we set out the relationships between the behavioral and spatial responses to working from home. The analytical framework centres explicitly on the choice of commuting frequency as th...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
August 4, 2025 at 1:45 AM
The shift to working from home is reshaping where we live and how often we commute: people in big cities benefit most from reduced commuting, fueling suburban growth (“donut effect”) and widening the productivity gap with smaller cities (“shadow effect”). #regions #RegionalFutures
Sustainability commitment is more associated with political culture, administrative structure, and civic engagement than with financial resources or geography. Also sustainability and climate policy are distinct domains of municipal gov. with different political drivers #regions #RegionalFutures
Urban sustainability in Germany: which factors can explain the variety of commitment?
German cities differ substantially in their use of multidimensional, integrated sustainability instruments. However, they have few legal obligations or incentives to deal with sustainability at all...
www.tandfonline.com
July 27, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Sustainability commitment is more associated with political culture, administrative structure, and civic engagement than with financial resources or geography. Also sustainability and climate policy are distinct domains of municipal gov. with different political drivers #regions #RegionalFutures
Reposted
💡NEW: Beyond #Innovation Hotspots by Matthias Kiese, Rasmus C. Beck, Dirk Fornahl & Christian Ketels
FREE content: doi.org/10.4337/9781...
More info: www.e-elgar.com/shop/isbn/97...
#InnovationPolicy #RegionalDevelopment
FREE content: doi.org/10.4337/9781...
More info: www.e-elgar.com/shop/isbn/97...
#InnovationPolicy #RegionalDevelopment
December 19, 2024 at 2:26 PM
💡NEW: Beyond #Innovation Hotspots by Matthias Kiese, Rasmus C. Beck, Dirk Fornahl & Christian Ketels
FREE content: doi.org/10.4337/9781...
More info: www.e-elgar.com/shop/isbn/97...
#InnovationPolicy #RegionalDevelopment
FREE content: doi.org/10.4337/9781...
More info: www.e-elgar.com/shop/isbn/97...
#InnovationPolicy #RegionalDevelopment
The Data Economy by Baley & Veldkamp reveals how data is transforming firms, competition, and growth. A core asset and input, on par with capital and labour, in modern economic systems. Essential reading for navigating digital-analytic space #RegionalFutures #regions #RegionalDevelopment
The Data Economy
Tools from macroeconomics and finance to incorporate the central role that data plays in the economy
press.princeton.edu
July 21, 2025 at 11:15 PM
The Data Economy by Baley & Veldkamp reveals how data is transforming firms, competition, and growth. A core asset and input, on par with capital and labour, in modern economic systems. Essential reading for navigating digital-analytic space #RegionalFutures #regions #RegionalDevelopment
Reposted
Inside the digital publishing industry, which I try to monitor closely, this is the big news. By Julia Alexander at Puck.
July 3, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Inside the digital publishing industry, which I try to monitor closely, this is the big news. By Julia Alexander at Puck.
#Futures research is fragmented by discipline. A call for a truly interdisciplinary approach, using fit-for-purpose conceptual frameworks (not just shared theories) as loci for collaboration. The goal: collective sense-making in an age of polycrisis. #RegionalFutures #Regions
Interdisciplinary futures: a conceptual approach
In this article we argue that to adequately investigate futures across disciplines a genuinely interdisciplinary agenda is required, through which fut…
www.sciencedirect.com
July 3, 2025 at 9:24 PM
#Futures research is fragmented by discipline. A call for a truly interdisciplinary approach, using fit-for-purpose conceptual frameworks (not just shared theories) as loci for collaboration. The goal: collective sense-making in an age of polycrisis. #RegionalFutures #Regions
Reposted
The only issue with backing @gshowitt.bsky.social's Patreon at the level where you get copies of his one-page games in the post comes when – after 8 years or so of stashing them in a crumbling paper folder – you buy a chunky binder with a slipcase & 100 pockets only to find it's barely large enough.
July 3, 2025 at 7:22 PM
The only issue with backing @gshowitt.bsky.social's Patreon at the level where you get copies of his one-page games in the post comes when – after 8 years or so of stashing them in a crumbling paper folder – you buy a chunky binder with a slipcase & 100 pockets only to find it's barely large enough.
Cool stuff - provides an overview of emerging trends and tendencies within imagined #futures as depicted in acclaimed SF #literature. Scenarios identified are: Solar System Expansion, Cyber High-Tech Future, Post-Contraction Society, and Dystopian Future. #RegionalFutures
Exploring futures through science fiction: A scenario-based PESTLE analysis of award-winning SF novels
This article extends the exploration of potential futures as envisioned in science fiction (SF) literature by analyzing how emerging trends are portra…
www.sciencedirect.com
July 1, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Cool stuff - provides an overview of emerging trends and tendencies within imagined #futures as depicted in acclaimed SF #literature. Scenarios identified are: Solar System Expansion, Cyber High-Tech Future, Post-Contraction Society, and Dystopian Future. #RegionalFutures
Reposted
Aged care changes due to come in on November 1 will see self-funded retirees and some pensioners expected to pay more, as future residential care and in-home care residents face a new regime.
