History of Regional Science and the Regional Science Association International: The Beginnings and Early History

It is difficult, if not impossible, to establish the point of time at which a new field of study starts to emerge. While the date of formal organization of a society asso­ ciated with the field can be precisely stated, such timing says little about when and where the seeds for a field's development were planted. Also, such timing says little about the essential "why" for the development of a field and provides little understanding of the path that it traced. It is clear that the emergence of the field of regional science, like many other fields, was dependent on a particular setting as well as the pattern of events and interaction of diverse personalities who became involved. As best I can, I shall attempt in this Part I of the History to unravel the where, when and why questions in the development of Regional Science and the Regional Science Association International. Further, in the last section of this essay, I shall briefly point up some potentialities for analytical advances in the field of regional science. Also, I shall note the opportunity for leadership by regional scientists in attacking global and regional development problems, thereby to help formulate relevant policy. In this way, I hope to expose the potential for fruitful research by young scholars interested in entering the field.