In September, Markus Lambracht and Dominik Bertram attended the International Mountain Conference 2025 (#IMC25) in Innsbruck, which is one of the most important events in the field of interdisciplinary mountain research. Over the course of the four-day event, they actively contributed as conveners, presenters, and discussants in sessions that addressed the various challenges and opportunities of spatial development facing mountain regions today.

A particular highlight was the focus session “Mountain cities – Urban networks in mountain regions from a global perspective” (FS 3.107), which was convened by Markus Lambracht and Andreas Haller (Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research at the Austrian Academy of Sciences). This session initiated an interesting debate on urbanisation in mountain regions and the representation of settlement systems in current mountain research. During this session, Dominik Bertram presented recent work, which was published in Mountain Research and Development (Settlement Systems in Mountain Regions: A Research Gap?, see full paper here). He also participated in the session on “Spatial-led research, planning and design for Alpine transition” (FS 3.126), presenting new research on functional linkages between highland and lowland areas. The paper Interface Areas in the European Alps: Defining Functional Regions Between Mountains and Lowlands proposes a conceptual and empirical framework for better understanding these transitional zones, which are a new lens for spatial development in the European Alpine region (see full paper here).

Markus Lambracht addressed in his presentation the theme of value creation in mountain economies, focusing on wool as a case study. His contribution in the focus session “Adding value to wool, from globalization to the circular economy: which opportunities for mountain regions?” (FS 3.175), examined how global market dynamics interact with local circular practices, and what this means for sustainable economic futures in mountain areas.

References:

Bertram, D., Chilla, T. & U. Schirpke (2025): Interface Areas in the European Alps: Defining Functional Regions Between Mountains and Lowlands. Mountain Research and Development, 45(2): R27-R40. https://doi.org/10.1659/mrd.2024.00049

Bertram, D., Chilla, T. & M. Lambracht (2024): Settlement Systems in Mountain Regions: A Research Gap? Mountain Research and Development, 44(2): A1-A9. https://doi.org/10.1659/mrd.2023.00021

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