Live: Care Squeeze: Australia's 'sandwich generation' cares for both children and parents
Aged care changes due to come in on November 1 will see self-funded retirees and some pensioners expected to pay more, as future residential care and in-home care residents face a new regime.
www.abc.net.au
June 29, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Aged care changes due to come in on November 1 will see self-funded retirees and some pensioners expected to pay more, as future residential care and in-home care residents face a new regime.
What Next for Actor Network Theory? Inventing around Latour on a planet in distress. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
What Next for Actor Network Theory? Inventing around Latour on a planet in distress - Anders Blok, Casper Bruun Jensen, 2025
This is a reflection piece on the theme ‘what will happen to actor-network theory (ANT) after Latour?’ We distinguish three scenarios but focus on the one we se...
journals.sagepub.com
June 29, 2025 at 11:43 PM
What Next for Actor Network Theory? Inventing around Latour on a planet in distress. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
So-called 'serious' #game design misses focus on 'experiential resonance' in the same way that utopian entertainment games do - which impacts on potential societal impact. Valuable to break down the divide between ‘commercial’ & ‘serious games’ to improve design, #affect, orientation and action.
Understanding games as a site of utopian resonance
The games sector is acknowledged as a major actor in the current media landscape. Games have been studied as a medium that can inspire new futures. Bu…
www.sciencedirect.com
June 29, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Reposted
“Obeying orders” is no defence for war crimes. It wasn’t in Nuremberg and it shouldn’t be in Canberra. My piece on David McBride’s High Court special leave application
@michaelwestbiz.bsky.social #auspol
michaelwest.com.au/nuremberg-re...
@michaelwestbiz.bsky.social #auspol
michaelwest.com.au/nuremberg-re...
Nuremberg revisited. David McBride's final chance for justice - Michael West
Afghanistan war crimes whistleblower David McBride appeals his conviction to the High Court, claiming a core tenet of human rights law.
michaelwest.com.au
June 27, 2025 at 12:12 AM
“Obeying orders” is no defence for war crimes. It wasn’t in Nuremberg and it shouldn’t be in Canberra. My piece on David McBride’s High Court special leave application
@michaelwestbiz.bsky.social #auspol
michaelwest.com.au/nuremberg-re...
@michaelwestbiz.bsky.social #auspol
michaelwest.com.au/nuremberg-re...
Futures studies exploring range of visions & strategies for ecological transition. Generally confirms change is a dynamic process shaped by both big structural shifts & personal choices. Transition needs flexible policies, respect for diverse voices; maybe rethinking what “the good life” means.
Unveiling the Plurality of Visions for the Ecological Transition in Europe
This paper provides diverse perspectives on ecological transition in five European countries, emphasising how differing values, economic interests, cu…
www.sciencedirect.com
June 27, 2025 at 12:15 AM
Futures studies exploring range of visions & strategies for ecological transition. Generally confirms change is a dynamic process shaped by both big structural shifts & personal choices. Transition needs flexible policies, respect for diverse voices; maybe rethinking what “the good life” means.
Our #RegionalFutures dashboard update for the #HunterValley and #region. Growth below long-term averages. House and rental prices continue to climb, straining affordability. Manufacturing jobs decline, services and construction show resilience. Building approvals lag population and housing demand.
Hunter Insight Dashboard - July 2025
www.newcastle.edu.au
June 27, 2025 at 12:05 AM
Our #RegionalFutures dashboard update for the #HunterValley and #region. Growth below long-term averages. House and rental prices continue to climb, straining affordability. Manufacturing jobs decline, services and construction show resilience. Building approvals lag population and housing demand.
Heritage building reuse is not a reliable renewal pathway; adaptive reuse attracts new jobs & businesses to site itself (services & creative fields), but don’t stop overall job losses in the neighborhood. Redevelopment helps, but won't alter trends. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #Regions
Do urban redevelopment projects attract jobs? Evidence from the Dutch National Restoration Fund
We study the local labor market effects of a place-based policy aimed at the preservation and economic re-use of urban built heritage in the Netherlan…
www.sciencedirect.com
June 26, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Heritage building reuse is not a reliable renewal pathway; adaptive reuse attracts new jobs & businesses to site itself (services & creative fields), but don’t stop overall job losses in the neighborhood. Redevelopment helps, but won't alter trends. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #Regions
Interesting #degrowth analysis to reframe airport resistance as critique of #fossil-fuel “metabolism.” Stay Grounded activists connect material flows, territorial identities, and degrowth ideals to challenge the deeper logic of aeromobility: socio-technical systems that lock in fossil fuel.
TOWARDS A DEGROWTH CRITIQUE OF AEROMOBILITIES: An Urban Political Ecology Perspective on the Airport Expansion Resistance in Barcelona
Aeromobilities—socio-technical systems that lock in dependence on fossil fuel-based mobilities—contribute substantially to climate change and uneven geographies. They represent paradigmatic capitalis....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
June 24, 2025 at 3:44 AM
Interesting #degrowth analysis to reframe airport resistance as critique of #fossil-fuel “metabolism.” Stay Grounded activists connect material flows, territorial identities, and degrowth ideals to challenge the deeper logic of aeromobility: socio-technical systems that lock in fossil fuel.