Presentation > Themes

Territories are both a social construct and a materiality observed by different disciplinary fields. This broad interdisciplinarity is a difficult, yet necessary, pioneer front. Another frontier to be crossed is the all too frequent gulf between researchers and the actors of territorial development. Territorial data are a field that offers opportunities for fertile debate. The second international CIST conference aims to clear new and uncharted ground in this area. The call for papers covers six central topics.

Topic 1 – Local data, citizen data, social demand

Decentralization of data productions, collections and usages is transforming the relations between researchers, citizens and the actors of territorial development. Aspects covered by this topic include: the multiplication of data produced at individual level, new data collection and traceability methods (citizen data, Internet data, etc.); tools for processing and representing territorial data with a view to fostering public debate; new power relations linked to data availability (open data…); collaborative sciences, etc.

Topic 2 – Regional integration and territorial cohesion: a comparative perspective

The dynamics of regional integration, and sometimes of disintegration, affect territorial cohesion: questioning of the national framework, direct connection from local to international, focus on cross-border relationships, creation of new territories (macro-regions…). This topic will compare, for example, regional territories of Europe, the Mediterranean, Latin America and other regions.

Topic 3 – Critical approaches to mobility, territoriality, territorialization

The mobility revolution and space-time contraction have now been widely studied. It is increasingly difficult, at both national and international levels, to define the multiple ways in which individuals occupy space and influence territories. The new relationships between spatial distance and social proximity are a question of particular interest. In addition, the mobility of capital and of companies is generating new, shifting and multi-level territories which challenge the logic of local territories. In some economic sectors with a strong spatial presence, such as agriculture or mineral extraction for example, strong identity-based reactions are observed, grounded on territorial arguments.

Topic 4 – Territorial science: the pioneer fronts of interdisciplinarity

The territorial sciences are at the interface of several major scientific fields. To address key social challenges with a territorial dimension, we must advance on the pioneer front of interdisciplinarity by fostering broad dialogue between the social sciences, the life sciences, earth sciences, engineering and more… Several key avenues are suggested: analysis of the territorial dimension of risk; interactions between health, ageing and mobility; territorial scales of the energy transition...

Topic 5 – Images of territories. Media and representations

The question of territories is closely tied to the question of their image. This image governs their dynamics and acts retroactively on the construction of these images and of the corresponding public policies. These retroactive effects are highly explicit, for example at times of catastrophe, in territorial marketing practices, in the implementation of territorialized policies, etc.

Topic 6 – Territorial Information Systems to address new scientific problems or social practices

The spatial vision of portions of space that are precisely localized via their latitude and longitude (GIS) is now increasingly challenged by a territorial vision based on place names that correspond to imprecise locations with indistinct boundaries (TIS). How can these rather static systems be adapted to incorporate dynamic information on the actions (actors, perceptions, flows and transfers, etc.) that characterize territories? How can models integrating different levels of organization be developed?