RGS-IBG AC2026

1. Current and emerging research in transport

We invite abstract submissions from postgraduate students for the 2026 Royal Geographical Society with IBG (RGS-IBG) Annual International Conference for the session entitled “Current and emerging research in transport”.

The sessions are aimed at postgraduate students conducting research in any aspect of transport geography. The emerging research sessions provide a relaxed, supportive atmosphere for postgraduates at any stage of their research to present work in progress and share ideas with one another.

The TGRG traditionally rewards a postgraduate prize for the best postgraduate presentation in any TGRG session at the RGS-IBG Conference. All postgraduate presentations in the “Current and emerging research in transport” session will automatically be eligible for the prize; if you do not want to be considered for the prize, please state so in your submission.

2. Measuring, perceiving and re-shaping inequalities in transport

We invite abstract submissions from postgraduate students for the 2026 Royal Geographical Society with IBG (RGS-IBG) Annual International Conference for the session entitled “Measuring, perceiving and re-shaping inequalities in transport”.

This session responds to the theme of this year’s conference by considering how transport geographers can further integrate ideas of inequality, justice or equity analysis into the work they do. We welcome abstracts from across transport geography that respond to this theme. Below, we have looked to outline some questions to provoke discussion across qualitative, quantitative, and theoretical perspectives on inequalities.

  • How does access to transport vary based on age, gender, ethnicity, or other protected characteristics (and how can we correct these inequalities)?

  • How does access to transport vary by mode, and how acceptable are the inequalities this invites? How can inequalities in transport be measured, such that they account for the diverse needs of individuals (and the wide-reaching impact transport has on societies)?

  • Is GeoAI compatible with transport justice? Can machine learning assist with computing and uncovering transport inequalities?

  • What is transport justice? How should it be theorised? What has the canon of transport justice missed to date?

The TGRG traditionally rewards a postgraduate prize for the best postgraduate presentation in any TGRG session at the RGS-IBG Conference. All postgraduate presentations in the “Creative approaches to transport research” session will automatically be eligible for the prize; if you do not want to be considered for the prize, please state so in your submission.

3. Clearing roadblocks: a workshop for interdisciplinary collaboration in transport geography

We invite registrations of interest from postgraduate students for the 2026 Royal Geographical Society with IBG (RGS-IBG) Annual International Conference for the workshop entitled “Clearing roadblocks: a workshop for interdisciplinary collaboration in transport geography”.

At the TGRG, we recognise that transport geography is one of the most interdisciplinary strands of research. Our committee is composed of engineers, qualitative researchers, social theorists, planners and data scientists, matching the breadth of the sector itself. However, we recognise a degree of stigma exists across this ‘broad church’, caricatured as qualitative researchers scorning what they see as pure positivism, or quantitative researchers deriding what they see as work with insufficiently big data. The truth, as always, is a shade of grey, a missed opportunity, an inequality that stands to be corrected.

We seek registrations of interest to co-develop a workshop for postgraduate students at AC2026 that looks to take in differing accounts of transport geography across disciplinary spaces, and build a space where postgraduates from different academic backgrounds can begin to think about how they could collaborate more frequently, build connections across institutions, and needle a patchwork transport geography that is stronger than any one perspective alone.

We are currently planning to hold the workshop in a “world cafe” format; the final product will be a collaboration with those interested.

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