Western Regional Science Association 

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The traditional October 15 deadline has now come and gone, and the 2003 Program Committee has been busy digging its way out from under a blizzard of electronic paper submissions!  They’re now hard at work putting together the Preliminary Program for the conference, which should be posted in the middle or late part of December on the WRSA website (http://geog.arizona.edu/wrsa).

It is clear that our 42nd Annual Meeting – to be held from Wednesday, February 26 through Saturday, March 1, 2003 – will be big, diverse, and of outstanding quality.  Many old friends as well as a many new members will gather in the warm, sunny ranch country of Baja Arizona for a productive scholarly midwinter break.  If you’ve not already made plans to attend, please do so now!

Make Your Travel Plans & Reserve Rooms NOW!
Participants are urged to make their travel plans and reserve hotel rooms immediately.  Late February is the height of the “snowbird” tourist season in southern Arizona.  Don’t be shut out by procrastinating.  Detailed information is given elsewhere in this Newsletter; even more complete materials are posted on the WRSA website.

Preregister NOW and save $$
Participants are urged to preregister for the conference.  This greatly facilitates meeting planning and eliminates long lines at the check-in desk at the conference.

Preregistrants receive $10 off the combined conference fee and 2003 Dues ($185 versus $195 if paid on-site.) WRSA accepts checks, Mastercard, or Visa.  We cannot accept Eurocheques, electronic bank fund transfers, or American Express…  The Preregistration form is enclosed with this Newsletter, and it may also be printed out from the WRSA website.  (Please note that credit card payments will be processed by the University of Arizona Foundation, which manages WRSA’s finances.  Because of the benefits received, registration fees and dues are not U.S. tax deductible as charitable contributions; please consult your tax advisor regarding their deductibility as business expenses.)

2003 Dues Now Being Collected
Membership renewals for the 2003 Calendar Year are now being processed.

Please send payment along with the renewal form available on the website.

Dues are just $65 if paid prior to February 1 ($70 thereafter).  Member benefits include subscriptions to the WRSA Newsletter and to the Association’s official quarterly international journal, The Annals of Regional Science, published by Springer-Verlag (paper copies sent to members residing within the US; electronic subscriptions provided outside the US.)  Rejoin Today!

Travel Dates.  Participants should plan their itineraries to arrive by mid-afternoon on Wednesday, February 26.  Conference registration will open Wednesday afternoon, followed in the late afternoon by a lively plenary session about the region and a welcoming reception.
Paper sessions will be held all day Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, February 27, 28, and March 1.  Participants should plan their return trips for Sunday, March 2.

Air Travel.  Most participants will find it best to fly in and out of Tucson International Airport (TUS).  The Rio Rico Resort is an easy, approximately 45-minute drive south of the airport on Interstate Highway 19.

Twelve airlines currently serve Tucson International Airport, providing nonstop service to 16 cities and connections to more than 121 destinations. Click here for details on the carriers and their nonstop connections.  There are 60 daily flights with approximately 7,700 seats available.

An alternative is to fly into Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix.  Phoenix, however, is about a two-hour drive north of Tucson or almost three hours from the Rio Rico Resort.

Because our conference dates are at the height of the winter "snowbird" visitor season in Baja Arizona we urge you to book your air reservations early!!!

Rental Cars.   We encourage participants to consider driving a rental car during the time of the conference.  Your stay will be enhanced by the ability to explore the delightful countryside in the Santa Cruz River Valley.  Most dining options involve at least a short drive from the Resort.   There are seven rental car agencies located at Tucson International Airport.  Their reservations numbers are listed on the WRSA website.

