Welcome
Reinventing Rural Spaces:
Resilience, Innovation and Sustainability in a Changing World
22 to 26 June 2026
The Faculty of Arts and Humanities and the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto are delighted to host the 4th European Rural Geographies Conference, which will take place from 22 to 26 June 2026. The conference theme, Resilience, Innovation and Sustainability in a Changing World, reflects the pressing challenges and opportunities that rural areas across Europe and beyond are currently facing.
Rural territories are increasingly shaped by complex and interrelated dynamics, including demographic shifts, socio-economic restructuring, cultural transformations, technological innovation, and environmental change. These processes generate both vulnerabilities and opportunities for rural communities, landscapes, and livelihoods. Exploring how resilience can be strengthened, how innovation can be fostered, and how sustainability can be achieved is, therefore, at the heart of this conference.
We invite scholars to engage with theoretical and empirical debates on topics such as rural resilience and well-being, natural resource management, governance and policy responses, agricultural and food system transformations, climate change mitigation and adaptation, energy and ecological transitions, rural housing and mobility, social and spatial inequalities, heritage and identity, smart and creative villages, tourism, as well as entrepreneurship and innovation in rural contexts.
By bringing together researchers from across the world, Rural Geo 2026 seeks to create a vibrant and inclusive forum for exchanging knowledge, comparing experiences, envisioning future pathways for rural geographies in an ever-changing world, and designing evidence-based strategies to maximise the impact of scientific knowledge in promoting innovation and development in rural areas.
The program will include sessions with distinguished experts, oral presentations and poster presentations, as well as field trips showcasing Portugal’s unique rural landscapes. We look forward to your presence and collaboration, wishing you an unforgettable professional, scientific, and pedagogical experience.
We will be delighted to welcome you in June 2026!
Welcome to the University of Porto and Portugal!
Helena Pina
President of the Organising Committee
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at:
