The End of the Learning Region as We Knew It; Towards Learning in Space

HASSINK R. and KLAERDING C. The end of the learning region as we knew it; towards learning in space, Regional Studies. Since its launch in the mid-1990s, the learning region has been much debated by academics and applied in regional policies, which are as such positive signs. However, the concept has also been criticized for its fuzziness and its spatial (or regional) fetishism. By applying a cultural and relational perspective, the paper postulates a shift from the learning region concept that studies regions as places of learning to a new analytical framework, learning in space, which studies culture-influenced learning processes in relations or networks of people and organizations.