Shuttle Van Service. For participants who do not wish to drive, the Rio Rico Resort is serviced by The Arizona Stagecoach airport shuttle service.   The Arizona Stagecoach desk is located at the base of the escalators on the baggage level of Tucson International Airport.  No reservations are required for the trip from the airport to the Rio Rico Resort.  However, return reservations must be made at least 24 hours prior to departure.  You may wish to make reservations for your trip to the Resort because the price is based on the number of passengers carried.  The one-way fare is $75 for either one or two passengers.  Therefore if you were able to "vanpool" with another conference participant your fare would be only $37.50.  If three or more passengers are carried the fare for the entire vanload is $100, and your share would be $100/n.  To the extent possible, The Arizona Stagecoach dispatchers will try to match passengers with similar arrival/departure times to reduce cost.

To place a reservation, click on the link on the WRSA website to visit The Arizona Stagecoach Website, or phone: 520-889-1000.

Driving to the Resort.  From Tucson International Airport, stay on the exit road (Tucson Boulevard) north.  At the stoplight, turn left (westbound) onto Valencia Road.

Continue on Valencia to the entrance ramp for Interstate Highway I-19 south (towards Nogales).  Get off at Exit 17.  The Rio Rico Resort is a short distance up the hill to the west (your right as you travel south on I-19).  It about a 45-minute drive from Tucson International Airport.

The Rio Rico Resort is now accepting room reservations for WRSA room block at the special low conference rates of $109 single, $119 double per night (plus taxes, fee and service gratuity).

Please read the detailed information posted on the WRSA website.   A reservation form that may be printed out and faxed is included.

Rio Rico Resort FAX Number: 520-281-7132.
Rio Rico Resort Toll-free Reservations (from U.S. only):  1-800-288-4746.
Rio Rico Resort Main Phone Number (Request the Reservations Department):  520-281-1901.

If you phone in your reservation, please be sure to mention you are a participant in the Western Regional Science Association (WRSA) Annual Meeting in order to receive our specially negotiated conference rates.
 
A credit card or a $100 deposit is required to guarantee a reservation.

The WRSA's room block will be held until January 31, 2003, but it could fill before then!  Please book your room early.

After January 31, 2003, all unreserved rooms in the WRSA block will be released for sale and any further reservations will be taken on a space available basis only.

Rio Rico Resort Address:  1069 Camino Caralampi / Rio Rico, Arizona 85648.
Rio Resort Resort Website: www.rioricoresort.com

Enclosed with the paper copy of this newsletter that was mailed to members is the 2002 – 2003 WRSA Membership Directory.

The directory includes all who paid 2002 dues by October 1, 2002.

This year’s final membership count shows a total of 252 members from around the world.

Some 18 countries are represented in WRSA’s membership: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, and United States.

Within North America, members come from 7 Canadian provinces or territories and 37 U.S. states.
 
The WRSA Membership Directory is provided for members’ private, non-commercial use.
Please send any corrections and address changes to the Association office in Tucson so that we can maintain an accurate database and provide timely mailings of the Annals, the Newsletter, and information about forthcoming meetings.

The Association regrets the delay in delivery of  paper copies of Volume 36, Number 2 of The Annals of Regional Science to members living within the U.S.  The delay was due to the failure of the publisher, Springer-Verlag, to get their bulk shipment from Germany to the Association office in Tucson for redistribution to the membership.

At the time this Newsletter was going to press, a replacement shipment was on its way to Tucson.  Additionally, Volume 36, No. 3 (A special issue on “Entrepreneurship and Regional Economic Development”) was in process of being shipped from Germany.  The first three 2002 issues are now available on line, and all remaining issues of the Volume will be mailed to dues-paid U.S. members as soon as possible!

The Conference will be held on the general theme of “The Potential of Regions in the Pacific Rim: Economic and Social, Political and Cultural.”  Papers on this theme or any regional science topic are welcome.

This will be the first full PRSCO Conference hosted by the Mexican Association of Science for Regional Development (AMECIDER).  It will be held in association with the University of the State of Guerrero (UAG), with additional sponsorship by the National University of Mexico (UNAM) and the Mexican Interinstitutional Sponsorship Committee.  The 9th National Meeting on Regional Development in Mexico will take place concurrently at the same venue.
SCHEDULE OF APPLICATION:
Deadline for Title submission: January 15, 2003
Deadline for Abstract submission: February 1, 2003 Deadline for Full Paper submission: May 1, 2003
Deadline for Final Registration: During the event itself.
Deadline for Full Paper submission: May 1, 2003

ORGANIZING A SESSION:
Persons wishing to organize one or more sessions should submit a tentative session outline by December 31, 2002,· Further information

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Please send an email, fax or phone the contact person: Dr. Jorge Serrano, Chairman LOC / UNAM-CRIM, National University of Mexico / P.O. Box 4-106 / Cuernavaca, Morelos CP 62431 Mexico;  E-mail: jrsm@servidor.unam.mx; Phones: (52-73) 17-5299, 13-0555; fax: (52-73) 17-5981 (Please note that ordinary mail service may cause unfortunate delays.)

The 26th Annual Conference was held September 29 – October 2 on Queensland’s Gold Coast.  A few of the attendees were old enough to remember that the 1981 Pacific Regional Science Conference, was held two blocks away from this year’s venue.

The Australian delegation was led by Andrew Beer, Tony Sorensen, Brian Roberts, Mark McGovern, Bob Stimson, Kevin O’Connor, Alaric Maude, Guy West, and RSAI Council Member John Madden.  Following the conference Bob Stimson organized a three and one-half day field trip that focused on eco-tourism and high-impact development options in the mountains to the west of the Gold Coast, in Noosa on the Sunshine Coast, and on Fraser Island, a World Heritage site located north of Noosa.

Foreign delegates who participated in both the conference and the field trip included past Presidents of the WRSA, Kingsley Haynes and Lay Gibson, as well as long- time WRSA members Brian Holly, Bernard Weinstein, Audrey Clarke, and Terry Clower.

Arthur Getis, the Stephen and Mary Birch Foundation Chair of Geographical Studies at San Diego State University, and WRSA’s 40th President (1999), was given Distinguished Scholarship Honors by the Association of American Geographers at its March 2002 Annual Meetings held in Los Angeles.

The award recognizes Art’s “contributions to the theoretical understanding of spatial processes and for leadership in promoting understanding of these processes in national and international audiences.”

Michael J. Greenwood, Professor of Economics at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and WRSA’s 31st President (1990) was presented with the North American Regional Science Council’s 2002 Walter Isard Award for Distinguished Scholarship at the 49th Annual North American Meetings in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on November 16th.

Professor Greenwood was honored for his long career of research and his path-breaking work on the econometric modeling of interregional migration.

Gordon F. Mulligan, Professor of Geography and Regional Development at the University of Arizona, Tucson, and long-time WRSA Program Committee member, was presented with the North American Regional Science Council’s 2002 David Boyce Award for Distinguished Service to Regional Science at the 49th Annual North American Meetings in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on November 16th.

Professor Mulligan was honored for his long record of service to the profession including his coeditorship of the Journal of Regional Science and leadership roles within NARSC.

The WRSA’s 2003 Turnbull Cup Golf Tournament will be contested on the morning of Wednesday, February 26 immediately before the opening of our 42nd Annual Meeting later that afternoon.

Golfers of all skill levels are welcome and encouraged to participate!

The Rio Rico Resort and Country Club’s course was designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr. and is rated one of the Top 25 Public Courses in the State of Arizona, including Top Four in the State for: Best Par 4's (Hole #8); Best Stretches (Holes #5-8); and Best Front Nine, as rated by The Arizona Republic newspaper.

Persons interested in playing or for more information contact this year’s co-organizers, Jack Sommer or Terry Clower.

Long-time WRSA member, Marlon Boarnet, University of California, Irvine, and Andrew Haughwout, Federal Reserve Bank of New York took over co-editorship of the Journal of Regional Science as of July 1.  They replace WRSA members Gordon Mulligan and David Plane, who became members of the JRS Board of Senior Editors along with Walter Isard and Ronald Miller.

Boarnet (Ph.D. Princeton, Public Policy) is currently Associate Professor of Urban and Regional Planning and Associate Professor of Economics at UC-Irvine.  His research specialties include transportation policy, local economic development, and intra-metropolitan population and employment growth patterns.

Haughwout (Ph.D., Pennsylvania, Regional Science) is senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.  His research focuses on regional economics, governmental finance issues, and urban and regional development policy.  Before moving to the Federal Reserve Bank he was a member of the faculty of the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton.

All new submissions to the journal should be sent to Professor Boarnet at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, School of Social Ecology, University of California, Irvine, CA  92697-7075-02.  Boarnet’s e-mail address is mgboarne@uci.edu.  Haughwout’s e-mail is: Andrew.Haughwout@ny.frb.org.  Email for journal business should be directed to jregsci@uci.edu.  During the transition period, Mulligan and Plane will continue to manage the refereeing and decisions on papers already in the review process.

Western Regional Science Association, 42nd Annual Meeting, Rio Rico, Arizona, February 26–March 1, 2003
 See articles, Pages 1 and 2, this Newsletter.

Southern Regional Science Association, 42nd Annual Meetings, Louisville, KY, April 10–12, 2003
The meetings will be held at the Seelbach Hilton Hotel.  The program committee welcomes papers on a wide range of topics including all aspects of regional modeling, international trade, resource utilization, environmental quality, transportation systems, tourism and recreation, economic impact analysis, urban and rural economic development, location of economic activity, land use planning and regulation, regional migration, labor markets, regional development issues and policy, and public finance and investment analysis.
In conjunction with the meetings, the SRSA also announces the Barry Moriarty Graduate Student Paper Competition with a deadline of February 1, 2003.

The deadline for submitting a (100-200 word) abstract is December 15, 2002.  Send to Stephen Smith (smsmith@psu.edu).  E-mail submission is preferred.  Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology / Armsby Building / Penn State University / University Park, PA  16802.  Tel. 814-863-8245; Fax: 814-865-3746.  SRSA website: http://www.srsa.org

Mid-Continent Regional Science Association, 34th Annual Conference, Cleveland, OH  May 29–31, 2003
The conference will be held at the Wyndham Cleveland Hotel at Playhouse Square.  For additional information visit the MCRSA website: www.oznet.ksu.edu/mcrsa

For conference information contact Mark Skidmore, skidmorm@mail.uww.edu; phone: 262-472-1354.  For information on the M. Jarvin Emerson student paper competition contact Ronald Gunderson at ronald.gunderson@nau.edu; phone: 928-523-7358.

18th Pacific Conference of the RSAI Acapulco, Mexico, July 2–5, 2003
See article, Page 3, this Newsletter.

British and Irish Section of the RSAI, 33rd Annual Conference, St. Andrews, Scotland, August 20-22, 2003
Abstracts of approximately 500 words should be submitted (preferably by e-mail) by January 31st 2003 at the very latest. Authors will be notified of the committee's decision in March 2003.

For any further information regarding the conference please also contact the Secretary: Dr Dimitris Ballas, Secretary RSAI:B&IS / Centre for Computational Geography / School of Geography / University of Leeds, Leeds  LS2 9JT; fax: +44 (0) 113 343 3308;  e-mail: D.Ballas@geography.leeds.ac.uk or visit the Section’s website at: http://www.rsaibis.dundee.ac.uk/

The newsletter of the Western Regional Science Association is supported by permit mailing authorization by the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721 USA.

Editor & Executive Secretary: David A. Plane

Assistant Editor and Circulation Manager: Christopher Henrie

Send items for inclusion in future issues to Plane via e-mail: plane@u.arizona.edu or to the address below.